The most common species the Center is asked to identify are:. There are a number of resources to help you learn basic snake identification skills, including an online resource compiled by the Virginia Herpetological Society and the printed snake identification book sold by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Many people fear snakes because they are worried that the particular snake they see is venomous. Learn basic identification skills to put your mind at ease. Most of the snake species in Virginia are harmless, but three of the 30 species are venomous: Northern Copperheads, Timber Rattlesnakes, and Cottonmouths. Learning to identify these three can help you rule out what snake you are — or are not — seeing.
Non-venomous snakes have round pupils, no pit just a nostril , and two rows of scales underneath their tail. Identifying some of these traits from a safe distance can be challenging; being familiar with the overall appearance of these species will help you to identify a venomous snake more reliably and safely. Other characteristics like head shape, patterning, and even defensive behaviors like tail rattling are also used by non-venomous snakes, so solely relying on these traits to identify a snake can be misleading.
This species gets its name from the copper-like coloring on its head. The snake is typically tan to pinkish, with dark brown hourglass bands across the back. Baby copperheads are colored and patterned like adults but have bright sulfur-yellow tail tips. Adults are typically 24 to 36 inches long but can grow up to 48 inches long. Their venom is the least toxic of the three venomous snakes in Virginia; bites are seldom fatal.
Copperheads can be found throughout Virginia in forests, old fields, rocky outcrops, and marshes. They eat small rodents, birds, lizards, amphibians, insects, and other snakes. Look-a-likes : Most often, people assume that any snake with a pattern on its back may be a copperhead — the most common non-venomous snakes that may be mistaken for copperheads are juvenile ratsnakes, juvenile racers, hog-nosed snakes, milk snakes, and water snakes.
The Virginia Herpetological Society has good resources to help compare and correctly identify snakes. Patterns, geographic locations, and even behavioral characteristics can assist with proper identification. These snakes are also known as water moccasins. Cottonmouths are large, stout, aquatic snakes that are found in the southeastern corner of Virginia. They range in color from dark green to black and have several darker hourglass bands across their backs.
Adults are typically 30 — 48 inches, but can grow up to 61 inches long. The young are similarly patterned, but tend to be pinker in color; their tail tips are also bright yellow. Cottonmouths get their name from the white color of their mouths; when threatened, cottonmouths will open their mouth wide in an attempt to dissuade would-be attackers from coming closer. This species is commonly found in wetlands, rivers, and lakes. Cottonmouths eat fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and invertebrates.
Look-a-likes : People most often assume that any snake in the water is a cottonmouth; Virginia has three species of non-venomous water snakes that are commonly mistaken for cottonmouths. Geographic location can be helpful with correct identification; cottonmouths are only found in a small part of Southeast Virginia.
This large, thick-bodied species ranges in color from yellow to black and has dark chevron-shaped bands on its back. J for more info. The chances of dying from a venomous snakebite in the United States is nearly zero, because we have available, high-quality medical care in the U. Fewer than one in 37, people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.
Did you know that you are nine times more likely to die from being struck by lightning than to die of venomous snakebite? The graph below compares deaths from venomous snakebites to some leading causes of death, lightning strikes and other animal related deaths. Poisons are substances that are toxic cause harm if swallowed or inhaled.
Venoms are generally not toxic if swallowed, and must be injected under the skin by snakes, spiders, etc. However, we do NOT recommend drinking venom! The venom gland is a modified salivary gland, and is located just behind and below the eye. The size of the venom gland depends on the size of the snake - this image shows the approximate size of the venom gland in relation to the skull of this Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus horridus.
In a study comparing snake venoms, researchers milked the largest amount of venom from an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotalus adamanteus --more than from any other species they studied. A comparative study found that the snake venom that is most toxic to mice of the species tested is that of the Inland Taipan Oxyuranus microlepidotus , found in Australia. The most toxic venom of U. It is important to note that these venoms were only tested on mice.
While these tests provide valuable ecological information about venomous snakes that eat mice and other small mammals, it may not accurately reflect how toxic they are to humans. The vast majority of all snakebites, venomous or otherwise, occur when someone tries to capture a snake. Get a good field guide with color pictures, written for the area you are exploring or visiting, before you head out.
Study it ahead of time, and learn the characteristics of the snakes you are likely to see. As you can see, picking out most of these characteristics requires being close to the snake.
This is why we suggest that you leave any strange snake alone. Rattlesnakes have home ranges, but they do not defend them as a territory. Generally, a home range is the area that an animal will spend most of its time acquiring resources and seeking mates. Rattlesnakes will not stand guard over them and fight other rattlesnakes for the control of an area. A rattlesnake will use a hole, or other refuge, as a place to rest, but when the resources are reduced the rodents are eaten up it will move on to greener and more rodent-filled pastures but, within its home range.
Because the density of rattlesnakes is dependent on the resources how many hiding places and how many rodents , there generally aren't a whole lot of them in any one area. A countermeasure against rattlesnakes is to remove their food source and hiding places exterminate the rodents from your yard and remove the hiding places, such as wood piles.
If you live adjacent to a wilderness area, please leave the habitat untouched. The rattlesnakes are serving as nature's own way of controlling the native rodent populations. Rattlers get a new rattle segment each time the snake sheds its skin which is normally about times per year. Baby rattlesnakes are born with only one segment on their rattle called a button. The rattle is noiseless until the baby rattler sheds its skin for the first time and adds another segment to the button.
0コメント