Welcome to annapolissnakes.com! I am David, a snake enthusiast living in Annapolis, MD. Many people don't know that Annapolis is in fact full of snakes! You just need to know where to find them - they can often be shy and elusive. Some Marylandsnake species are more common outside of the city limits, in different parts of Anne Arundel County MD, but many types of snakes are indeed common in the more urban parts of Annapolis. This guide is meant to help educate you about the beautiful snakes of Annapolis, and to help you identify the most common snakes of Annapolis, as well as the venomous snakes of Annapolis that you should learn to recognize and avoid. If you want more detail, click here for my complete list of ALL snake species in Annapolis. Remember the following:

Common Snake Species in Annapolis

Eastern black racer: The black racer is a fairly slender solid-colored snake, this incredibly fast and aggressive snake is typically solid black with no visible markings on its smooth and shiny body. Juvenile black racers are usually not black, they look very much like juvenile black rat snakes with much the same coloration and patterns. Black racers usually grow to a maximum length of about 60 inches.





Eastern garter snake: Eastern garter snakes are one of the most common snakes in Maryland. They are found in many different habitats including forests, meadows, marshes, cities, and suburbs, these snakes usually have a maximum length of about 30 inches. They come in brown, green, or brown with yellow or white stripes down their backs.






Scarlet kingsnake: This is the smallest member of the kingsnake family. The scarlet kingsnake is a vividly colored snake with bright red, black, and yellow bands alternating across the length of its body. This snake closely resembles the venomous coral snake with the same tricolored body but a slightly different pattern. The scarlet kingsnake has red-black-yellow bands while the coral snake has red-yellow-black bands.





Eastern hog-nosed snake: The hog-nosed snake is a harmless heavy-bodied snake with a triangular head and upturned nose. They are mostly found in forests, sandy woodlands, and fields, and they come in different colors; brown, gray, olive, yellow, or orange background color with dark blotches and spots sprinkled along their bodies. These snakes are non-venomous but when threatened they make a hissing sound and flatten their head to look like a cobra to scare off the intruder.




Eastern milk snake: This is another member of the kingsnake family with a beautiful light gray or tan base color and rows of black-edged reddish-brown splotches along its body. The eastern kingsnake measures between 28 and 52 inches in length, and they can be found in farmlands, marshes, forests, and suburban areas.






Ring-necked snake: This is a small slender snake with a gray or black body and a bright yellow or orange ring around its neck, with an underbelly color that matches the color of the ring. These snakes can measure about 11 inches for prairie ring-necks and as long as 34 inches for regal ring-neck snakes.






Northern brown snake: An uninteresting reptile with a dull grayish-brown color and black stripes and dark spots down its back, these snakes are commonly seen in grasslands, open places, cities, and suburbs where they feed on earthworms, and they have an average size of 9 to 13 inches.

Venomous Snake Species in Annapolis

Timber rattlesnake: The timber rattlesnake is actually not common in Maryland, it’s the only rattlesnake in the state but has been very rare due to loss of habitat. These snakes are usually brown, pale yellow, or greenish-brown with dark blotches along their backs.







Copperhead: The copperhead is a heavy-bodied venomous snake found throughout Maryland. It has a pale tan or beige base color with hourglass-shaped patterns across its back. Their stout bodies measure from 24 to 36 inches, and they are mostly found in rocky and rural areas in Maryland.







If you're unsure, you can email me a photo of the snake at info@annapolissnakes.com and I will email you back with the snake's species. If you found a snake skin, read my Found a Skin? page, and you can email me a photo of the skin, and I'll identify the snake for you. If you need professional Annapolis snake removal help, click my Get Help page, or see the below website sponsor I found, who provides that service.



Remember, the term is not poisonous snakes of Annapolis, it's venomous snakes of Annapolis. Poison is generally something you eat, and venom is injected into you. That said, dangerous snakes are very rare in Annapolis. The few venomous snakes of Anne Arundel County are rarely seen. But they are commonly misidentified, so learn about all the snake species of Annapolis in order to correctly identify them. These snakes are usually also found in the surrounding towns of Hampden, Wilbraham, Southwick, Chicopee, Holyoke, Westfield, East Longmeadow, Agawam, Ludlow, West Springfield, Longmeadow, Palmer, Monson, Brimfield, Blandford,and the surrounding areas.

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