There are 11 native species of snakes in Puerto Rico. Most snakes in Puerto Rico are nonvenomous and harmless except the Puerto Rican racer. In this article, we will give detailed information and share our research on all the snakes in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is home to 11 snake species. However, only the Puerto Rican Racer is the vicious one, and the nonvenomous ones are the Puerto Rican Boa, Richard’s Blind Snake, Flat-headed Blindsnake, Blind Snake, Puerto Rican Wetland, Mona Blind Snake, Grant’s Blind Snake, Mona Boa, Coastal Blindsnake, Puerto Rican Garter Snake.
Venomous Snakes In Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican Racer
Scientific Name: Culebra Corredora
Lifespan: The Puerto Rican racer can live up to 20 years.
Length: the Puerto Rican racer can grow to 70 to 150 cm tall.
The Puerto Rican Racer is the only venomous Snake in Puerto Rico. However, their venom is not strong enough to instantly kill a human, but it has its side effects, which can be bad sometimes. The Puerto Rican racer snake is native to Puerto Rico. They are diurnal and are mostly found roaming on trees of the El Yunkee national forest. They can easily be recognized by looking at their color and length.
The Puerto Rican racer snake is brown with scales dark brown or sometimes white from the edges. They can easily be recognized by looking at their color and length. Their mating season starts in May or early June. Female Puerto Rican racer snakes lay up to 8 to 11 eleven eggs in one litter. Their diet consists of the following:
- Small Birds
- Small Rabbits
- Insects
- Lizards
- Frogs
- Squirrels
Nonvenomous Snakes In Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican boa Snake
Scientific Name: Chilabothrus inornatus
Lifespan: The Puerto Rican boa Snake can live up to 18 to 20 years in the wild and 20 to 30 years in captivity.
Length: The Puerto Rican boa Snake can grow up to 100 to 300 cm in length, which is bigger than normal human size.
Our research shows that the Puerto Rican boa snake is one of the most famous snakes in Puerto Rico. They are large nonvenomous snakes that are harmless to humans. They are endemic to Puerto Rico. They have thin bodies that are mostly musty grey and dark brown. The Puerto Rican boa Snake has a small head with pearl-like eyes and dark brown scales all over the head.
The Puerto Rican boa Snake is considered nocturnal, but our research shows they are sometimes seen hunting during the day. Even though they are nonvenomous, they are considered constrictors and kill their prey by clamping them to death. They are mostly seen living on trees, grasslands, and forests. Their diet consists of the following:
Richard’s Blind Snake
Scientific Name: Typhlops Richardii
Lifespan: Richard’s Blind Snakes can live up to 12 to 15 years in the wild and up to 15 to 18 years in captivity.
Length: Richard’s Blind Snake can grow up to 27 to 39 cm in height.
The Richard’s Blind Snakes are tiny snakes with eyes that don’t work and are covered by scales. These snakes are found in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. They are usually underground, hunting termites and ants. Richard’s Blind Snake appearance is similar to a worm. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Termites
- Small Lizards
- Flies
- Toads
Flat-Headed Blindsnake
Scientific Name: Indotyphlops bra minus
Lifespan: Flat-headed Blindsnake can live up to 8 to 12 years in the wild and up to 12 to 15 years in captivity.
Length: Flat-headed Blindsnake can grow up to 15 to 30 cm tall.
The Flat-headed Blindsnake is nonvenomous, grey and pink, similar to worms. They belong to the genus Anilios species and are endemic to Puerto Rico and Florida. Some people see them as earthworms, but they are not worms. They have small heads, and their eyes are small, like dots hidden under scales, which protect them from the soil and natural hazards because they are mostly found underground. The genus Flat-headed Blindsnake is small and thin with dark brown scales covering its whole body. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Termites
- Ant Eggs
- Lizard Eggs
Blind Snake
Scientific Name: Scolecophidia
Lifespan: The blind snakes can live up to 15 to 20 years
Length: The blind can grow up to 15 to 100 cm in height.
The blind snakes, mostly thread snakes, are nonvenomous and found in Puerto Rico and Florida. They are very similar to the Flat-Headed Blindsnake and Richard’s Blind Snake. The Blind snakes are known for their small hidden eyes under their scales, resulting in low visual capabilities. They mostly burrow and find small prey that easily fit in their jaw. The Blind snakes are usually brown with dark brown scales all over their body. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Termites
- Earthworms
- Lizard Eggs
Puerto Rican Wetland Snake
Scientific Name: Typhlops Rostellatus
Lifespan: The Puerto Rican Wetland Snakes can live up to 17 to 22 years.
Length: The Puerto Rican Wetland Snakes can grow up to 15 to 60 cm long.
The Puerto Rican Wetland Snakes are nonvenomous snakes from the Typhlopidae family and endemic to Puerto Rico. They have smooth bodies with small dark brown or black color all over their body. However, like other blind snakes, their eyes are not hidden under their scales. They are small snakes mostly found underground, inside rotten tree logs, and under leaves. The Puerto Rican Wetland Snake is diurnal, but our research shows that they have also been seen active during the night. Their diet consists of the following:
- Termites
- Ants
- Other Insects
- Small Lizards
- Ant Eggs
Mona Blind Snake
Scientific Name: Antillotyphlops Monensis
Lifespan: The Mona Blind snakes can live up to 15 to 20 years.
Length: They can grow up to 15 to 70 cm in height.
The Mona Blind snake is a nonvenomous and harmless snake endemic to only Mona Island. They come from the blind snake species. However, all blind snakes are small and known for burrowing. These small snakes are like worms but a little bigger. They have smooth scales all over their body which are grey, pink, or black. They live underground, in muddy areas, and sometimes under leaves. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Ant Eggs
- Lizards
- Snails
- Toads
Grant’s Blind Snake
Scientific Name: Antillotyphlops Granti
Lifespan: The Grant’s Blind Snake can live up to 10 to 16 years.
Length: The Grant’s Blind Snake can grow to 15 to 50 cm long.
Like all other blind snakes, Grant’s Blind snakes are small, harmless, nonvenomous snakes. They come from the family Typhlopidae and are only endemic to Puerto Rico. They are tiny snakes with small eyes covered by scales that help protect their eyes from natural hazards. However, they have low visual capabilities. The Grant’s blind snakes are thin and dark brown. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Snails
- Ant eggs
- Termites
- Flies
- Toads
- Earthworms
Mona Boa Snake
Scientific Name: Epicrates Monensis
Lifespan: The Mona Boa snake can live up to 17 to 20 years in the wild and up to 22 to 27 years in captivity.
Length: The Mona Boa snakes can grow up to 150 to 330 cm in height.
The Mona Boa snake is also known as the virgin Island Tree Boa. They come from the Boidae family and are native to West Indies. However, many Mona Boa snakes are also found on Mona Island, Puerto Rico. These snakes are harmless and nonvenomous. These snakes are light brown with dark brown markings all over their body. The Mona Boa snakes are very secretive and are considered nocturnal. They are very large and are mostly found living on trees and grasslands. Their mating season starts between May and June, and they lay up to 8 to 12 eggs in one litter. Their diet consists of the following:
- Birds
- Other Snakes
- Rabbits
- Insects
- Rodents
- Lizards
- Eggs
- Rodents
- Frogs
Coastal Blindsnake
Scientific Name: Antillotyphlops Hypomethes
Lifespan: The Costal Blindsanke can live up to 15 to 18 years.
Length: The Costal Blindsnake can grow 10 to 45 cm long.
The Coastal blindsnakes are nonvenomous snakes that come from the Typhlopidae family. They are mostly found in the coastal areas of Puerto Rico. These snakes have small heads with thin body that has black or dark brown scales all over them. Their bellies are mostly white. Their eyes are hidden under their scales to protect them from the soil, as they are very good at burrowing and usually live underground hunting prey. Their diet consists of the following:
- Insects
- Toads
- Termites
- Flies
- Bugs
- Ant Eggs
Puerto Rican Garter Snake
Scientific Name: Borikenophis portoricensis
Lifespan: The Puerto Rican Garter Snake can live up to 13 to 15 years in the wild and up to 15 to 20 years in captivity.
Length: The Puerto Rican Garter Snake can grow up to 30 to 35 cm in size.
The Puerto Rican Garter snakes are nonvenomous snakes from the Colubridae family. These snakes are native to Central and North America. However, they are also present in Puerto Rico in big amounts. They are small snakes and have dark brown bodies with dark markings all over them. Their mating season starts in early summer, and female Puerto Rican Garter snakes tend to lay around 10 to 30 eggs in one litter. They mostly live under rocks, rotten tree logs, and leaves. Their diet consists of the following:
FAQs
Are There Any Venomous Snakes In Puerto Rico?
There are 11 species of snakes in Puerto Rico. However, The Puerto Rican Racer is the only venomous Snake among them.
What Types Of Snakes are In Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is home to 11 snake species. However, most of the snakes are subspecies of the Blind Snake.
What Snake Is The Biggest In Puerto Rico?
The Puerto Rican Boa is considered one of the biggest snakes in Puerto Rico. The adult Puerto Rican Boa snakes grow up to 300 cm in length.
Conclusion
Our researchers found 11 snakes in Puerto Rico, but most were harmless, tiny, and nonvenomous snakes. However, only the Puerto Rican Racer is considered evil, but their venom is not strong enough to instantly kill a human. All snakes have different characteristics, habitats, mating seasons, and diets. This article gives a detailed guide on all 11 snake species in Puerto Rico.
Related Posts
- Snakes In Spain
- Snakes In Minnesota
- Snakes In Utah
- Snakes Of New Hampshire
- Snake Eggs Vs. Lizard Eggs – How To Differentiate?
- Solomon Island Tree Boa Snake – Best Quality Information
- Bamboo Rat Snakes – The Best Quality Guide
- Butter Corn Snake – Are They The Perfect Gift?
- How Often Do Ball Pythons Shed
- Blue-Eyed Leucistic Ball Python
