Recognizing Deadly Snakes Before They Bite You

DeepseekerADS

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This is another tip courtesy of Jason Richards, The Family Survival Club:

Going camping or hiking is a great way to spend a weekend. You get to reconnect with Mother Nature, while escaping the stress and mayhem of the city. And while this activity is extremely pleasant, it has some risks.

Among them are animal attacks and while you can spot a bear or a moose from a distance, other animals may slip unnoticed and cause you life-threatening injury with nothing more than a bite.

Snakes have a really nasty reputation for sticking their heads (fangs and all) into other people business. In the U.S. 9-15 people die every year from snake bites, and while the numbers aren't that high, I'm sure you don't want to become part of that statistic.

That's why is important to know how to recognize snakes. If you do get bitten, you will be able to give the necessary information at the hospital so that they can administer the right anti-venom. Today I will show you X of the most common poisonous snakes in the US and tell you all you need to know about them.

1. Coral Snake

Looks: You can spot the quite easy because of their alternating, red, yellow, and black bands in this order. Remember it well because there are other snakes that have the same colors, but different patterns. Those snakes aren't poisonous, but take my advice: stay clear of any snake, just to be on the safe side.

Coral snakes are shorter than other venomous snakes. They average about 40 inches and have smaller mouths and fangs.

Habitat: They are usually found in dry areas with lots of shrub in southern and eastern U.S. Most of the time they stay hidden underground or under leaf litter. You'll see them more active after it rains or in the breeding season. Note that there's an aquatic species, so be careful where you go to cool off in the summer.

Temper: Unless threatened, they won't bite or act aggressive. But if they do decide to bite, they hold on and won't let go. This is due to the fact that their venom takes longer to deliver.

2. The Diamondback Rattlesnake

Looks: Different species of rattlesnakes have different colorings, but they all have 2 things in common: the diamond pattern and the rattle. Diamondbacks grow to about 3.5-5.5 ft. long. The ones found on the eastern part of the US grow even bigger, reaching 7 ft.

Habitat: You'll find them on the southern border of the United States from Florida to Baja California. You'll often find them basking in the sun's rays on a rock, so admire them from a far and move on without disturbing them. The eastern species have been known to climb and are excellent swimmers, so be careful.

Temper: They'll often stand their ground and can strike repeatedly from a distance up to 2/3 of their body size. The attacks are lightning fast so stay as far away as possible from them. Diamondbacks have one of the deadliest venoms and people have died within hours of being bitten.

3. The Mojave Rattlesnake

Looks: It's similar to the diamondback, only the overall coloration is green-greyish and it grows to 3.4-5 ft. long.

Habitat: As you might've guessed from its name, you can run across it primarily in the Mojave Desert. That's why be extra careful when you go to the Grand Canyon. They are common in wide expanses of desert and can often be found near scrub brush. They hibernate during the winter.

Temper: They are quite aggressive, especially towards humans.

4. Cottonmouth Snakes

Looks: They have a brown, gray, tan, yellowish olive or blackish coloring segmented by dark crossbands. While normally they are about 2 ft. long, some have been known to grow to nearly 6 ft. Their name comes from the white interior of their mouths, which can be seen if the snake feels threatened.

Habitat: This is an aquatic snake found in the south and southeast part of the United States. Everything from make creeks, streams, marshes, and lakes are home to the cottonmouth. They're active both in the day time and night time and if it's too hot, you might run into them in the shade.

Temper: You know the saying: all bark and no bite? This applies to the cottonmouth. They often engage in a showy threat display without attacking by shaking their tail and letting a musky secretion rip from their anal glands. This doesn't mean that it won't bite if you push it into a corner. As with any poisonous snake, leave it alone.

5. Copperhead Snakes

Looks: Copperhead snakes are identified by their coppery colored head and neck. Adults reach lengths of 2 to 4 feet.

Habitat: They can be found near water in the forests and woodlands of eastern US.

Temper: If they feel directly threatened (you try to touch or pick them up) they will bite. Most venomous snakes flee when people are around, but the copperhead does the exact opposite. It freezes in place, which leads to humans stepping on it. Their bite isn't lethal if treated properly, but it is extremely painful.

There are of course many other venomous snakes all around the world, but knowing where to look and how to spot the ones that are around our country, may safe your or a loved one's life one day.
 

Terry Soloman

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pat-tekker-cat

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We've had a lot of rain lately, and yesterday I watched a black snake on the east side of the house, try to climb up a little coral rock well. He was maybe a foot and a half long, pencil thin. He can stay.

I also was walking on my patio barefooted, felt something under foot, I must have stepped on his tail, it was broke about a 1/2 inch up. It was a little baby eastern corn snake aka red rat snake. I got him up in a glass and took him over to the canal. They too closely resemble our rattlers, so he can go.

Today, I watched a big white Egret bird in the backyard, pluck a little snake outta the backyard. About 1 1/2 feet long. He worked that snake, got him head first and swallowed him. He then turned around and plucked another little snake outta the grass, ate him too.
Sorry I didn't have a way to get a pic. I didn't want him to lose his meal if I opened the screen door or stop getting the snakes off my property.

I did my corn snake id from this link, if it may help anyone else. I would think every state has one.

Identify a Florida Snake :: Florida Museum of Natural History
 

JJ1965

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I grew up in the southeastern US, and I beg to differ regarding the cottonmouth, or water moccasin. They are extremely aggressive. I have had them chase me, attack my dogs, and have actually had to fight them off with a boat paddle when they would attempt to get into a the boat. They will repeatedly strike hard metal objects, such as a shovel or bush axe, and are not at all afraid. Where I have seen rattlesnakes make an effort to avoid confrontation, and have never seen one act aggressively....I have often seen just the opposite from the cottonmouth. If you see one, either kill it immediately, or quickly vacate the premises.
 

pat-tekker-cat

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I grew up in the southeastern US, and I beg to differ regarding the cottonmouth, or water moccasin. They are extremely aggressive. I have had them chase me, attack my dogs, and have actually had to fight them off with a boat paddle when they would attempt to get into a the boat. They will repeatedly strike hard metal objects, such as a shovel or bush axe, and are not at all afraid. Where I have seen rattlesnakes make an effort to avoid confrontation, and have never seen one act aggressively....I have often seen just the opposite from the cottonmouth. If you see one, either kill it immediately, or quickly vacate the premises.
Tru dat! :notworthy:
I've had more than a few, ruin a good day on the creek, river, or lake!
Last one, that ruined rapids day on the creek, had a fish in his mouth, underwater. When the guys slammed the boat paddle down on him, he let go of the fish it went downstream, snake went upstream, we all left!

Here's a pic of my snake eating Egret, from 2 yrs ago (9/14), I knew I had some pics of him, somewhere.
Him or a friend of his, used to try and eat the fish outta my fishpond :BangHead: , till the freeze froze all the fish, now they on snake diet. :laughing7:


icu1.jpg icu2.jpg icu3.jpg
 

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DeepseekerADS

DeepseekerADS

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My daughter and I were on a rafting trip down the New River in West Virginia some years back and the guide had the raft up against the bank. I got to see the "cotton mouth" part of one of those critters, and just as I was ready to holler, the raft went back on course down the river. Not a thrill I needed at the time....
 

JJ1965

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My daughter and I were on a rafting trip down the New River in West Virginia some years back and the guide had the raft up against the bank. I got to see the "cotton mouth" part of one of those critters, and just as I was ready to holler, the raft went back on course down the river. Not a thrill I needed at the time....

Pretty sure it was not a cottonmouth. The only poisonous snakes in West Virginia are the copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. Water Moccasins are more southern, with their range extending up through the coastal plains region of NC and Southeastern Virginia, but they are rare up that far north. Was probably just a water snake.
 

dirtdigginfool

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Deepseeker, thx very much for the great info..I usually don't hang around long enough to make an i.d. on any snake...I think about that as I'm running away like my hair is on fire! And the old snake adage "snakes are more afraid of us than we are of them"..doesn't apply to me! I was detecting an old farm this summer, and near an old elm tree I saw some movement..I backed away and saw not one..but TWO snakes slithering in and out of the loose bark..ugh..200 acres here...I'll hunt elsewhere! Thx DS...DDF
 

Indian Steve

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I've been roaming the woods, fields,swamps and creeks pretty much all of my 62 years. I have seen thousands of snakes, caught hundreds including many copperheads and stopped lots of times driving down the road to get snakes {including poisonous ones} out of the road before some idiot purposely runs over them. The only times that I have been in danger of being bit is when I was catching them. I once drove a friend to the hospital who was bit by a copperhead that I caught and gave to him. The idiot took it out of it's cage while he was drunk to show off to friends. When I picked him up at the hospital a few days later, I told him that he was too dumb to have a copperhead and I was taking it back. He said that when he got home, he was going to kill it, skin it and make a hat band out of it. He said that if anybody ever asked if he had been snakebit, he would point at the hatband and say, yes, by this *%#@!^(! right there. When we got to his house, we went to the snake cage and the copperhead was dead. SNAKE BIT HIM AND DIED! I never let him live it down. I said the snake sucked in one time instead of spitting out and died of alcohol poisoning. Unfortunately, Brad also died from Alcohol at age 42. You are much more likely to die of bee stings, getting run over by a school bus, falling off of your bar stool, etc. than snake bite. Leave them alone, watch where you step and you will be fine.
 

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DeepseekerADS

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Leave them alone, watch where you step and you will be fine.

I don't kill critters, don't hunt or fish. My old house is full of all kinds of bugs, and of course some very large spiders - I do send them to their maker.

I won't kill snakes, but if the copperheads are in my garden or yard, they've got to go. Been bit once by a copperhead, not looking for a repeat.
 

pat-tekker-cat

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I once drove a friend to the hospital who was bit by a copperhead that I caught and gave to him. The idiot took it out of it's cage while he was drunk to show off to friends. When I picked him up at the hospital a few days later, I told him that he was too dumb to have a copperhead and I was taking it back. He said that when he got home, he was going to kill it, skin it and make a hat band out of it. He said that if anybody ever asked if he had been snakebit, he would say point at the hatband and say, yes, by this *%#@!^(! right there. When we got to his house, we went to the snake cage and the copperhead was dead. SNAKE BIT HIM AND DIED! I never let him live it down. I said the snake sucked in one time instead of spitting out and died of alcohol poisoning. Unfortunately, Brad also died from Alcohol at age 42.
LAWL, kinda sorta, lol. Well, up until I read the last line, it was the best laugh, I'd had, for a while..... yeah.....
sorry for the snake and your friend.

Being raised in deepsouth ga, we always heard horror stories of skiers dropping off or falling down in a moccasin bed...... man, out in the lakes/resevoirs/creeks/whatever, that's some stuff, to make for nightmares and daymares! I was scared of the Okefenoke swamp..... and some other places, too...... :notworthy:
I got taught how to ski on Lake Eufaula..... well, I wish. :BangHead:
It was too choppy on the lake that day, so "we gonna take her back to "Alligator Slew", let her learn there, har har har"...... :o
The incentive to, NOT FALL DOWN, I think, is implied! :laughing7:
I skied outta that slew like Wally Gator, LOL.
Which reminds me, of a gator we used to have as a pet, out in the everglades, LAWL, his name Wally, too. lol, but that's another story..... :laughing7:



Theys a reason, they say "snakes hang thick off the cypress trees, like sausage off a smokehouse wall"!
I used to do the Wiggins rattlensnake roundup, yeah, no, no more......ty......
My "roughen it" days, is bout over(I hope). I wanna be a snowflake, LOL! please lemme be a snowflake..... :laughing7:
I can pass a snowflake test, trust me, yes I can..... :laughing7:


 

Indian Steve

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I planted pines in southwest Georgia many years ago. We were south of Columbus near a little town called Lumpkin. Everybody on the crew had a dog or two that would go out with us when we planted. One morning the forester told us we had to leave our dogs home that day. We went to a 40 acre site on the Alabama border that was completely underwater. It was ankle to waist deep. The trees that we planted were underwater and we had to use bamboo poles with flags on them so we could follow the rows. We finished the site and when we were packing up to go back to the camp, one of the planters asked why we hadn't been able to bring our dogs that day. He said " Cause the gators would get them" . He was afraid for our dogs but had 15 planters in waist deep water planting. Good Old Days! I planted over 1/2 million pines down south. That's equal to a billion or so rolls of toilet paper. I never feel bad about using a few extra sheets.
 

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DeepseekerADS

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Copperhead snake bites worker on West Virginia Capitol campus | Fox News

Published September 16, 2016 Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia officials say a copperhead snake bit a worker at the state Capitol complex.

A memo to state workers says it happened about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday as a temporary employee was exiting a fire escape door near Building 7, which connects two larger buildings.

Division of Highways spokeswoman Carrie Jones says the employee was treated and released.

She says another state employee pinned the snake with a broom and a police officer decapitated it with a knife.

Jones says the memo was sent Thursday to employees in adjacent Building 5, where the highway division is housed.

The memo says officials have been made aware of a couple of snake sightings, including in the parking lot. It advised people who encounter snakes to contact the state Division of Protective Service
 

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I grew up in the southeastern US, and I beg to differ regarding the cottonmouth, or water moccasin. They are extremely aggressive. I have had them chase me, attack my dogs, and have actually had to fight them off with a boat paddle when they would attempt to get into a the boat. They will repeatedly strike hard metal objects, such as a shovel or bush axe, and are not at all afraid. Where I have seen rattlesnakes make an effort to avoid confrontation, and have never seen one act aggressively....I have often seen just the opposite from the cottonmouth. If you see one, either kill it immediately, or quickly vacate the premises.
You're right. All water snakes are more aggressive than the land ones basically because they're very territorially. Something different shows up in 'their' territory, and they're inclined to go check it out.
 

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The wife unit and I were out near Hot Springs Arkansas digging diamonds and crystals.

We were washing rocks in the Little Missouri River and this fella came snooping around.

I don't know who he is, but we kept our distance and let him pass freely.

IMG_7487.jpg
 

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Please correct me if I am wrong, The Coral snake description is wrong according to what we were always taught in an old country saying.

Red, Yellow, Black===friend of jack and not poisonous

Red, Black, Yellow===Kill a fellow
 

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