What American State Doesn't Have Poisonous Snakes?

Rare non-poisonous garter snake (Thamnophis spp.) sightings at the southern tip of Alaska are believed to have involved nothing more menacing than tourists. The chilly adventurers were probably southbound after finding accommodations somewhat hostile in the state that’s too cold for snake survival. Because Alaska law permits possession of captive nonvenomous reptiles, escapees could possibly show up when the weather breaks.

Hawaii’s single native poisonous snake species only visits landlubbers accidentally. The yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) lives life completely on open oceans. When occasionally beached by currents, the animal’s tapered belly doesn’t allow it to crawl. Hawaii law prohibits possession of snakes, and the state is serious about it. The only serpents permitted are a government zoo’s two nonvenomous exhibition specimens, and four sterile brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) that the government uses for training snake detection dogs.

Once plentiful in New England and ranging south to Georgia, timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) may no longer occur in Maine. Due to loss of habitat coupled with wanton human destruction, it is suspected that the species may have become extinct in Rhode Island and Maine. All New England states protect this animal to some degree.