Here's a bunch of useless information that most will probably not care about.
Here in Florida we have at least 45 different species of snakes. Out of these 45 species, only 6 are venomous. They are the Copperhead, Cottonmouth, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake, Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake, and the Eastern Coral Snake.
Native non-venomous species in Florida are pretty easy to tell from venomous ones. Other than the coral snake, all of the venomous snakes of FL have a triangular shaped head (the head is obvious rather than blending in with the neck) and tend to have a rather flat or "semi-gloss" appearance to them. Their scales are "keeled", meaning they have a raised ridge running down the middle of each scale and this keeps them from appearing shiny like many non-venomous snakes and coral snakes.
Coral snakes have a red (or bright orange), yellow (or white) and black pattern to them, and stubby head and a glossy appearance. Coral snakes' coloration has the red bands touching the yellow bands, and they're the only US snake like that. The non-venomous snakes that are similarly colored have the red and yellow bands separated by a black band. There's a rhyme for it:
Red touches yellow
Will kill a fellow.
Red touches black
Venom lack.
Just some brief info on the 6 venomous ones if anyone really gives a crap.
Copperhead - this snake occurs only in the panhandle, primarily along the Apalachicola River and its tributaries, and then in the western tip of the panhandle. The FLMNH has specimens in its collections from Jackson, Liberty, Gadsden, Calhoun, Gulf, and Escambia counties.
Copperhead bites are extremely painful but usually are not life-threatening for healthy adults. They can be dangerous to children or older citizens in poor health
Copperheads are small, usually under two feet, and the copperheads in Florida usually have a background color like the color of baby aspirin, kind of a pinkish orange. They're a very pretty snake really, and have copperish, or maroon bands mottled with white the length of their body. These are my favorite venomous snakes. Pretty mellow little critters for the most part.
I've been bitten by one of these, a Trans-Pecos copperhead from just outside San Antonio, TX that someone had gassed out of a den. It was nearly dead and I was trying to force feed it in an attempt to keep it alive when I was bumped in the shoulder and looked away for a split second. I was holding the snake's head in my left hand and he sunk one fang in my finger.
At first it felt a lot like a wasp sting, probably for the first half hour or so, and then the swelling got a bit worse and my hand looked like a blown up balloon. After about four hours I didn't want to move and really, if I'd dropped dead right then I probably would have been thankful. I once had a bad case of food poisoning and the copperhead bite four hours later was very much like that.
By the next morning I, as a whole, felt much better but the left arm was useless. Here's a good description of what my arm felt like when I would let it hang limply at my side: Think of a piece of chicken, a drumstick, that's been boiled. You know how the meat just slides right off the bone? My arm, when I would hold it at my side, felt as if the muscles would slide right off the bone had it not been for my skin holding it on.
The next morning the swelling had gone down quite a bit and by a day or so later you would never have known I'd been bitten.
Cottonmouth - Found throughout Florida. The species extends north to Virginia and west to Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Cottonmouths can be found along streams, springs, rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, sloughs, reservoirs, retention pools, canals, and roadside ditches. It occasionally wanders far from water, and has been found in bushes and trees. Though the Cottonmouth occurs throughout the state, it is not as abundant as the many species of harmless watersnakes that occur in much the same habitat.
These guys are pretty nasty. They won't hunt you down, but they won't back down either. Probably the most aggressive venomous snake in North America. Their defense posture is to kick their head back and open their mouth wide, showing you the fangs and the white interior of their mouth. It's pretty obvious where they get the name from, and this is the same snake some locales refer to as the water moccasin. Older ones are almost always a dull black, maybe with a little brown on the sides while younger ones have a defined pattern in several shades of brown.
Eastern Diamondback - found throughout the state of Florida, including several offshore islands and keys. Diamondbacks are often found in pine flatwoods, longleaf pine and turkey oak, and sand pine scrub areas. These habitats contain palmetto thickets and gopher tortoise burrows in which the Diamondback may seek refuge. It can strike up to 2/3 its body length; a 6-foot specimen can strike 4 feet. Does not always rattle before striking.
This is the one in the pictures I posted earlier. They get big and are pretty heavy bodied, but aren't particularly aggressive unless you corner them.
When I lived in South Carolina a friend of mine and I were out snake hunting when we came across several teens beating a Diamondback with sticks. The snake was fighting back so we ran over to try and get the kids to back off before one of them was bitten. Just as we were coming up on them, one of the kids pushed his stick underneath the snake and then flicked it into the air....It landed on my arm and its head slammed into my leg. Instead of one of these idiots getting bitten, I did. Pissed me the ____ off.
That was worse than the copperhead bite. Rather than one night of agony it was several days but I was still pretty lucky in that he didn't get a good bite. I didn't lose any tissue in the leg, thank God.
Timber Rattlesnake - Found in only 8 or 9 counties in north Florida. It ranges as far south as Alachua and Dixie Counties and as far west as Hamilton and Suwannee Counties. They prefer low bottom lands where it is fairly damp, river beds, hammocks pine flatwoods, swamps, and cane thickets.
These are somewhat secretive and rather rare these days. Often darker than the Diamondback, and smaller as well with more of a banded pattern. Here's a picture of one that shows how distinct the head is from the body, and also shows the keeled scales I mentioned earlier:
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And here's one from Oklahoma. I'm not the one in the picture.
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Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake - Found throughout the state of Florida. Common in lowland pine flatwoods, prairies, around lakes and ponds, and along the borders of many freshwater marshes and cypress swamps. Possibly the habitat in which Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnakes are most frequently encountered, at least in south Florida, is the banks of canals running through marshes and prairies. It has a reputation for being very aggressive. Its bite, is not usually not life threatening but is extremely painful and can result in the loss of a digit.
These guys are small, and the rattle is even smaller. It might be better described as a button than a rattle. They have the reputation for being aggressive because they're secretive. Usually the only time you see them is if you turn over a rock or a log and scare the bejesus out of them.
They're usually around 18" as adults, some get up to two feet and very rarely 2 1/2 feet. VERY rarely. They have the triangular head, but not as obvious as on their larger cousins, a grey to pinkish grey body color and a blotched pattern.
Eastern Coral Snake - Coral Snakes occur throughout the entire state including the northern keys. The Coral Snake is a relative of the cobras, people believe its bite nearly always is fatal. While its bite is serious and should receive immediate medical attention, statistics suggest that the bite of the Coral Snake is less threatening than the bite of a Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Not very often seen, these snakes are very secretive, even more so than the Pygmies. They're not really aggressive either, at least in my experience. They'd much rather try to get away than fight. Most snakes will prefer to run than fight, but the coral snake, every time I've come across one, always makes a quick trip to the nearest cover. I can't recall ever seeing one strike.
Anyway, sorry for the novella, just thought I'd toss the useless information out there. Been sitting here waiting on a phone call for the last half hour and I'm bored to tears.
(Taken near Orlando by an FPL employee)
) in the sun than anything else.
