Reptile and Amphibian Conservation

Snakes are common across Georgia, even in urban and suburban areas. As development and population growth continue in Georgia, encounters between humans and snakes will increase.

Georgia is fortunate to have among the highest biodiversity of snakes in the United States with 43 species. Snakes can be found from the mountains of northern Georgia to the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast. The rich diversity of snake species makes Georgia ideal for observing and learning about snakes.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, at least 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers some degree of snake fear. Regardless of the cause, extreme fear is unnecessary. Snakes are not under every rock or behind every tree; encounters are relatively infrequent. Typically, the more people learn about snakes, the less they fear them. By learning about species identification and distribution as well as the fascinating natural history of these reptiles, you will greatly reduce your fear of Georgia's snakes and enjoy the outdoors more.

Click here [1] for the PDF version of a snakes fact sheet.

Want to learn more? Download our "Venomous Snakes of Georgia" brochure. PDFs of the tri-fold publication are posted in high resolution [2] (4.4MB), low resolution [3] (2.1MB) and this version [4] for printing on both sides of two pages.

Also check out the Snakes of Georgia and South Carolina [5] website, produced with The University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. This site provides information about the biology of snakes, as well as information and photographs useful for identifying the snake species of Georgia and South Carolina.