Common Snake Species in Louisville

Black Rat Snake: Also referred to as the Pantherophis obsoletus or the western rat snake, the black rat snake is a large non-venomous snake. It usually grows up to 6 feet in length (180 cm). As the name suggests, the black rat snake has a very dark color on its back, which contrasts with the white-ish lips and underside. They can become fairly aggressive when threatened. They favor heavily wooded areas, and are constrictors, meaning they squeeze the life out of their victims (pretty much any small vertebrate).





Broad-Banded Water Snake: Officially the Nerodia fasciata confluens, the banded water snake is an aquatic type of non-venomous snake. It usually grows up to around 40 inches (or just over 100 cm) and usually has a dark grayish color, with even darker crossbands. Sometimes, the base color and the crossbands are indistinguishable from one another. Its appearance sadly means it’s often mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth and subsequently killed. The broad-banded water snake usually feeds on fish and frogs and interestingly enough, gives birth to live snakes (rather than eggs).



Brown Snake: The brown snake (Storeria dekayi) is, as its name suggests, a deeply dark, earthy-colored snake, with the base ranging from brown to gray and the back being dotted by small black spots. The brown snake is a very small serpent, with the fully-grown adult usually not measuring more than 12 inches (30 cm). Because of its small size, the brown snake often is preyed upon by larger snakes. Their diet mainly consists of snails and slugs, with their jaws having a special ability to actually remove the snail from its hard shell. #