Identifying poisonous snakes

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Identifying poisonous snakes

Snakes are feared by many people. Some people like snakes. Most people hate them. Often, snakes get a bum rap because there are venomous ones out there. The fact is that venomous snakes make up only 10% of the snakes in the world. Poisonous snakes, although uncommon to be seen, have been recorded in all states except Alaska. Poisonous or not, it is best to leave snakes alone, unless you have professional advice and assistance. A person wanting a pet snake shoud be educated in knowledge about their snake and the care for it. Some people believe that snakes should be respected and left alone to play their natural part in the ecosystem, which includes eating excess insects, rodents, rabbits and other small prey. Don't ever handle freshly killed poisonous snakes because they have late muscle tremors and reflexes that can cause them to bite even after they are just killed. The bites of poisonous snakes are extremely painful and some are even fatal.

Poisonous snakes are:

cobras- are famous, they are huge and are found in the Phillipines, Asia and primarily Africa. The King Cobra is the world's longest poisonous snake, the record being 18 feet long! They make a nest for their young and stay in it until their eggs are hatched. They seldom attack unprovoked. They are deadly foes, however.

rattlesnakes- usually 2 to 5 feet long. There are many different kinds of rattlesnakes. Dark brown to black, the Mojave are olive green, all have oval, square or diamond shaped blotches on their backs and all have a rattle.

coral snake-black with red and bright thin yellow stripes. that old saying is true, "red on yellow kill a fellow" the coral snake gets confused with the nonpoisonous scarlet and scarlet king snake but on the scarlet snakes, the red and yellow NEVER touch!

copperhead- 22 to 36 inches long, light brown alternating with dark brown, almost pinkish tint, They have a pit between their nostrils and the eyes. Found in Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Massachusetts, and other low wet areas, often confused with young cottonmouths which are also poisonous.

cotton mouth (water moccasin)-20-48 inches. Adults are dark, almost black, young are brown with reddish brown bands, they have pits between the nostrils and the eyes. They live around water. Found in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Florida and Montana. They get their name, cottonmouth, because when threatened, they open their mouth and a whitish interior can be seen.

sea snakes-Found in the Australian reef, in the Pacific and Indian ocean. They are air breathers, different from eels because they have no gills, breath air and have scales. They have flat tails especially for swimming. Live in shallow water. They are highly venomous and bite is fatal, causing respiratory paralysis.

Nonpoisonous snakes include:

bull snake

milk snake

garter snake

water snake

racers

king snake

rat snake

pythons and boas

hognose

pine

gopher

flathead

mud snake

Yes, most snakes do bite, but most snakes keep to themselves. They will only bite if attacked. Of course there is always the case of mistaken identity. The blank is often mistaken for the poisonous blank.