How do you identify a water moccasin?
The easiest way to identify the water moccasin from a non-venomous water snake is to check its head. Water snakes have long tapered heads that blend seamlessly into their bodies – and there are no heat-sensing pits below and between the eyes and the nose.
How can you tell the difference between a water snake and a water moccasin?
The most noticeable difference is the shape of the head. A water snake’s head will be slender and flow smoothly into the neck, while the head of a water moccasin is far more blocky, and the neck much more narrow as it meets the head.
How poisonous is a water moccasin?
Venom / Bite Around 8,000 bites are poisonous, resulting in an average of 12 deaths each year. If you have the misfortune to be bitten by a cottonmouth moccasin—or any snake for that matter—take it seriously. The cottonmouth moccasin’s venom is powerful and can kill you.
What is the difference between a cottonmouth and a water moccasin?
Water snakes are slender compared with cottonmouths, which are thicker and heavier. Water snakes also have longer, thinner tails, and their heads are a similar width to their necks, whereas a cottonmouth’s head is thick, blocky and noticeably wider than the snake’s neck.
Where do water moccasins hide?
Water moccasins occasionally hide out below tree limbs and logs on land. They are also called cottonmouths because the lining of their mouths is white. Like copperhead snakes, they are also venomous.
What color belly does a water moccasin have?
The belly typically has dark and brownish-yellow blotches with the underside of the tail being black. As pit-vipers they have facial pits that sense heat and are used to detect prey and predators.
How long do you have after being bitten by a cottonmouth?
eight hours
Patients presenting after a cottonmouth bite should undergo observation for eight hours post-envenomation. If there are no physical or hematologic signs within eight hours, then the patient can be discharged home.
Can a water moccasin bite you underwater?
Besides sea-snakes, there are two common snakes that can live in or near water – the cottonmouth (water moccasin) and the water snake. Not only can snakes bite underwater, but water moccasins join a list of more than 20 species of venomous snakes in the United States making them even more of a threat.
Do moccasins chase you?
If you see a cottonmouth in the wild, be calm and realize that you are much larger than it, and it perceives you as a potential predator that has invaded its space. Cottonmouths are not out to get you, are not aggressive, will not chase you, and ultimately would like to be left alone.
Are there snakes that chase you?
The belief that the snake may chase the humans is not true since there is no way that the snakes may pursue the person actively in order to hurt them. The snakes normally bite because of two reasons, it can be to subdue the prey or for the self defense.
What does water moccasin look like?
The water moccasin has a brownish color , but this will also go darker as they age more. They are known for their thick bodies and shorter tails compared to the slender water snake. Their heads are also much larger than the normal water snake and they have a diamond-like shape that almost seems like a large block.
What do baby water moccasins look like?
The Florida Cottonmouth is a close relative of the copperhead , this snake is also known as the water moccasin. When first born, the babies look nothing like the parents. They have a wavy banded pattern in bright orange and brown, with a sulphur-yellow tail tip.
What does water moccasin snake look like?
The water moccasin’s average size is between 50 to 55 inches. Adults have dark tan to black skin with faint dark brown or black crossbands. Young snakes have brown or orange crossbands with a yellow tail. These snakes are found in the southeastern states, usually in or near water.
What color are water moccasin snake?
The water moccasin typically is black, with the exception of markings on its head, but there are some that are brown, gray, tan or olive. The main color of the snake is further defined by bands of color staggering over the body in dark brown, close-to-black colors.