There are 37 species of snakes in North Carolina and seven are venomous. There are basically three families of snakes in North Carolina. The first to consider is the non-venomous Colubridae, which includes the garter snakes, king snakes and rat snakes. These snakes are technically harmless. They don’t have a potent venom that could hurt a person or pet.
The Elapidae is the fixed, front fang venomous snake family. Cobras are in this family, but we don’t have cobras in North Carolina. We do have the coral snake, but only in the most southeastern part of the state. They’re small and generally not very aggressive, but they’re pretty toxic.
Then we have the Viperidae. These would be the cottonmouths, copperheads and rattlesnakes. The big problem snake for most people in this state is the copperhead. They are venomous. They can be aggressive to dogs, cats and people if you get in their way. And they blend in well. If you step on one, it’s probably going to try and bite you. It’s common, but the good news is it’s rarely fatal to people and pets.
With that being said, most people can take a picture of a snake and research the type and whether it is venomous or not, I have collected pictures and descriptions so you can reference these to help you in identification of these snakes.
Laura Goguet
Community Manager
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