It should come as no surprise that Louisiana is home to various snake species.
There are different types of snakes in Louisiana, abundant in a vast network of marsh swamps.
The warm weather, abundant water, and woods create the ideal habitat for various snake species.
When fishing, hunting, or boating in Louisiana, there’s a good chance you will encounter some of these types of snakes, so you should always exercise caution when outdoors.
Nonetheless, it would be best to be cautious when near snakes, even those not poisonous. You can get bitten badly by snakes that are not poisonous.
1. Eastern Garter Snake
Eastern garter snakes, which are widespread and simple to find, are starting our list of snake types in Louisiana!
Humans usually encounter these as the most common species of snake.
They are frequently spotted in city parks, farms, cemeteries, and suburban lawns and gardens because they are used to living around people.
They enjoy grassy areas near freshwater sources, like ponds, lakes, ditches, and streams. However, it’s not necessary.
When cornered or threatened, eastern garter snakes defend themselves. If you catch or disturb one frequently, it excretes and exudes an odorous musk from its glands.
As a final option, these types of snakes in Louisiana frequently bite as well!
The Eastern Garter Snake’s most typical prey includes fish, worms, salamanders, slugs, and toads.
They will, however, consume other insects and small animals they can subdue because they are incredibly opportunistic.
The temperature determines whether they are active during the day or at night.
2. Southern Watersnake
Southern Watersnake is also one of the types of snakes in Louisiana. Within their habitat, most freshwater sources are in Louisiana, where the Southern Watersnake can be found.
Everywhere you go—lakes, ponds, rivers, wetlands, marshes, and streams—look for them. They can frequently be seen sunbathing on branches that hang over the water.
Being mostly nocturnal, these snakes spend much time searching the shoreline for small fish and frogs.
Like other types of snakes in Louisiana, water snakes from the South are harmless and non-venomous. They swiftly seize their prey and consume it whole.
However, they may bite if caught or seized, flatten their heads, and produce an offensive-smelling musk from glands near the tip of their tail.
Regretfully, they are occasionally mistaken for the poisonous cottonmouth, which results in their death.
3. Western Ribbon Snake
Have you seen a long-tailed, slender snake in Louisiana? If so, the snake was most likely a Western Ribbon Snake!
Seldom can one find these types of snakes in Louisiana too far away from a body of water. They usually live near streams, lakes, ponds, and other bodies of water in locations with many bushes.
They can also be seen sunbathing on flat plants, rocks, and dry sandy places near water. The Western Ribbon Snake’s hunting strategy is amazing and distinct.
They perform three fast, light thrusts with their head and upper torso in various directions as they move across the terrain. The thrusts resemble strikes, but they don’t say anything.
This activity upends the frogs while they are sleeping, notifying the garter snake where they are. The snake then captures its prey using its exceptional speed.
When threatened, they duck into the water or hide in dense bushes. They blend in quite well in more densely populated regions with bushes.
If seized, Western Ribbon Snakes will thrash around, urinate, and produce musk from their anal glands. They rarely bite.
Unlike certain types of snakes in Louisiana, this one cannot regenerate yet can still shed its tail to flee.
4. Scarlet Snake
It is simple to mistake the pretty species of scarlet snake for the deadly coral snake.
Because these types of snakes in Louisiana are not raised in captivity, any pets will be derived from the wild, exacerbating the situation.
Pine flat woods, pine-oak forests, pastures, agricultural areas, and occasionally urban settings are home to scarlet kingsnakes.
However, they are difficult to spot because they are reticent and typically hide underground. Look beneath boards, logs, rocks, and other debris for them.
They can occasionally be seen atop buildings and trees. However, they are also skilled climbers.
In general, these snakes are not aggressive. In leaf litter, however, they can vibrate their tail in response to disturbance and make a buzzing sound. If they are grabbed, they may strike and exude an offensive scent.
5. Demoy’s Brown Snake
Brown snakes are quite tiny, usually measuring less than 16 inches in length, but they are virtually universally available.
They are common in potted plants and under-leaf heaps and can be found in rural and urban Louisiana.
There are most likely brown types of snakes in Louisiana beneath or close to any vegetative piles.
They also reside in nurseries, so if you purchase potted plants in an urban area and live there, be sure to take extra precautions as there’s likely to be a brown snake inside.
6. Western Worm Snake
Another type of snake in Louisiana is the Western Worm Snake. When under stress, it can emit a foul-smelling musk through its cloaca, which is the butt of a snake.
This generally drives away the intruder. Typically, it has a pale pink bottom and a black top.
7. Common Garter Snake
As their name implies, these types of snakes in Louisiana are frequently encountered throughout the state.
Their bodies are covered in spots and have diamond-shaped heads, which they reveal when they sense danger.
If a Common Garter Snake senses a corner or threat, it will lower its head, flatten its body, and spread out; therefore, if you spot one, begin to carefully back away and leave the area.
8. Corn Snake
Because so many rodents congregate around maize storage places, corn snakes are frequently found there, which is how they receive their name.
Nonetheless, some sources suggest that the pattern on their underside—which occasionally resembles bi-color maize kernels—gave rise to their name.
In eastern Louisiana, red corn snakes live in various environments, such as overgrown fields, pinelands, marshes, and agricultural areas.
They can occasionally be located in suburban areas close to other hospitable environments.
Be sure to scan above ground as well since they have been observed scaling cliffs, trees, and other higher terrain.
Along with their eggs, these types of snakes in Louisiana feed on frogs, lizards, rodents, and birds.
Larger prey is squeezed and suffocated by these snakes’ constrictors, whereas smaller animals can be swallowed whole without experiencing constriction.
These snakes are the second most common pet snakes globally (after ball pythons) and are usually quite docile.
If disturbed in the wild, they might vibrate their tail and raise their front half into an S shape to appear more menacing.
They can bite their attacker if caught or pinned, but these types of snakes in Louisiana usually get calm shortly.
9. Eastern Hog-Nosed Snake
The eastern hog-nosed snake is still on our blog list of snake types in Louisiana; however, it tends to avoid swamps and favors drier environments.
When you encounter this snake, it may appear frightening, yet it is not poisonous and is afraid of you more than you are of it.
If they sense danger, eastern hog-nosed snakes will display a threatening demeanor, but this is a bluff.
If you don’t go quickly, it will collapse on the ground and pretend to be dead until you leave the area.
10. Flat Headed Snake
The Flat-Headed Snake is one of the small types of snakes in Louisiana that rarely grows larger than eight inches.
This smooth snake is gray, brown, or reddish-brown, and it almost looks like a worm. Frequently, the head seems marginally darker than the body.
11. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Despite its subdued coloring, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake is a snake you cannot miss. It is the largest and heaviest snake in Louisiana.
Although most are about six feet long, this snake can reach a staggering eight feet. Being primarily nocturnal, the eastern diamondback is active shortly after nightfall or before dawn.
Though these types of snakes in Louisiana occasionally lurk on the margins of wetlands and rivers, they usually stay in drier habitats like scrublands or forests.
Eastern diamondbacks are named for the striking black pattern on their faces and the diamond pattern running down their backs.
It would be best if you kept a safe distance from these snakes in Louisiana since they can strike at prey several feet away quickly.
If the snake begins to slowly rise back up until it is out of striking distance and you hear the unmistakable rattle start.
12. Prairie Kingsnake
In Louisiana, prairie kingsnakes are found in open areas, including fields, farms, rocky hillsides, and open forests.
During their active season and winter hibernation, they can be found mostly underground, under logs, rocks, and old animal burrows.
These types of snakes in Louisiana consume a broad range of prey, including mice, lizards, insects, birds, amphibians, and other snakes, especially Prairie Kingsnakes.
They coil around and suffocate their prey, constricting it before devouring it.
The Prairie Kingsnake may attempt to imitate a rattlesnake to warn others if it feels threatened. They mimic by shaking their tail tips in the desiccated leaf litter.
Nevertheless, these snakes are not poisonous and usually do not bite, but if they are grasped, they will emit an unpleasant scent!
This species doesn’t appear endangered and is therefore regarded as least concerned.
But occasionally, people mistake them for being poisonous and run them over when they’re crossing roadways, or they kill them. This species, like many others, is occasionally kept as pets.
13. Southern Crowned Snake
Small and thin, the Southeastern Crowned Snake is found in various states, including Louisiana.
It is like sandy soil covered with dead leaves and other organic litter. This sleek serpent is usually active during the day.
14. Timber RattleSnake
Throughout Louisiana, timber rattlesnakes can be found in lowland thickets, farms, and agricultural areas.
Their colors range from yellow-gray to black, and they can grow as long as five feet.
The timber rattlesnake is one of Louisiana’s deadliest predators. Its fangs are incredibly long and sharp.
Of all the deadly snakes in the state, their venom is also the most concentrated.
Before attacking, a Timber rattlesnake might not give you much notice. It is an ambush predator who likes to attack without warning.
Thus, if you hear a rattle, leave the area immediately because you probably don’t have much time.
15. Glossy Swamp Snake
Slow-moving waterways like cypress swamps, roadside ditches, ponds, lakes, marshes, streams, and rivers are home to and seldom abandoned by glossy swamp snakes.
Due to their intense shyness, these types of snakes in Louisiana frequently hide within crayfish burrows or beneath logs and other debris close to the water.
The greatest places to look for one would be the roads during or after a lot of rain.
These nocturnal snakes’ main food source is crayfish. Instead of squeezing their victims, they utilize their coils to support them as they consume them alive, usually tail-first.
They can eat hard-shelled crayfish because of their short, chisel-shaped teeth.
Glossy Swampsnakes swiftly take to the water and descend to the bottom when startled. When cornered, they can flatten themselves and exude an unpleasant scent from glands close to the base of their tail.
When picked up, they rarely bite but may hiss and pretend to strike.
Because these types of snakes in Louisiana are extremely secretive, not much is known about their population situation in Louisiana.
However, the loss and degradation of their aquatic habitats could lead to their decrease because they need crayfish and aquatic habitats.
16. Pygmy Rattlesnake
One of Louisiana‘s few poisonous types of snakes is the pygmy rattlesnake. They are frequently discovered in brush piles, yards, flowerpots, and the landscaping surrounding houses.
Because of their small size, these snakes in Louisiana may appear innocuous, yet they are quite poisonous.
Most pygmy snakes are around 12 inches long and hardly ever grow to be more than 18 inches. Although the pygmy is officially classified as a rattlesnake, it rarely rattles.
Their tendency to strike stealthily and without warning makes them extremely deadly in urban settings.
In Louisiana, you should always check your property for snakes before gardening or lawn care.
These types of snakes in Louisiana are so small that a bite from one will probably not kill you, but the venom can inflict severe agony and tissue damage.
Immediately seek medical attention if a pygmy rattlesnake bites you.
17. Eastern Copperhead
Eastern Copperheads are primarily found in rocky regions and the highest altitudes of the state.
However, you may also observe them if you frequently visit the state’s marshy areas. Louisiana’s poisonous types of snakes are most active in spring and autumn.
They are mainly nocturnal, so you may avoid them unless you are camping, trekking, or fishing at night during the hot months of July and August.
They frequently don’t get larger than three feet. Because they tend to blend in well with their environment, Eastern Copperheads should be treated with extreme caution.
An Eastern Copperhead bite can be painful, even though it won’t kill you. They strike without warning.
18. Eastern Coral Snake
The black spots within their bands and their blackheads are characteristics that distinguish coral snakes.
Although these types of snakes in Louisiana don’t appear particularly threatening, their venom is incredibly potent and can quickly inflict respiratory distress and tissue damage.
Fortunately, it is extremely uncommon for these vibrant but deadly snakes to come into contact with people because they would rather remain largely underground.
The Eastern coral snake inhabits the eastern part of Louisiana, whereas the Texas coral snake lives in the western half.
Coral snakes are probably not found in the middle of Louisiana, but if you come across one, exercise extreme caution!
The venomous Texas coral snake can inflict a nasty bite. It prefers to live mostly underground in burrows, emerging only to hunt.
Although these types of snakes in Louisiana have some of the strongest bites, very few people are bitten by them since they spend so much time underground.
19. Northern Cottonmouth
Northern Cottonmouth snakes are next on our list of Louisiana snake species. They prefer to spend much time in the water and are known as Water Moccasins.
Although it can bite, the northern cottonmouth normally coils up and bares its teeth before attempting to bite. One of the poisonous types of snakes in Louisiana is the cottonmouth.
However, it isn’t easy to locate a site in Louisiana where they’re not since so much of the state is surrounded by water or made of water.
When threatened, Northern Cottonmouth Water Moccasin snakes are known to display their wide open mouths.
Before they hit, they will turn their heads back and show off their big, white mouths. Thus, if you spot a flash of white, immediately remove your arms and legs from the area.
20. Midland Water Snake
Midland water snakes are the last species on our list of Louisiana snakes. Their exclusive habitat is southeast Louisiana!
Midland Water Snakes prefer slow-moving or standing water found in ponds, lakes, vernal pools, marshes, and leisurely-flowing rivers and streams.
They are most typically observed lounging on logs or rocks in or close to bodies of water. Although they are not poisonous, they may bite with great pain!
These snakes in Louisiana saliva have a weak anticoagulant that can bleed bites, exacerbating the injury.
Water snakes rely on these vital defense systems to fend off predators like foxes, opossums, snapping turtles, raccoons, and birds of prey.
In Louisiana, the populations of Midland Water Snakes are thought to be steady. Nevertheless, like many others, this species is threatened by habitat degradation and loss.
Unfortunately, people frequently murder them out of fear.
