Reptiles & Amphibians

The black rat snake is a non-venomous snake with a long, black body and white belly. It can be found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from the mountains to the shoreline.

The broad-headed skink is the largest skink in the Chesapeake Bay region. It gets its name from the large, swollen jowls males develop as they mature.

The copperhead snake is one of only a few venomous snakes found in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, although it is rarely lethal to humans.

The diamondback terrapin, Maryland’s official state reptile, is an aquatic turtle with distinctive diamond-shaped rings covering its shell. It lives in and around the Chesapeake Bay’s brackish tidal waters, including rivers and marshes.

The eastern box turtle is a terrestrial reptile found primarily in woodlands across the Chesapeake watershed.

The eastern garter snake is a common terrestrial snake known for the three white or yellow stripes that run down the length of its back. 

The five-lined skink is a small reptile with five distinctive stripes running along the length of its body. It can be found in damp forested areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Kemp’s ridley is a critically endangered sea turtle with creamy skin and grey/olive limbs. It feeds on blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer.

The loggerhead turtle is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle, with a heart-shaped, reddish brown shell. It can be found in the Chesapeake Bay from May to November.

The northern water snake is a non-venomous aquatic snake that lives in lakes, swamps, streams and other waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The rainbow snake is a beautifully colored, non-venomous snake that lives in streams, swamps and marshes in southern Maryland and eastern Virginia.

The red-bellied cooter is an aquatic turtle with a dark, highly domed shell and a distinctive red belly. It can be found basking along the edge of ponds, streams and rivers throughout the Potomac River and in coastal portions of Maryland and Virginia.

The rough green snake is a non-venomous snake with a long, slender, bright green body. It lives in leafy trees and shrubs in thickly vegetated areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

The spotted turtle is a small semi-aquatic species known for the bright yellow spots that dot its dark shell. The species is listed as threatened in several states.