This page is for recognizing snakes from well back, and then leaving them alone.
Learning the markings is for knowing when to leave the area. It is never a reason to get closer.
Oklahoma is home to 46 native snake species. Only seven of them — about 15% — are venomous and potentially harmful to humans.
Most snakes are harmless. They have no venom and are often docile. Distance is still the rule for every snake.
All seven of Oklahoma's venomous snakes are pit vipers. The seven are:
Venomous snakes in Oklahoma generally have a more triangular-shaped head, and slit-shaped pupils instead of the round pupils of nonvenomous Oklahoma snakes.
Important: You would have to be far too close to a snake to check its pupils. Never get close enough to try.
Use pattern, shape, and location from well back. Treat any snake you cannot identify as one to leave alone.
These cards describe markings only, so you can recognize a snake from well back and leave the area.
Usually 1–3 feet long. It has hourglass-shaped bands that wrap around the body, alternating light to darker tan or brown.
Young copperheads may have a yellow or green tip on the tail, which goes away as the snake matures.
One of the hardest to identify, because its colors vary — earth colors, red or brown, with grayish banding.
It is named for the white lining of its mouth, visible when it is being defensive.
A dark band on the face running behind the eye helps tell it from other water snakes.
Found in the eastern part of Oklahoma, generally around water.
A common myth: It is commonly believed every water snake is a venomous “water moccasin.” That is not accurate. Several water snake species live in Oklahoma, and only one, the western cottonmouth, is venomous.
The biggest of Oklahoma's five rattlesnakes.
Interlocking diamond shapes on its back, and alternating dark and light bands on the tail.
Despite the name, it does not always have a rattle.
Can be gray with black bands and an orange stripe down the back, or gold with black bands and a gold stripe down the back. Either way, it ends in a black tail.
Look for a black band close to the rattle and light stripes down the sides of its face. Those two marks stay constant while other colors vary.
Very uncommon through most of the state. Small and gray, with black spots and a red stripe running the length of its back.
Its rattle is easy to mistake for the sound of a bug or mosquito.
A row of dark brown blotches running the length of its back, with three smaller rows of lighter-colored blotches along each side.
Leave the area and allow the snake to escape.
The same goes for any snake you are not sure about.
Seek medical attention right away if bitten by a venomous snake.
Do not try to treat the bite yourself.
Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension — “How to ID a Venomous Snake” (extension.okstate.edu)
Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension — Fact Sheet F-9010, “Introduction to the Snakes of Oklahoma”
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) — venomous snakes poster (wildlifedepartment.com)