Overall there are 31 species of nonvenomous snakes in North Carolina and six species of venomous snakes, five of the venomous snakes are vipers and the other one is the Eastern coral snake. There are various types of nonvenomous snakes that live in North Carolina. That basically divided up into the following types: the first type are classed as water snakes, and belong to the Nerodia genus. These snakes live in freshwater wherever it can be found, the main difference between a nonvenomous freshwater snake and a venomous freshwater Charlotte snake is the way they swim, nonvenomous snakes swim with their bodies underwater whereas the more dangerous cousins swim on the water's surface.



The next most common type of snake in North Carolina that is not venomous are King snakes, King snakes are most famous for eating other snakes including venomous species and their own kind. The Scarlet King snake, also known as milk snake mimics the venomous coral snakes markings but you can't tell them apart, the King snakes markings are red-black-yellow configuration while the Charlotte coral snake sports a red-yellow-black configuration.

Another nonvenomous species common in North Carolina are whip snakes, even though there is only one actual whip snake resident in North Carolina its range is quite large, whip snakes are unique in the hunting methods they employ, growing up to 8 feet long they raise their heads as high as they can then use their excellent eyesight to find their prey.

Another common species of snake in North Carolina is garter snakes, this species is also very common in North Carolina and it mostly likes to live with humans or in an urban environment, it especially likes garden areas, most people have seen one of the two most common garter snakes, either an Eastern garter snake or an Eastern ribbon snake around their houses. These Charlotte snakes have a unique defense mechanism in that when they feel threatened they will emit a foul odor from a special set of glands near the anus.

The last type of nonvenomous snake you'll commonly see in North Carolina are the hognose snakes, these snakes have upturned snouts giving them a similar appearance to pigs which is how they got there common name. North Carolina has two of the species of snake, the Eastern hognose and the southern hognose. The Eastern version lives throughout the state but southern version generally live only on the coastal plains, the main prey of the snakes is toads, so they are considered a very helpful species, they have powerful teeth at the rear of their mouths which help them crush their prey.

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