First Coast Pet

Snake phobia is definitely common occurrence, but the ability to distinguish between poisonous or non-poisonous remains a rarity. Snake identification is considered necessary for people living in areas where all sorts of species have their habitat, particularly when their venom endangers our health. The snake identification elements worth mentioning include the color pattern, the scales texture, the body shape as well as the eye pupil specificity, all these features allowing classifications and scientific studies. Familiarity with these traits becomes a necessary safety measure and specialists advise that people learn how to differentiate between the various snake species.

Snake Identification

As a first snake identification detail, length strikes the eye first. The risk often turns higher with small-sized species that are difficult to distinguish in the environment. The body shape can be challenging to distinguish since the presence of prey in the snake’s digestive system changes the way the body looks; slender, medium sized and stout are the standard criteria and they are often judged in the combination with the color pattern. Then, the snake identification as venomous or non-poisonous can be misleading when judging by the head and neck shape; although the majority of venomous species have a triangular head shape, round heads make exception that confirm the rule.

Snake Identification

Depending on the pattern and color, there are mono or multi-colored, banded, striped or blotched specimens or they may have only the head or the tail different from the rest of the body. It is common knowledge that snake identification usually considers the type of the pattern in finding out the poisonous or non-poisonous feature of a species; in general words, snakes with complex patterns or vivid colors are poisonous, but this is not always the case. Nature has its way of signaling danger to other creatures sharing the same habitat, but sometimes the bright colors could be just a smart way of camouflaging in the background and not be spotted as prey. Some of the bright green snake species living in the canopies of rain forests depend on camouflage to survive.

Snake Identification

As for scientific snake identification, special materials and professional work methods are required so that both animals and observers remain unmarred by the encounter. One snake skin feature is scale smoothness for shiny scales but they could also be diamond-shaped too; the latter look duller and are characteristic of snakes living on rough terrains and dusty arid areas. Last but not least, the eye pupil allows for a quick snake identification since the cat-like vertical pupil is considered specific for a venomous predator. With the exception of the poisonous coral snake that has rounded pupils, most dangerous species show the elliptical pupil shape.

Though not as venomous as other species, the copperhead snakes cause the majority of bite in the US. The copperhead can be distinguished by the stout shape and the neck distinct from the body but the cross bands that represent the overall pattern make classification possible too. Copperhead snakes have pale bellies, similar to the background, but their look could also turn whitish on occasions. The crown on the snake’s head is only marked by a pair of little dark spots, but there is also a rather discolored stripe on the head area behind the eyes; this stripe looks very diffuse on top but it gets brownish towards the edges.

Copperhead Snakes

Copperhead snakes live in all sorts of habitats, from rocks and pond areas to woods and stream shores. The choice of the abode is dictated by the presence of prey, as copperhead snakes feed on birds, frogs, mice, cicadas, caterpillars and other small animals they manage to hunt. Among the hide places for the copperhead, ,wood piles, stone slabs, walls, debris and abandoned or ruined buildings are the most common which explains the possibility of a human face to face encounter in such areas. The active life of copperhead snakes goes on in the spring and summer months and as long as the weather stays warm, afterwards they enter the hibernation period.

Copperhead Snakes

Copperhead snakes return to the same abodes to hibernate year after year, and usually there are more specimens living in the same abode. On very hot summer days, the copperhead snakes will remain in cooler areas during the day and use the cover of the night to hunt. If the weather is just warm, the copperhead will lie in the sun on higher locations. Copperhead snakes do not hatch eggs, but give birth to their siblings alive, and their number ranges between one and fourteen, with the mating period extending till mid autumn.

Copperhead Snakes

Immediate medical assistance is absolutely necessary in the case of bites by copperhead snakes since they are not only very painful but they may also lead to permanent scarring and tissue loss. The best advice you can get when encountering copperhead snakes is to avoid them, because many people get bitten when trying to kill or even handle them. Snakes will not attack you unless they sense danger, then, you will become the victim of a fierce attack by a creature that is just as afraid of us as we are of them. Statistics reveal that copperhead snakes have the highest incidence in bite frequency in the United States, because these snakes attack quite out of the blue without giving threatening warnings like other species.

The South of the United States is the home of many kinds of snakes and lizards that pose very little threat to human health. The majority of Texas snakes are non-poisonous or very little venomous for their prey, but in case they bit a human there would basically be no problems. There are two exceptions: the groups and subgroups known as coral snakes and pit vipers. Over the last few years there have been less snake bites not only in Texas but everywhere in the United States because of a superior awareness of the fact that snakes are sharing their habitat with us. Thus, people need to understand that a snake will only bite when it senses danger and the resulting envenomation represents the outcome of a pure defensive act.

Texas Snakes

Pit vipers are the most numerous poisonous Texas snakes: they include sub-groups like the cottonmouths, rattlesnakes and copperheads. Each group has distinct features that make the specimens not so difficult to recognize and thus to avoid. One will recognize Texas snakes like the copperheads by the red-brown cross lines in their body patterns, while cottonmouths will stand out by the shades of green, solid black and olive. When threatened cottonmouths will open their mouths and hiss menacingly. The name of this species comes from the white tissue in their mouth that gets visible when they threaten possible aggressors.

Texas Snakes

Finally, the rattlesnake is the noisiest of Texas snakes; as the name points out, this snake will rattle its tail as a warning to potential aggressors to stay away. If you mind your business and avoid them, rattlesnakes will never get closer to you in order to attack. The only pit viper that sends no warning message is the copperhead that reacts violently whenever it feels a threat. Therefore from all the Texas snakes, the copperhead remains the trickiest and most unpredictable. Then, we should mention coral snakes as one other group living in the arid parts of the American south.

Texas Snakes

Corals are part of the same group as African and Asian cobras, and though the majority of venomous snakes have elliptical pupils, corals stand out by their roundness. These Texas snakes are thin and small usually less than two feet long with  a pattern consisting of black, yellow and red rings alternated. Even if there are other risk-free Texas snakes with similar coloring, red is almost never present. In case one chooses South Texas woodlands as a travel destination, one should keep in mind that snake encounters are possible in canyons as well as on plains.

With the exception of Antarctica, snakes are everywhere on the globe in warm and temperate geographical areas. Snakes vary in size from a few centimeters to more than nine meters in the case of the anacondas or the pythons. Venomous snakes are far less numerous in this huge reptile family, but their toxic poison is so powerful that it could kill a human being within a few minutes. Chronological research indicates that, the history and origins of snakes go back to the Cretaceous period, some 150 million years ago, when snakes are assumed to have evolved from a lizard and adapted to a different living environment.

Snakes

Some modern species still carry primitive distinctive marks, this is the case with pythons and boas that still have vestiges of hind limbs, which only make us think of a past when snakes were more lizard-like than they are today. Snakes or serpents are present in all cultures, carrying symbolic meanings and being widely illustrated in artistic form. Worshiped or hunted down as evil creatures, snakes surely have a fascination on human mind; yet, modern attitudes are partly different towards snakes under the pressure of ecologist organization that stress out the importance of these creatures for the environment of the planet. And many factors confirm such opinions.

Snakes

Fascinating details in the lives of snakes indicate that there are more things to learn about the many existing species. Thus, a study of the colored patterns on the body of snakes indicates incredible differentiation details between individuals belonging to the same family. Then, snakes’ sensitivity to vibrations, the superior sense of smell and even the reception of low frequency sounds make them pretty out of the ordinary. Infrared sensitivity and the ability to detect body warmth from the distance, causes further awe among snakes researchers.

Snakes

Common habitats for humans and snakes are a reality, and people from areas with a higher variety of snake groups and sub-groups should learn to distinguish between the dangerous or harmless specimens, and thus they reduce the risk of snakebites. Non-venomous snakes could also bite and injure one seriously when threatened, therefore, a avoidance and respect of the snakes’ habitat remain the most effective prevention means. Do not attempt to kill, catch or hunt snakes: they will never come after you for the sake of just biting.