Water Moccasin Florida Copperhead Water Moccasin Florida Cottonmouth

They re the same snake.

Water moccasin florida copperhead water moccasin florida cottonmouth. Agkistrodon piscivorus lacépède 1789 the following will separate the two cottonmouths found in florida if you are unable to distinguish between them based on the characteristics in the key below you probably can do so using the geographic location alone. The northern northwestern southern broad banded and osage. A florida man says his life flashed before his eyes after a venomous cottonmouth snake bit him on a foot and left his leg in throbbing pain last week. North america is the home for only one poisonous water snake and that is the agkistrodon piscivorus or what southerners have long called the cottonmouth moccasin youngsters who live around the lakes and swamps in florida and other areas of the deep south have long identified the water moccasin and the cottonmouth moccasin as two.

The florida cottonmouth the eastern cottonmouth and the western cottonmouth. Both water moccasin and cottonmouth are common names for agkistrodon piscivorus according to sara viernum a herpetologist based in madison wisconsin. People often wonder is the water moccasin can bite underwater and the answer to that question is yes. Juvenile cottonmouths are a brown or tan color with darker reddish brown crossbands containing many speckles down the back.

Florida s snakes cottonmouth or water moccasin agkistrodon piscivorus venomous. Because of water resistance the water moccasin cannot strike underwater in it s usual manner. The name cottonmouth comes from the white coloration of the inside of the snake s mouth she said. Venomous snakebites are rare and can usually be avoided.

Water moccasins and cottonmouths share one common thing. The cottonmouth or water moccasin is a dark colored heavy bodied snake that can grow to an average of 2 4 feet in length. Copperheads have five subspecies. The cottonmouth also goes by such colloquial monikers as black moccasin gaper mangrove rattle and several others including water mamba the cottonmouth like the rattlesnake and copperhead is a pit viper using its heat sensitive organs on each side of its head to detect its dinner.

However knowing how to respond correctly to venomous snakebites is also important. If this snake is grabbed or stepped on in the water the cottonmouth would probably bite in self defense. Although water moccasins are the same however there are more than one type. You have the typical cottonmouth which is more dedicated towards the southern united states.

Florida snake identification key cottonmouth florida cottonmouth moccasin water moccasin.