Snakes in Delaware
The copperhead is Delaware's only venomous snake, and it is largely restricted to the north of the state.
Venomous snakes in Delaware
These are the species worth being able to recognise. Every one of them would rather avoid you than bite.
Harmless snakes in Delaware
Far more common than the venomous species, and the source of nearly every alarming snake report. Several are actively useful to have around.
Dark crossbands at the front of the body giving way to alternating blotches towards the tail.
Adults are plain dark olive, grey or brown above with no pattern at all, and a completely unmarked belly that is yellow, orange or red.
Adults are glossy black above with a faint trace of blotching visible in strong light, and a white or grey chin and throat.
Bold red or orange-brown saddles outlined in black on an orange, tan or grey ground.
Red-brown saddles with crisp black outlines on a pale grey or tan ground.
Glossy blue-black with narrow cream or yellow bands that fork and join along the sides, forming a chain-link pattern.
Three pale lengthwise stripes — one down the spine and one along each side — on a dark ground, often with a checkerboard of dark spots between them.
Highly variable — blotched brown and tan, solid grey, olive, orange or plain black.
Uniform satin black, slate blue, olive or brown above with a plain pale belly and usually a white chin.
Uniform bright leaf-green above with a plain white, cream or pale yellow belly.
Plain brown or grey-brown with a slightly paler stripe down the back, edged by two rows of small dark dots.
Grey, brown or nearly black above, sometimes with a faint pale stripe, and a startlingly bright orange or red belly.
Smooth slate-grey or blue-black above with a bright yellow or orange ring around the neck and a matching yellow, orange or red belly, sometimes spotted with black.
Uniform glossy brown above with a pink or salmon belly, the two colours meeting in a straight line along the side.
Before anything else
- Back away and leave it alone. A snake that can see you leaving has no reason to bite. Most bites in the United States happen to people who picked up, cornered, or tried to kill a snake.
- Never handle a snake to identify it. Every identification on this site can be made from a photo or from several feet away.
- If someone is bitten, call emergency services now. Keep the limb still and below the heart, remove rings and watches, and go to hospital. Do not cut, suck, apply ice, or use a tourniquet — all of these make outcomes worse.
- Do not try to catch the snake for identification. A photo from a distance is enough, and hospitals treat symptoms rather than species.
In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.
Identify what you saw in Delaware
Already filtered to Delaware. Add the markings, size and behaviour to narrow it further.
1.Which state are you in?
The most powerful question here. Most states have only one or two venomous species, and several have none at all.
2.What were the markings like?
optionalJudge this from the back of the snake. Whether the pattern continues onto the belly is the single most useful thing to notice with a ringed snake.
3.How big was it?
optionalPeople consistently overestimate snake length, so this only narrows things roughly — neighbouring sizes stay on the list.
4.Where did you see it?
optionalHabitat rules out a surprising amount. A snake several feet up a tree is very unlikely to be a pit viper.
5.Did it do any of these?
optionalBehaviour is often more reliable than colour. Pick everything you actually saw — not what you think it might have done.
6.What colour was it?
optionalDeliberately last, and it never removes anything from the list. Snakes look completely different when wet, shedding, or seen in shade.
- CopperheadVenomousAgkistrodon contortrix
- Common Garter SnakeHarmlessThamnophis sirtalis
- Corn SnakeHarmlessPantherophis guttatus
- Dekay's BrownsnakeHarmlessStoreria dekayi
- Eastern Hognose SnakeMildly venomousHeterodon platirhinos
- Eastern KingsnakeHarmlessLampropeltis getula
- Eastern Milk SnakeHarmlessLampropeltis triangulum
- Eastern RatsnakeHarmlessPantherophis alleghaniensis
- Eastern WormsnakeHarmlessCarphophis amoenus
- North American RacerHarmlessColuber constrictor
- Northern Water SnakeHarmlessNerodia sipedon
- Plain-bellied Water SnakeHarmlessNerodia erythrogaster
- Red-bellied SnakeHarmlessStoreria occipitomaculata
- Ring-necked SnakeHarmlessDiadophis punctatus
- Rough Green SnakeHarmlessOpheodrys aestivus