Abstract Snake conservation in Colombia is limited by the lack of information on ecological aspects and distribution ranges, particularly at the departmental level. Herein, we analyzed the state of knowledge of snakes in the department of Tolima, based on a thorough review of literature, and biological collection databases. We found 91 species documented either in literature (82) or museum collections (67). 24 species reported in literature are not supported by specimens in collections and nine species in museum collections don’t have been documented in the literature. We found a large gap in snake occurrence records throughout the department. Remarkably, 48 species reported for the department are outside of their current accepted distribution emphasizing the need of ID corroboration. There are only 35 snake species that have all the necessary information to corroborate their presence in the department, showing the need for a more thorough taxonomic effort to clearly define the actual snake richness. These results serve as a basis for future research and reflect the need to join efforts to characterize and understand the ophidian fauna of the department of Tolima and across Colombia.