Cottonmouth Snake

Other keynote features of these snakes are their very broad and triangular shaped heads along with their elliptical pupils which differ from non-venomous water snakes that have an oval pupil. Although, there are several species of non venomous snakes i.e. hognose, water snakes etc that imitate the cottonmouth snake both in physical appearance and behavior but correctly identifying one in the wild isn’t too difficult with a little foresight into what to look for:

• triangular head
• elliptical pupils
• large pit (Loreal pit) between the eye and nostrils
• striping along broad side of head

Natural Range: The natural range is mainly limited to the south eastern Unites States with populations from the deep south of Florida to up along the east coast of North and South Carolina to as far west as Western Kentucky and Southern Missouri.

(Posted above is an excellent example of a non-venomous hognose snake worldcharger.net on the right imitating a cottonmouth which is on the left)

Sub species: There are three sub species of cottonmouth snakes which are specific to different regions of their natural range. They are as follows:

 

1. Western Cottonmouth which gets its name from the region it occupies from north central Texas all the way up to Western Kentucky and Southern Missouri for the western region. The Western having the largest range of all three sub species also covers areas as far east as
   Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. It’s also worth mentioning that westerns are the smallest of the sub species.
2. Eastern Cottonmouth covers the smallest region of all three sub species mainly Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina but there is some overlap with the western sub species in Georgia as we as the Florida sub species in northern Florida.
3. Florida Cottonmouth is the largest of the sub species having heard of a few reports of animals in the area of six feet or better in length. I’ve even heard there’s a video floating around of an extremely large cottonmouth eating a domestic cat that was run over on the side of the road. As far as range goes they pretty much cover Florida and the Southern tips of South Carolina and Georgia.

Origin of name:The name “Cottonmouth” comes from the animal’s defensive behavior that it displays when it feels threatened. It coils up in a circle and opens its mouth nice and wide Steroids for sale displaying an impressive set of retractable fangs as well as the classic cotton white mouth. Also, being that their native range is primary in the southern cotton growing region of the United States so the name cottonmouth was more fitting. They’re also reffed to as water  moccasins in some rural areas.

Mating and offspring: Cottonmouths start their courting and mating activities in early spring. The males will battle it out with the winner going on to mate with the females. These battles typically end with the larger dominant males pulverizing the younger males leaving them sulking in a pool of misery and self pity.

 

After successfully mating and the female becomes gravid (pregnancy in snakes) she’ll seek out warmth basking in the sun for the remainder of the gestation period which is usually in the area of 80 to 90 days. After which, the mother will give birth to a live litter of 10-15 little neonates.

 

Like pretty much all reptiles at birth the neonates are fully equipped with the tools necessary to begin the journey of life. These neonates have nice bright colors consisting of yellows, oranges, along with a brightly colored almost

florescent yellow tail. These colors are perfect camouflage necessary to blend in around the edges of the swamp and forest floor. They use their brightly colored tails as bait to lure in unsuspecting insects, frogs, snakes, small mammals etc.

 

Just to dis-spell a common myth these babies are just as venomous as adults and must be treated with equal respect.