| 1 | Tallahassee – grey ratsnake |
State: Florida.
Population: 391,000 (metro).
Elevation: 62 metres.
If you’re a citizen of Tallahassee, located on the Florida panhandle, then the grey ratsnake is the most likely snake for you to bump into. There’s hundreds of rough earth snakes lurking under mulch and pieces of scattered cardboard, yet the grey ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides) measures 1.5-2 metres and is easily the most visible. They’re not a fast snake, and tend to prowl around slowly, and won’t vanish the moment a human spots them weaving along a wooden railing on a bridge.
Grey ratsnakes are non-venomous constrictors, and Tallahassee lies at the southeastern extreme of their range. They reside only east of the Mississippi, and their southern extent is the panhandle, and their northern extent lies just south of Ottawa.
Grey ratsnakes are harmless, but have a good chance of giving you a heart attack. Their fondness for raiding bird’s nests means that they could climb your Tallahassee roof, or invade your garden to pinch birds attracted by the seed feeder dangling from a small tree. Grey ratsnakes are easy to recognise, with a grey base of scales with even greyer blotches, and a white chin.
| 2 | Little Rock – speckled kingsnake |
State: Arkansas.
Population: 748,000 (metro).
Elevation: 100 metres.
The USA has 10-15 Lampropeltis kingsnake species, and the speckled kingsnake is located roughly in the centre. Arkansas and its capital Little Rock lie almost at the centre of this central empire, and its likely that most Little Rock citizens will encounter one at some point. Speckled kingsnakes favour open grassy spaces, often next to a stream of forest. They don’t require untouched wilderness habitats, allowing them to survive in areas in Little Rock where remnant vegetation survives.
Speckled kingsnakes are very easy to recognise. Their patterns vaguely resemble some rattlesnakes, but instead take the form of hundreds and hundreds of spots. Speckled kingsnakes can even be one of the most strikingly yellow-black snakes on Earth, depending on morph, and certain the most yellow-black in the USA.
If you find a speckled kingsnake hissing at you in a public park in Little Rock, they’ll be easy to recognise. They probably won’t hiss, as this is a relatively calm snake, which considers human beings to be mostly irrelevant to its life. Don’t pick them up though – this species chooses to bite rather than cower in your palm. This species can reach 180cm in extreme cases.
| 3 | Austin – plain-bellied watersnake |
State: Texas.
Population: 2,274,000 (metro).
Elevation: 149 metres.
The most common snake in Austin, Texas is a semi-aquatic snake – the plain-bellied watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster), which is comfortable on land but a capable swimmer, which hunts its prey by swimming around the surface in a neverending figure of 8 pattern.
Plainbelly watersnakes have colourful pastel belly with no markings, and a far darker body. They peak at 163.6cm and prey primarily on frogs, such as American bullfrogs and squirrel treefrogs, unlike the brown watersnake (also found in Texas) which eats 60% catfish.
Plain-bellied watersnakes are a piece of cake to find in Austin. Head to the Barton Creek trail, or the Shaol Creek trail. Or take a walk along the main Colorado river. Plain-bellied watersnakes cope well with city areas and are plentiful in all three.
The easy ID hack to remember is that plain-bellied watersnakes are the most land-faring of the Nerodia watersnake family (which has 10 members). Compared to brown watersnakes, they stray much further from their river domains, and they tend to move further in single migrations. This makes them more likely to appear in your backgarden.
| 4 | Phoenix – California kingsnake |
State: Arizona.
Population: 4,777,000 (metro).
Elevation: 331 metres.
If you’re walking down a sidewalk in Phoenix whistling to yourself, swinging a shopping bag with one arm, and you see a serpent approaching menacingly, the odds are high of it being a California kingsnake.
This harmless constrictor measures 76-107cm, and is probably California’s most common snake. However, Phoenix lies well within their range, and it’s just as common here as anywhere else.
Tucson is probably their last stronghold before the desert kingsnake takes over, and Phoenix lies northeast of Tucson. This snake is commonly black and white, with either banded or striped morphs. They cope well with mixed habitats, including a mosaic pattern of grassland, woodland and dry shrubland. They also favour rocky slabs, and this flexibility allows them to cope well with cities. California kingsnakes may be randomly ending up on sidewalks, or they may be intelligent enough to use them as a travel corridor – we can’t read their minds yet.
California kingsnakes eat mammals and snakes first, followed by lizards. If you wake up on a park bench in Phoenix and find a California kingsnake staring at you, don’t worry. California kingsnakes can constrict and dispatch a ratsnake 20% larger than themselves, but probably not a human being.
| 5 | Salem – northwestern garter snake |
State: Oregon.
Population: 433,000 (metro).
Elevation: 47 metres.
There are very few places where other garter snakes can compete with the almighty common garter snake. This bully of the family inhabits 47 of the lower 48 states (excluding Arizona) and they have power and influence which the other members can only be jealous of.
Yet there’s a narrow corner of the USA where the northeastern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) has a stronghold instead, a realm which it can call its own, and Salem, Oregon is part of this. The species occupies Oregon, Washington, extreme northwest California and far southwest Canada. Northwestern garter snakes are less aquatic than other members, and are identifiable by red spots on their undersides.
If you’re a Salem resident and want to find Thamnophis ordinoides, then pack your bags, leave your house right now, and head to Minto-Brown Island Park. They’re also spotted regularly in Pringle Creek, which runs right through the city. Thamnophis ordinoides is a harmless snake, though with a mildly venomous saliva. Their diet mainly includes slugs and earthworms, and they peak at 95cm, with an average of 40cm.
| 6 | Denver – bull snake |
State: Colorado.
Population: 2.964,000 (metro).
Elevation: 1609 metres.
The bull snake (Pituhophis canifer sayi) is a subspecies of the gopher snake, and is the longest constrictor in the USA. In fact, it holds the record for all-time longest US snake fullstop, as a wild specimen brought to captivity and fed regularly eventually reached 267.7cm.
This is the most common snake in Colorado’s scenic capital, with an honorable mention going to the wandering garter snake (Thamnophis elegans). Bull snakes have bright yellowish-black colours and commonly reach 2 metres. Being a constrictor, they have a thick body, and most of their prey is mammals. Like other snakes which appear in cities, the secret is their flexible habitat. In an untouched world, they’d inhabit mixtures of sparse woodland, open plains, and bushy thickets, which translates well to surviving the hustle and bustle of Denver.
Denver is swarming with bull snakes. You can barely step forward without encountering another one, but immediately to the west, where the Rocky Mountains rise up sharply, they completely disappear. Denver is the bull snake’s last stronghold. It’s like all the bull snakes that would have entered the Rocky Mountains reached slopes that were too steep, tumbled backwards and all landed in the city, turning it into a giant bull snake pit.
As a subspecies, bull snakes are said to be more aggressive than other gopher snakes. To the north, they reach southern Canada, while to the south, they’re everywhere in Texas and easily cross the Mexican border.
| 7 | Raleigh – eastern ratsnake |
State: North Carolina.
Population: 1,509,000 (metro).
Elevation: 96 metres.
On this iNaturalist page, you can find a map with hundreds upon hundreds of dots representing eastern ratsnake observations. If you were to place a star on the location you believe to be the exact epicentre of that range, it would probably land directly on Raleigh, North Carolina.
The eastern ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) is indestructible when it comes to the east coast US, ranging from the southern tip to central Vermont. Raleigh is one of their true strongholds, which no grey ratsnake or western ratsnake would even consider entering.
Eastern ratsnakes are non-venomous constrictors, and measure up to 228cm. Like grey ratsnakes, eastern ratsnakes love to raid bird’s nests, if they can intelligently time their raids to avoid defensive mother birds. There’s a strong chance they’ll invade your Raleigh back garden, climb your roof, or even fall off a tree and hit your head as you take a shortcut to school.
Eastern ratsnakes are fairly easy to recognise, but there’s one fact you must remember: they have both a black and yellow morph. The yellow is usually a dark sulphurous yellow rather than like a banana, and has several thin stripes running lengthways. The black ones are normally pure black with a white underside. Honourable mentions for Raleigh go to Dekay’s brown snake and the rough earth snake.
| 8 | Baton Rouge – common garter snake |
State: Louisiana.
Population: 776,000 (metro).
Elevation: 14 metres.
Baton Rouge has an average daytime temperature of 33C in July and an average nighttime low of 22C. the place is humid, swampy and stifling, which is perfect for snakes, yet thankfully, the city isn’t swarming with rattlesnakes, but common garter snakes instead. This ubiquitous American snake is common anywhere in Baton Rouge where vegetation survives, including preserved stream trails and public parks, as long as some form of water exists, even if it’s just a small pond.
Keep an eye out for blue garter snakes in Baton Rouge – this common garter morph has been observed across the USA, but Louisiana seems to have higher numbers than average. Many have vivid red stripes as well, like the funky subspecies found in California. Despite this, Louisiana only has one subspecies – the eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), overwhemingly the most common nationwide and basically the “main” subspecies.
Common garter snakes prey mainly on frogs but also slugs and earthworms, increasing the chance that they might appear in your Baton Rouge garden (in the surburbs), and increasing the chance that they’ll help your garden to prosper. This species has a slightly venomous saliva but is harmless.
| 9 | San Juan – Puerto Rican racer |
Region: Puerto Rico.
Population: 2,437,000 (metro).
Elevation: 8 metres.
Puerto Rico has 10 native snake species, including the Puerto Rican boa, perhaps the top bat-hunter of any snake species worldwide. The most common in the capital San Juan is undoubtedly the Puerto Rican racer, which has switched family many times, but is now dubbed Borikenophis portoricensis.
This species measures up to 120cm, and eats a diet consisting of lizards and geckos, which they’re capable of subduing in 30 seconds using their rear-fanged venom. Their venom in humans is no joke: rarely fatal but capable of causing swelling extending to the elbow. Fortunately, they don’t randomly patrol the streets of San Juan attempting to bite people. This species sticks to the ground, but if necessary can climb several metres high up a tree, and possibly a San Juan house.
Puerto Rican racers are quite illogical and demented sometimes. One individual was spotted eating the skull and bones of a dead Anolis lizard, despite the fact that all living tissue had long since rotted away. Necro snakes that feast on carrion are one thing, but this was particularly extreme. Another of their weird tendencies is to pick up prey in their jaw and drag it to a safer place for consumption. If you’re lucky, you might be able to watch this from your bedroom window in San Juan.
| 10 | Boise – wandering garter snake |
State: Idaho.
Population: 760,000 (metro).
Elevation: 823 metres.
A garter snake species found only in the western USA, which reaches no further east than extreme northwest Texas. Terrestrial garter snakes have taken complete control of Boise, Idaho, or more accurately, they were always living on the land, and survived perfectly well when humans decided to build a city around them (unlike most rattlesnakes).
This species reaches a maximum of 107cm and preys on more mammals than most garter snakes, with plenty of frogs and fish as well. Terrestrial garter snakes are easy to find in Boise, as they occur along virtually the entire length of the Boise River, whether surrounded by suburbs, forest or field. This species is actually more land-based than the common garter snake, yet they still need some form of water to thrive, whether it’s a lake or small pond.
Common garter snakes are also found in Boise, yet terrestrial garter snakes are easily more common. The latter is actually more aggressive and has an enlarged venom gland, which can cause damage in humans (beware). Perhaps they’ve outcompeted the local common garter snakes through sheer force. Physically, you can distinguish the two by the terrestrial garter snake’s belly, which is significantly more pigmented.