There is no single list of common backyard snakes that fits all of Australia. A garden beside bushland in Queensland can have a different set of visitors from a suburban garden in southern Australia. Start with location, then use these profiles to compare possibilities.
Food and shelter can bring snakes into residential areas. Queensland’s snake questions guide notes that common tree snakes may hunt frogs around houses and gardens. The surroundings matter more than the fact that the sighting was in a backyard.
The profiles below contain a recorded garden habitat. Their inclusion does not rank how frequently people see them. If a snake needs removing, keep your distance and seek a local professional snake catcher.
Compare a snake by location and appearance · Browse all snake profiles
Selected from the catalogue garden habitat field. This is not a frequency ranking and not every species occurs in every backyard.
Photo: Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Morelia spilota
A patterned python that can live in woodland, gardens and buildings as well as less disturbed habitats. Brown and cream blotches are common, but some forms have much darker bodies with pale spots. The diamond python is included within this variable species.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Tropidonophis mairii
A small non-venomous snake often found around freshwater in northern and eastern Australia. Its grey or olive-brown body commonly carries broken dark bands. It closely resembles the venomous rough-scaled snake, so neither the waterside setting nor rough-looking scales proves an identification.
Non-venomous
Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pseudonaja textilis
An Eastern Brown Snake is not always brown. Adults can be tan, orange-brown or nearly black, while young snakes may have striking dark bands. A relatively small head and slender body are more useful clues than the name alone.
Highly venomous
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Dendrelaphis punctulatus
A very slender, agile snake with a long tail, often seen moving through gardens or low branches. Despite the name it may be olive, brown, black or even blue. Green colour is only one possible appearance of this non-venomous species.
Non-venomous
Photo: The original uploader was Figaro at English Wikipedia. · Public domain (Licence)
Elapidae
Pseudechis porphyriacus
A glossy black snake often seen around creeks, wetlands and farm dams in eastern Australia. Red or pink along the lower sides is a useful clue, but it can be hidden by the snake's position and is much paler in some northern animals.
Venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Cryptophis nigrescens
A glossy black snake of eastern Australia. Its pale to pinkish-red belly can resemble markings on other dark snakes, so colour alone is unreliable.
Highly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Notechis scutatus
Tiger snakes may be banded, faintly marked or completely plain. They are robust snakes associated with many southern wetlands, but also occur in drier habitats. A black snake in Tasmania, or one without stripes, can still be a tiger snake.
Highly venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Cacophis harriettae
The White-crowned Snake is a small dark snake of moist eastern Australian habitats. It has a broad white collar across the nape and a dark head.
Venomous
