The pine snake is the area's largest species.
Fort Mill is a town in northern South Carolina's York County, close to the North Carolina border. The natural habitats in and around the town offer suitable homes for 24 different species of snake. These snakes are varied in appearance and size. Most of the snakes found in the area are harmless to humans, but a few are venomous and potentially dangerous.
Large Snakes
The area around Fort Mill is home to four large species of snake that can reach several feet in length. The largest is the stout-bodied pine snake, which grows to around 5 1/2 feet in length. Averaging 5 feet in length, both the black racer and black rat snakes are also found in the area. The northern water snake grows to around 4 1/2 feet in length and has a coloration that makes it look like the dangerous cottonmouth. However, it lacks the white coloring to the inside of the mouth that characterizes a cottonmouth.
Medium-Sized Snakes
Several of the snakes found around the area range between 2 to 4 feet in length and are more medium in size. The corn snake and eastern king snake both reach lengths of 4 feet, on average. The eastern king is black and white in color and the corn snake is reddish. The eastern hog-nose resembles a rattlesnake and grows to just under 4 feet long. The mole king snake is a light brown to reddish snake that grows to around 3 feet, as does the rough green snake. The slender-bodied eastern ribbon snake and eastern garter both grow to just over 2 feet.
Small Snakes
Most of the snakes found in the area tend to be small and slender, rarely growing longer than 2 feet. The southeastern crowned snake is the smallest at just 5 to 9 inches on average. Just slightly larger, at 10 inches on average, are the red-bellied snake, rough earth snake and smooth earth snake. Several snakes grow to just over a foot in length and include the worm snake, southern ring-neck snake, and the brown snake. The scarlet snake, and queen snake both grow to around 2 feet in length.
Venomous Snakes
The largest species of venomous snake found in the area is the timber rattlesnake, which grows to 5 feet. It is usually gray in color with darker mottled patterns. The copperhead is the next largest and grows to around 3 1/2 feet in length. It has a reddish-brown coloring with a distinctive copper-colored head. The smallest venomous snake is the diminutive, but still dangerous, pygmy rattlesnake. It grows to less than 2 feet in length and tends to be bluish-gray in color with darker mottled patterns.
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