Help identifying snake
- Thread starter Sandy H.
- Start date
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PaulDoug
Member
That is one of those invisible snakes! Watch out for those.
Copperhead
copperhead - Bing Images
copperhead - Bing Images
monark88
Member
Copperhead also used to be called a Yellow Rattler even tho it has no rattles. I'm originally from SW Ohio and have had several encounters with these snakes.
Tom D
Member
Hopefully a dead one
rrfd4
Member
Copperhead, and they are BAD news!
Copperhead - the least dangerous of US poisonous snakes. I was bitten by one once - drove like a maniac to get to the ER & all they did was give me some pain medication & kept me overnight for observation. Hurt like hell & the tip of my finger where I got bit has slight permanent numbness.
WildThings
Member
to me it looks like a bunch of future pens!!
rrfd4
Member
Injuries from a Copperhead bite on a finger.
JohnU
Member
I'm glad they aren't native to my parts of IL but I sure would like to have some of their skins. They sure make nice looking pens.
BKelley
Member
It sure looks like a copperhead, but look at the eyes of the picture showing head.
Are the pupils round or elliptical? All poisonous snakes in the United States have elliptical pupils except for the coral snake.
Ben
Are the pupils round or elliptical? All poisonous snakes in the United States have elliptical pupils except for the coral snake.
Ben
The Penguin
Member
I thought that too Ben, but I think it's the angle the photo is taken from that causes confusion.
definitely looks like a copperhead
definitely looks like a copperhead
juteck
Member
Charlotte location ---- Copperhead.
Kenny Durrant
Member
It's a copperhead. The head is heart shaped like most of the poisonous snakes in the U.S. Nice color and markings.
seamus7227
Member
i think the word everyone is looking for is "venomous", I hope you killed that thing too and have the skin in some solution cuz that will make some pretty pens!
Sabaharr
Member
In my younger days I actually studied herpatology and made trips to the serpaterium in Miami where the legendary Bill Haast works. Nothing more fun than helping to milk the venom out of a 15 foot king cobra. Enough with qualifying my opinion, its a copperhead, and great skin for pens as the scales are usually smaller than rattlers, but they aren't near as tasty.
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wolftat
Product Reviews Manager
I am going to have to disagree with this statement. I catch a lot of copperheads and they are not only extremely aggressive (especially during mating season), they are highly venomous and there is no antivenom for them. It sounds as if you may have gotten a dry bite with very little venom or you are immuned to their venom but they are bad news.
monark88
Member
And I am going to disagree with you. I grew up in an area, that back in the late '40's and 50's were rife with plenty of Copperheads. We were taught to avoid, but also we were likely not to die from their bite. I did a fast search and found this to back up my experiences:
"Venom from copperheads is not deadly, and when people die from copperhead snake bites it is due to an allergic reaction. People who are weak or either very old or very young may experience a significant impact on their body functions from a copperhead snake bite".
Antivenin for Copperheads: Crotalidae polyvalent immune FAB (ovine) (Rx). Even tho this is not often given. Little need for it.
This behavior explains why more people receive legitimate snakebites from copperheads than from any other species of venomous snake in North America. Still to be investigated is another aspect of copperhead bites: many are not serious enough to require more than minor medical treatment. This may be so not only because the venom of a copperhead is significantly less potent than that of rattlesnakes or cottonmouths, but also because they seldom inject much venom.
Read more at (Article) How dangerous are Copperhead snakes? - Survivalist Forum
This behavior explains why more people receive legitimate snakebites from copperheads than from any other species of venomous snake in North America. Still to be investigated is another aspect of copperhead bites: many are not serious enough to require more than minor medical treatment. This may be so not only because the venom of a copperhead is significantly less potent than that of rattlesnakes or cottonmouths, but also because they seldom inject much venom.
Read more at (Article) How dangerous are Copperhead snakes? - Survivalist Forum
Just do a check of the internet for info.
Russ
Read more at (Article) How dangerous are Copperhead snakes? - Survivalist Forum
This behavior explains why more people receive legitimate snakebites from copperheads than from any other species of venomous snake in North America. Still to be investigated is another aspect of copperhead bites: many are not serious enough to require more than minor medical treatment. This may be so not only because the venom of a copperhead is significantly less potent than that of rattlesnakes or cottonmouths, but also because they seldom inject much venom.
Read more at (Article) How dangerous are Copperhead snakes? - Survivalist Forum
Just do a check of the internet for info.
Russ
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Sandy H.
Member
Thanks for the information everyone. My neighbor and I killed it as we thought it was a copperhead and there are kids/pets in the neighborhood and that seemed like the best thing to do at the time. This particular snake wasn't very aggressive, but it might have been because it was cool outside or something. I'm generally not a 'killing things' kind of guy, but I thought the possible outcome of 'live and let live' might get the best of someone's kid and that's not cool.
At the end of the day, it was done in and no effort was made to do anything with the skin. If someone in Charlotte wants to come by and get it, I'll see what the neighbor did with it.
Sandy.
At the end of the day, it was done in and no effort was made to do anything with the skin. If someone in Charlotte wants to come by and get it, I'll see what the neighbor did with it.
Sandy.
wolftat
Product Reviews Manager
I never said they were fatal, just highly venomous and aggressive.
Copperhead Snakes
Copperhead Snake.com
I also know from personal experience that a rattlesnake will take any opertunity to leave if allowed while some copperheads will continue to advance on you even if you are backing away from it. Please remember that there are more than one type of copperhead and some may be more aggressive than others.
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wolftat
Product Reviews Manager
I think the one thing we may all agree on is that they make nice pens.
walshjp17
Member
Next month's penturner's meeting topic: prepping Copperhead skin for pen blanks :tongue:
It certainly wasn't a dry bite and I may have a partial immunity, but I'm not going to intentionally test that possibility. My grandmother was bitten on the back of her hand once & we were quite concerned due to her age, but her experience was very similar to mine - lots of pain, badly swelled hand, and a big black spot where she was bitten for a few days but she was just fine too.
To be sure, some people have much worse reactions as Jack (rrfd4) noted but that's not the usual case (as bad as mine hurt, it's hard to imagine how much pain Jack was in). I did mean to use the term "venomous" rather than "dangerous" in my original post. The ER nurses & docs pretty much echoed monark88's comments regarding the potency & amount of venom that is "usually" injected. The hospital did have an antivenin on hand, but they rarely use it - partly because it usually is not necessary but also because people often have a worse reaction to it than the bite itself.
I'm pretty much in the "dead snake = good snake" camp. I'll leave them alone if I am 100% certain that they are harmless, otherwise I shoot first & check ID later.
Ed
To be sure, some people have much worse reactions as Jack (rrfd4) noted but that's not the usual case (as bad as mine hurt, it's hard to imagine how much pain Jack was in). I did mean to use the term "venomous" rather than "dangerous" in my original post. The ER nurses & docs pretty much echoed monark88's comments regarding the potency & amount of venom that is "usually" injected. The hospital did have an antivenin on hand, but they rarely use it - partly because it usually is not necessary but also because people often have a worse reaction to it than the bite itself.
I'm pretty much in the "dead snake = good snake" camp. I'll leave them alone if I am 100% certain that they are harmless, otherwise I shoot first & check ID later.
Ed
sbwertz
Member
When we were first married, we were in Highland Falls, NY, and I had a new baby (long before disposable diapers.) I had to hang up diapers every morning, and there was a copperhead that liked to sun itself on the flagstones under the clothseline. It scared the wadding out of me every morning.
One day I'd had enough and took the 20 gauge out and blew it away. Unfortunately, there was a mountainside right behind the clothesline and the ricochets blew out two upstairs windows in the house!
One day I'd had enough and took the 20 gauge out and blew it away. Unfortunately, there was a mountainside right behind the clothesline and the ricochets blew out two upstairs windows in the house!
TBCbushings
Member
It is not a copperhead but I don't know what kind it is.....
sbwertz
Member
We always kept a bull snake in the barn to keep down rodents.
Edward Cypher
Member
Sounds like it was a draw!!
I know then it was probably not funny at all but reading it now and knowing no one was seriously hurt it is humorous. Way to go Sharon.
I know then it was probably not funny at all but reading it now and knowing no one was seriously hurt it is humorous. Way to go Sharon.
tbroye
Member
Only good snake is one on a pen blank.
BSea
Member
I have to disagree. I no snake expert, but I'm almost positive that is a copperhead. Why do you think that isn't a copperhead?
bruce119
Member
My first thought at first glance it wasn't a copperhead either....
I didn't see the large triangular shape of the head and more important elliptical pupils of a viper....
After farther review I can see the triangular shape of the head, and it's hard to see but but the pupile looks half a circle not round and not elliptical but that my be due to angle and lighting...
I concur it is a copperhead....
Jim Smith
Member
That it almost certainly a Copperhead. They are by far the most common venomous snake in the area I live so I see a number of them every year. I understand why Sandy killed the snake since it was in an area where kids and dogs could get bitten, and I would have done the same thing. That said, they are becoming much less common and it would be a shame to kill one that was not in an area where it would be likely to hurt someone. They really aren't overly aggressive as many believe and they are actually beautifully designed predators.
Jim Smith
Jim Smith
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TBCbushings
Member
Looks to me as the eyes are round. The copperheads that I looked up had a black shadow around the pattern and this one has a white shadow. Everything I have read all non venomus snakes in the US have round pupils. I am no snake expert but just doesent appear to be a copperhead. I might be wrong and wont be the first time! lol
I have searched more and I have changed my opinion...It looks like a southern copperhead...I found one with the same markings...See I was wrong...It will happen again im sure..
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Scotty
Member
I don't have any letters after my name to claim to be an expert, but that is a copperhead. I have killed at least one in my yard every year for the last 32 years.
sbwertz
Member
If the eyes are widely dilated, they ALL look round!