What Kinds Of Snakes Live In Illinois?\

There are four kinds of native poisonous snakes that can be found in Illinois:, the Copperhead, the Eastern Massasauga Swamp Rattler, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Water Moccasin or Cottonmouth.

These four are the least likely to be encountered of the many snake species that live in the rural areas of Illinois, the copperhead only being found in the Ssouthern half of the state in the rocky wooded hillsides while the water moccasin is only in the extreme south along big rivers or swamps.  The timber rattler is found in the wilder parts along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers while the massasauga is uncommon but found in prairie or swamp regions.

All of these are pit vipers with distinctive eyes containing slit-shaped pupils and a pit between the eyes and snout, none of the other Illinois snakes will have this. It is worth being able to identify the harmless snakes that live in Illinois. The prairie king snake is between 30 and 40 inches long and lives in grassy flatlands. The Great Plains rRatsnake is similar but with a paler skin while there are also Western Fox snakes which are also a close relation. Redbelly snakes can be indentifiedidentified by their red belly while Eastern Garter snakes have lengthwise stripes. Seven of the species that live in Illinois are amphibians, the cottonmouth being the only venomous one.

Western ribbon snake

Go to this site: www.inhs.illinois.edu which will provide you with a list, by scientific name and common name, of every species of reptile and amphibian known to exist naturally in that state.  The list of snakes is near the bottom of the page.  If you click on the scientific name on the left side, you will be taken to a page that shows a picture of the snake, and the counties in the state where it's found, as well as a general description of the animal, including whether or not that species has Endangered and protected status.