Southern California Snakes

I thought it would be interesting to have some statistics and information on Snakes in Southern California so that everyone is informed as to the types of snakes they might encounter while hiking on wilderness trails in Southern California. The information below is from Southern California Snake Removal Inc. Be mindful of your surroundings when hiking, however given the statistics, snakes don't pose too much of a danger.

According to an Orange County Register Article in the United States there are 8,000 cases of venomous snake bites a year with only between 10 - 15 being fatal. Click on the link above, to view the rest of the article it is worth a read. According to the Western Journal of Medicine, rattlesnake bites occur in only one out of 75,000 people per year.

Southern California is known to have an estimated 33 native snake species. Out of these 33 species, only six of the species are venomous.

The Six Venomous Snakes are as Follows:

Red Diamondback Rattlesnake (Hemo Toxic Venom).

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Hemo Toxic Venom with some Nero Toxic Properties).

Sidewinder (HemoToxic Venom).

Mojave Green Rattlesnake (Nero Toxic Venom).

Speckled Rattlesnake (Hemo Toxic Venom).

Mojave Green X Southern Pacific Hybrid Rattlesnake (Nero / Hemo Toxic Venom).

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Hemo Toxic Venom).

The following local snakes are linked to different sites which will give you photographs of what the species of snake you clicked on looks like. Most of the following links and pictures are from the Western Ecological Research Center.

Common Non-Venomous Coastal Snakes:

California Desert King

Western Ringneck Snake

California Mountain King

Night Snake

Gopher Snake

Western Blind Snake

California Glossy Snake

Coastal Rosy Boa

Red Racer, Coachwhip

Southern Rubber Boa

Striped Racer

Yellow Bellied Racer

Western Long–Nosed Snake

Coast Patch Nosed Snake

Black-Headed Snake

Mountain Garter Snake

Two Striped Garter Snake

Red Sided Garter Snake

Lyre