Survival Skill - How to Identify Common Poisonous Snakes

It is fairly common see a snake while hiking or camping. Luckily many are harmless, but some are poisonous. To help avoid a chance encounter with a snake - make noise as you walk in order to give the snake a chance to move away, as most snakes don’t want to see you any more than you want to see them.

The 4 Most common venomous snakes in the United States are:

Cottonmouths
Rattle Snakes
Copperheads
Coral Snake

Cottonmouths (Water Moccasin)

Cottonmouths can be identified by:

Can grow to be 3 feet long
Their bodies are thick and bulky
Head is arrow shaped. Looks triangular when viewed from the top and is noticeably larger than its neck.
Color and markings get darker with age. When born, the tail is yellow and becomes green then black as it gets older.
Adults also have a thin, pale white line above the eyes.

Rattle Snakes

Rattle Snakes can be identified by:

Rattle snakes are pit vipers, meaning they have Heat-sensing pits on their snouts which allow them to detect their prey.
The head is large and triangular - protruding from their more-slender necks
Can grow up to 8 feet long
Diamond shaped markings on their back
A rattle on the tail which is used to ward off threatening animals or predators.

Copperheads

Copperheads can be identified by:

Heart shaped or triangular head
Thick, stout bodies which can get up to 3 feet in length
Typically the color of dead leaves - tan, brown or orange. Allows them to blend in with the forrest floor
Pattern of wide, irregular dark bands on their back
Vertical slit pupils

Coral Snake

Although not common as the others, this is the most deadly US snake.

Coral Snakes can be identified by:

Rounded heads
Round Pupils
No heat-sensing pits
Colorful. Red and black segments separated by yellow bands
Remember the rhyme - "Red touches black, I’m alright Jack! Red touches yellow, will kill a fellow!"

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