Snake Identifier

Snake Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with venomous status, family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell look-alikes apart.

Red-necked Keelback

Red-necked Keelback

A rear-fanged Asian colubrid notable for the bright red-orange patch on its neck and genuinely potent venom.

Yellow-tailed Cribo

Yellow-tailed Cribo

A large, powerful South American colubrid related to indigo snakes, known for its glossy scales and impressive length.

Yellow-Faced Whipsnake

Yellow-Faced Whipsnake

A slender, fast-moving Australian elapid named for the distinctive yellowish marking on its face, active by day and generally shy toward humans.

Black Mussurana

Black Mussurana

A large, glossy black colubrid widespread across Latin America, famed for eating other snakes, including venomous vipers and coral snakes.

Elegant Bronzeback

Elegant Bronzeback

A vividly colored, slender tree snake of Southeast Asian rainforests, known for its metallic bronze back and striking blue-and-black flanks.

Mexican Black Kingsnake

Mexican Black Kingsnake

A striking, almost entirely jet-black kingsnake from northwestern Mexico, notable for its uniform glossy appearance.

Durango Mountain Kingsnake

Durango Mountain Kingsnake

A tricolor mountain kingsnake from the pine-oak highlands of Durango, Mexico, part of the Mexican mountain kingsnake group.

Checkered Keelback

Checkered Keelback

One of the most common water-associated snakes in Asia, recognized by its checkerboard pattern and strongly keeled scales, frequently seen near rice paddies and ponds.

Prairie Kingsnake

Prairie Kingsnake

A secretive, moderately patterned kingsnake of grasslands and open woods, often mistaken for a young rat snake or gopher snake.

Black Swampsnake

Black Swampsnake

A small, glossy black wetland snake with a bright red-orange belly, found in dense marsh vegetation of the southeastern coastal plain.

Sonoran Lyresnake

Sonoran Lyresnake

A slender, big-eyed nocturnal snake named for the lyre-shaped mark on its head, with rear fangs used to subdue small prey.

Variable Kingsnake

Variable Kingsnake

A wide-ranging, highly variable kingsnake found from Mexico to Central America, showing diverse banding and color patterns across its range.

Mexican Burrowing Python

Mexican Burrowing Python

A rare, primitive burrowing snake from Mexico and Central America, the sole member of its own family and a close relative of true pythons.

Black-headed Centipede-eater

Black-headed Centipede-eater

A small, secretive African burrower named for its glossy black head and its diet of centipedes.

Himalayan Keelback

Himalayan Keelback

A small mountain-dwelling colubrid found along streams and moist habitats in the Himalayan foothills.

Florida Kingsnake

Florida Kingsnake

A regional kingsnake of the Florida peninsula, exhibiting a variable pattern often intermediate between banded and blotched forms.

Speckled Kingsnake

Speckled Kingsnake

A glossy black kingsnake speckled with small yellow spots on nearly every scale, giving it a salt-and-pepper appearance.

Short-Tailed Kingsnake

Short-Tailed Kingsnake

A small, secretive Florida endemic with a slender body and reduced tail, rarely seen due to its burrowing habits.

California Lyresnake

California Lyresnake

A slender, rock-dwelling nocturnal snake with cat-like vertical pupils and a lyre-shaped head marking.

Transcaucasian Ratsnake

Transcaucasian Ratsnake

A small, secretive ratsnake of the Caucasus and surrounding mountains, closely related to the Aesculapian snake but with a much smaller range and size.

Bockadam

Bockadam

A common brackish-water snake of Asian mangroves and estuaries, feeding mainly on fish and known for its dog-like snout.

False Fer-de-lance

False Fer-de-lance

A harmless colubrid widely known for mimicking dangerous fer-de-lance pit vipers through dramatic head-flattening displays.

Steppe Ratsnake

Steppe Ratsnake

A widespread, cold-tolerant ratsnake of the Eurasian steppe and taiga edges, ranging farther north than almost any other ratsnake species.

San Luis Potosi Kingsnake

San Luis Potosi Kingsnake

A boldly banded Mexican highland kingsnake with striking red, black, and cream tricolor rings.