The four venomous snakes in Tennessee are: the northern copperhead, timber rattlesnake, western cottonmouth and western pygmy rattlesnake. All four of these snakes are known as pit vipers, due to the groove between their eyes. The western pygmy and timber rattlesnakes shake the rattles at the end of their tail when they feel threatened. Humans may find these snakes in a variety of habitats such as aquatic (western cottonmouth and northern copperhead) and grasslands (western pygmy and timber rattlesnakes). The Herpetological Society of Tennessee claims the northern copperhead is responsible for most venomous snake bites in Tennessee.
In the Volunteer State, water snakes include the Mississippi green, northern, northern diamond-backed, copperbelly and broad-banded water snakes. The copperbelly water snake is considered a threatened species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Some nonvenomous water snakes have similar physical characteristics to venomous snakes, such as the northern diamond-backed water snake and the diamond-backed rattlesnake. However, nonvenomous water snakes swim with most of the body submerged, while venomous water snakes---cottonmouths and copperheads---swim with their entire bodies above water.
King snakes are protected by Tennessee law and are among the largest snake species in the state. This snake species is known for eating other snakes---including other king snakes---small rodents, reptiles, birds, bird eggs and frogs. The list of king snakes in Tennessee include the eastern milksnake, scarlet kingsnake, speckled kingsnake and the prairie kingsnake. The eastern milksnake and scarlet kingsnake, found in eastern Tennessee, have color patterns similar to the venomous coral snake, which is not native to Tennessee. However, these two snakes have red-black-yellow or white patterns, while coral snakes feature red-yellow-black patterns.
Although Tennessee has only three species of garter snakes, these snakes are among the most widely found species. They receive their name from their stripes, which resemble women's garters, or socks. Garter snakes are ovoviviparous, meaning they hatch eggs rather than giving live birth. Tennessee's garter snakes include the common garter snake, eastern ribbon snake and western ribbon snake. Garter snakes omit a musky odor to defend themselves from human and potential predators.