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Countries with NO Snakes

Guess the countries of the world that have no native, terrestrial snake species.
Quiz by skukka
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Last updated: December 12, 2017
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First submittedJanuary 27, 2017
Times taken62,361
Average score44.4%
Rating4.52
1:30
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Africa
Cape Verde
Europe
Iceland
Ireland
Vatican City
Oceania
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Nauru
New Zealand
Tuvalu
105 Recent Comments
+44
Level 88
Dec 12, 2017
I'd argue Vatican City. There may not be any snakes there right at this moment but at any given time one could make its way there from Italy. Unless I'm mistaken, Vatican City shares infrastructure with Rome. A snake could make it there as easy as a tourist walking from the Pantheon to St. Peter's Square. Hell, the Tiber is within throwing distance.
+90
Level 74
Dec 12, 2017
In 1756, Pope Innocent IV officialy declared that "there are no snakes", so that's that.
+27
Level 45
Dec 12, 2017
He called in St Patrick, patron saint of ophiophobics.
+44
Level 68
Apr 24, 2018
Remember when the Catholic church declared that beavers were fish so they could be eaten on Fridays? I'm not sure I trust the Pope when it comes to biology. ;)
+10
Level 77
Apr 24, 2018
As the snake, to Christians, represented pagan beliefs maybe he was speaking metaphorically? St Patrick is credited with having been mainly responsible for introducing Christianity to Ireland and so was also credited with having banished the "snakes".
+6
Level 60
May 20, 2020
Sulfuratus, I don't know if you're reading this right now, but in the Bible, the Hebrew word used for "fish" means something closer to any animal that inhabits the water. That's why bats and locusts are in one portion translated as "birds", when in English it doesn't really make much sense. So what they were actually doing is assuring people that they could eat beavers, just like we can eat any marine animal, not just biological fish.
+3
Level 79
Apr 6, 2023
Beavers are aquatic, not marine.
+3
Level 65
Aug 28, 2024
What is your point? Marine and aquatic are both relating to water. There hasn't been anything in these comments referring to salt water specifically, which is what marine refers to.
+1
Level 93
Apr 9, 2022
So why doesn’t god mind people eating marine animals on a Friday then?
+1
Level 42
May 8, 2021
Can't imagine snakes just willy-nilly slithering on the streets of Rome, a big metropolitan city. It's as unlikely as stumbling upon a snake on 5th Avenue or Times Square in NYC. There's the Hudson river too, and Central Park, but still no.
+5
Level 85
Jun 10, 2024
??? I'm almost certain there are tons of snakes in the parks, gardens, sewers, rivers etc. of New York City. And probably in various gutters along the sides of streets, too. Little garter snakes, etc.

Same would almost certainly go for Rome.

I live in a large-ish city, and see them in the bushes behind my housing complex all the time.

+1
Level 78
Sep 9, 2024
As a person who lives (and has lived his whole life) in a very large city, larger than Rome, I have never seen a snake here. Nor in any other large city I've been in.
+19
Level 73
Dec 12, 2017
For me this quiz needs masses more time. I only know one country that has no snakes (I live in it) the rest is a process of elimination. 90 seconds doesn't leave much time for the dozens of potential answers
+10
Level 76
Dec 12, 2017
I missed 2 of the countries. And I knew one right as I ran out of time. I don't think it needs any more time, there's enough quizzes where you can type in half the world and get them answers. If you are clever about it there isn't that many countries you need to guess.
+7
Level 92
Dec 12, 2017
Yeah, basically islands and the tricky one.
+5
Level 73
Dec 13, 2017
You must b able to type a lot faster than me, I was less than half way through the islands when I ran out of time.
+2
Level 28
Apr 24, 2018
There's a subreddit on Reddit that this comment would be perfect for.
+2
Level 90
May 19, 2020
the only ones I knew going in were iceland and ireland. I agree about the Vatican, it's just a neighborhood of Rome and I guarantee there are snakes in Rome, at least as pets
+3
Level 68
Dec 15, 2017
I think the percentages support the argument that it needs more time, too.
+11
Level 62
Apr 24, 2018
Quizzes aren't designed for everyone to get 100%.
+3
Level 91
Jul 2, 2018
@MisterDuhn The girls must be impressed with how quick you are. I thought quizzes were to see how much knowledge you hold and to learn. Nobody's keeping track here for a competitive hiring process involving how rapidly someone can rattle off cocoa producing nations or to name the archdukes of the First World War.
+2
Level 73
May 20, 2020
Yea if you only know 2 you only know two, you don't need enough extra time to be able to type all the countries in the world, that kind of defeats the purpose of the quiz. You do need time to be able to make a few educated guesses imo, and I think it allows for that.
+3
Level 32
Apr 24, 2018
I think one more minute would work. There should be some time to think about it but not enough to just type half the countries in the world. Like when it endedI just thought of the pacific islands countries but didn't have the chance to try them.
+2
Level 78
Dec 12, 2017
Tough quiz. The island nations would've been complete guesses for me aside from Nauru, which I guessed because it's so small.
+4
Level 71
Dec 12, 2017
Should've known they were all islands nations (excluding VC of course).
+9
Level 61
Dec 13, 2017
Is there any pattern to which islands have snakes? Or is it pure chance, such as a sea snake being blown by storms and ending up in Maldives?
+1
Level 78
Dec 13, 2017
It says, "native snake species." If, at one point all snakes were removed from Vatican City, then no snakes there would be native. They are all migratory from Italy.
+1
Level 73
May 20, 2020
If the species got evicted they would still be native if they were to crawl back, being banned does not change your roots ;)
+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2024
You put a winky face but that's just how it is, I don't think the commenter knows what a "species" is
+3
Level 89
Dec 13, 2017
Yeah, I've always been worried about all those dangerous native Liechtenstein snakes!
+1
Level 12
Dec 13, 2017
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but since NZ is right next to Australia, you'd think there would be some variety of native snake
+21
Level 58
Dec 13, 2017
NZ is hardly next to Australia. It's +2000 km (~1350 mi) from Australia to NZ. I don't see many snakes swimming the distance just for the hell of it. It would be more possible (but as unlikely) for the snakes to swim to Ireland from the UK.
+8
Level 48
Dec 14, 2017
only time NZ get snakes is when they hitch a ride on a plane or boat. makes the news every time :)
+2
Level 54
Jul 18, 2021
New Zealand should be very happy that they have the Tasman Sea. Australia has some dangerous ones!
+11
Level 70
Apr 24, 2018
Think about this: if New Zealand had snakes, than it wouldn't be the homeland of all its weird wingless birds! They literally forgot how to fly because there were no predators to treat them!!! :D
+2
Level 73
May 20, 2020
I would say the birds would be the treat for the snakes ;)
+1
Level 73
May 20, 2020
Btw I have this image now of some predators and birds sitting in a circle with some beers and snacks haha, predators treat!

Around a little fire ofcourse, maybe a movie projected ;) Sounds fun ( as long as the treats weren't to fatten them up, and they would end as main course at the end of the night!)

+5
Level 68
Apr 24, 2018
Australia has the most poisonous animals, and New Zealand has none! I love camping here!
+1
Level 58
Apr 24, 2018
I would love to go camping there some time, but it's a loong, loong way to go for a camping trip (to the other side of the earth to be exact).
+1
Level 75
Apr 24, 2018
Do you have mosquitoes or buffalo gnats/black flies?
+1
Level 75
Apr 24, 2018
we do have mosquitoes. I don't know what buffalo gnats are, but as well as mosquitoes we have a much more common biting insect called sandflies.
+1
Level 75
May 19, 2020
My definition of paradise is a place with no venomous snakes (I like nonvenomous ones), no mosquitoes or other biting insects, no highly-venomous spiders, and low humidity. Does such a place exist? (besides Antarctica)
+1
Level 79
Apr 6, 2023
There are millions of places like that. How big does it have to be?
+1
Level 85
Jun 10, 2024
I mean, mosquitoes are pretty much everywhere on Earth, so that one right there rules out almost everywhere.

Except Antarctica, as you point out, and Iceland.

Iceland has most of the things you mention, other than the humidity. Because most of the inhabited parts of Iceland are right along the coast, humidity tends to be fairly high. Although I suppose you could go a bit inland and only come out to the towns when you need to do shopping etc.

I used to live in an inland city on the Arabian Peninsula (specifically, Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, tho' there are plenty of other similar ones), and it ticked most of your boxes. There are mosquitoes there, but they're not very prevalent, and you don't really notice them at all 99% of the time.

+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2024
Iceland has biting insects though, midges
+1
Level 35
Jul 9, 2019
Waters are colder in NZ ... no snakes here ... we do though have the odd Aussie Mossie, and spider who have migrated to NZ .. not saying Aussie's are odd at all!
+2
Level 80
Sep 3, 2023
New Zealand's origin is volcanic. It was never part of the continents. Australia was once attached to other continents.
+4
Level 20
Apr 24, 2018
i don't know about you guys but i'm about to drop off a few snakes to these places
+1
Level 93
Apr 9, 2022
Tee hee! I’ve already released a pair of garter snakes behind St Peters…
+2
Level 68
Aug 28, 2024
Don't try it in NZ, we hate people who do that
+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2024
Say "Haere rā" to your Kiwis, bro >:)
+3
Level 73
Apr 25, 2018
No snakes in Ireland or New Zealand? A bit surprising!
+3
Level 60
Feb 15, 2020
There's a legend that St. Patrick banished all the snakes, so them having no snakes kinda seeped into popular consciousness
+5
Level 68
Apr 25, 2018
To all these countries I would like to offer some of our lovely Australian snakes. We have plenty to share.
+4
Level 43
Apr 25, 2018
Thank you St Patrick for clearing my little island of all those buggers
+1
Level 37
Apr 25, 2018
Why NO In Capitals? AFRICA NO SNAKES?
+2
Level 73
Apr 25, 2018
I guess I won't be traveling to Cape Verde any time soon.
+12
Level 81
May 19, 2020
Why? Are you a snake?
+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2024
Bro wants some hot African snakes
+2
Level 20
Apr 27, 2018
just to let you know that northern Ireland has no snakes and is a country on its own it might be part of Ireland but it is still a country without snakes.
+3
Level 86
Jun 10, 2019
It's part of the UK, which has snakes.
+2
Level 38
Jan 30, 2022
26+6=1
+2
Level 79
May 19, 2020
Country = fully sovereign state in most contexts, including this.
+1
Level 74
Apr 27, 2018
brb movin'
+1
Level 91
Jul 2, 2018
No snakes in Vatican toilets? Oh wait, that's supposed to be alligators.
+2
Level 74
Nov 6, 2018
New Zealand has no snakes? That's surprising, because Australia has so many snakes, and some of them are sea snakes that could travel to New Zealand.
+3
Level 86
Jun 10, 2019
As someone pointed out above, it's over 2,000km between the two.
+2
Level 70
May 19, 2020
New Zealand do have sea snakes, they have been reported many times north of Auckland. Usually the Yellow Bellied Sea Snake.
+1
Level 67
Aug 30, 2024
Either not native or technically not in the country itself
+3
Level 37
Nov 26, 2018
Does Monaco have snakes??
+9
Level 73
Dec 3, 2018
Yep, especially at the baccarat tables.
+1
Level 63
Jan 20, 2020
I was so focused on isolated island countries that I missed Vatican City. Didn't even think about it.
+2
Level 60
Feb 15, 2020
Vatican City is kind of a stretch. The description says that it measures native species, and there are snakes native to Italy in the area around Rome. Does this list not count places with snakes expelled by human actions? If it simply counts the presence of snakes, then places with invasive populations of snakes wouldn't be included. Here's a source I found on the spread of snakes: https://www.popsci.com/places-with-no-snakes/
+1
Level 55
May 19, 2020
Short but one of the most difficult quiz here on JetPunk.
+2
Level 81
May 19, 2020
I didn't realize that Saint Patrick had been so successful. And I also dispute the Vatican. A veritable nest of vipers that place is. Plus... I assume any snake native to Italy could potentially be found in the Vatican. Kind of silly to say it's not "native" just because the area is so small and has been paved over... maybe they were temporarily displaced and came back, did they lose their native status in that interval? I guess. maybe.
+2
Level 79
May 19, 2020
I'm pretty sure the Vatican is full of SNAKES
+2
Level 42
May 19, 2020
How did only 65% get Ireland? St. Patrick's Day?
+1
Level 67
May 19, 2020
Yeah, I really facepalmed when I saw that answer.
+1
Level 73
May 20, 2020
I think many people in the world (including me) have no idea what st Patrick's day is about. (Besides obviously ireland and UK, no idea about the US). And think about people drinking and stuff coloured green. That is the main image you get from a country where it isnt celebrated.

I actually did know there were no snakes ireland and that it was supposedly been the work of a saint, don't think I knew they were talking about thát st Patrick. (and somehow I always mix up the one that got rid of the snakes with the one that slayed a dragon, st George ( we call him Joris)

+1
Level 24
May 19, 2020
Love this game, can I be informed about the sources of your answers?
+1
Level 73
May 20, 2020
The source is allready given, it is in the description
+2
Level 48
May 21, 2020
How can you say that Vatican City doesn't have snakes when Italy has 19 different species, do they have snake checkpoints at the border to stop them from entering?
+1
Level 40
May 21, 2020
There are no native snakes. Meaning no type of snake originated in that country. I was surprised that the other small countries weren't on the list.
+1
Level 40
May 21, 2020
lol how did I guess san marino and not vatican city?
+1
Level 63
Jun 1, 2020
Why did I guess Indonesia?
+1
Level 30
Aug 11, 2020
What snakes are in the UK?
+3
Level 84
Jun 23, 2021
Adders, grass snakes.
+1
Level 75
Sep 16, 2022
And smooth snakes
+1
Level 59
Dec 17, 2020
How are there not snakes in Ireland???
+2
Level 80
Dec 17, 2021
I believe St. Patrick killed them all on Whacking Day.
+2
Level 41
May 30, 2021
New Zealand is so far from world problems
+1
Level 72
Jul 20, 2022
2.2% of people getting 100% is pretty low compared to a lot of other quizzes
+1
Level 79
Apr 6, 2023
Just for the record, despite the fun story, St Patrick did not perform some miraculous feat of biology (or any other kind) to rid Ireland of snakes. They never lived there to begin with.
+2
Level 71
Mar 14, 2024
I’d like for someone to take me to Palau and show me what kinds of snakes they have there.
+2
Level 85
Jun 10, 2024
I mean, it's not hard to quickly Google this on the internet...

https://animalia.bio/lists/country/snakes-of-palau

+2
Level 31
May 23, 2024
Hi, can I translate the Quiz to German?
+2
Level 68
Aug 28, 2024
Need to learn the alphabet. Clearly, you've meant to do this in alphabetical order yet you've put New Zealand before Nauru which threw me off.
+1
Level 83
Aug 28, 2024
I came here to mention the alphabetizing error as well.
+1
Level 44
Aug 28, 2024
ima bring some snakes to vatican and then ireland and other places
+1
Level 44
Aug 28, 2024
surely in some listed places snakes are pets right?
+1
Level 55
Aug 28, 2024
Caveat says native, terrestrial snake species, not imported domesticated ones. Noting off of this caveat, you can assume that a high majority of these countries would be islands.
+1
Level 65
Aug 28, 2024
It's Whacking Day!
+1
Level 52
Aug 28, 2024
Can you put New Zealand and Nauru in alphabetical order, I was trying to work out what the country before Nauru could be lol
+1
Level ∞
Aug 28, 2024
Yes
+1
Level 57
Sep 16, 2024
How am I just learning that New Zealand does not have any snakes?????????????