Snakes in West Virginia

West Virginia has about 20 snake species, of which the timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead are venomous. The timber rattlesnake, West Virginia’s official state reptile since 2008, is not quite commonly found here, mainly inhabiting the mountainous terrain. The northern copperhead, on the other hand, is more commonly spotted, dwelling along deciduous forests and rocky outcrops. The black rat snake, West Virginia’s largest attain a length of between 4 and 6 feet, while some may be about 8 feet long.

Group	Venomous	Non-venomous
Rattlesnakes	Timber Rattlesnake	–
Pit Vipers	Northern Copperhead	–
Water Snakes	–	Common Watersnake
Kingsnakes	–	Eastern Kingsnake Eastern Black Kingsnake Eastern Milksnake
Garter Snakes	–	Eastern Ribbon Snake Eastern Garter Snake
Hognose Snakes	–	Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
Diadophis	–	Northern Ring-necked Snake
Coluber	–	Northern Black Racer
Virginia	–	Mountain Earthsnake Eastern Smooth Earthsnake
Carphophis	–	Eastern Worm Snake
Opheodrys	–	Northern Rough Greensnake
Pantherophis	–	Black Rat Snake
Pseudonaja	–	Northern Brown Snake
Pituophis	–	Northern Pine Snake
Storeria	–	Northern Redbelly Snake
Regina	–	Queen Snake