Copperhead Bite Me !!!

[Trilobite]

. . . .

I was teaching Fly Fishing to Boy Scouts in the western part of Virginia. We were fishing along a pretty little creek and just below a dam spillway. There were probably a half dozen boys in the water, when I spied 3 baby copperheads swimming by with one of them swimming between my legs. The boys were in knee deep water and the snakes swam just behind them and one of the instructors. As soon as they passed, I alerted the boys to what they had missed. Sure enough, one of boys wanted to catch one. The other instructor almost walked on water to get out of the stream. 2 phuuni. No one got hurt mostly because none of the snakes were disturbed.

Um, well, Northern Watersnakes are common in Virginia and some stages look similar to Copperheads, and would be much more likely to be seen swimming in water. Northern Watersnake

 

[greeniguana]

I didn't get bitten by this, and I also didn't chop its head off.

 

[RyanT]

There were probably a half dozen boys in the water, when I spied 3 baby copperheads swimming by with one of them swimming between my legs.

Much more likely to be juvenile water snakes or cottonmouths. Copperheads don't commonly swim in open water.

 

[RyanT]

My question is why are there not copper heads in Fla,Georgia is covered with them.

It may be the "peninsula effect." This is not well understood, but there seems a pattern where species diversity decreases farther down a peninsula. In Florida, there are several reptile and amphibian species that are common in Ga, but don't make it to the tip of Florida. I agree though, it is a bit surprising that Copperheads aren't common at least in North Florida.

 

[kinoons]

No snake bite here in NM today. No snakes yet either.

But come spring/summer I may run into one of these guys again, like last year.

 

[Trilobite]

Much more likely to be juvenile water snakes or cottonmouths. Copperheads don't commonly swim in open water.

Cottonmouths don't make it into western Virginia--only the southeast corner of Virginia according to this map of inat observations: Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

 

[The Chairman]

Much more likely

Not being there, I'm sure you have a far better idea. I've collected cottonmouths for Ross Allen's serpentarium, and know the differences between both adults and juveniles. Definitely vipers by the shape of the heads, and the shading of the bands made me ID them as copperheads... free swimming no less. Not something I've ever seen before, or since, but cool nonetheless.

 

[greeniguana]

My question is why are there not copper heads in Fla,Georgia is covered with them.

A) They don't have legs.
B) They don't swim.

 

[The Chairman]

According to FWC, they are found in North Florida. According to many reptile sites they are good swimmers. Here's a pic of one IN the water... Two things, you can see the triangular head, even from this angle, as well as the hourglass shape of their stripes. Banded water snakes also tend to only have their heads above the water, while like their cousin the water moccasin (cottonmouth), these bad boys tend to float with most of their bodies showing.

There is no need to kill snakes, venomous, or not. They are harder and harder to come by in the wild and are important to our ecology. Most people seeing a snake in the wild, seem to believe they are all venomous, which is definitely not the case. Avoid triangular heads and you'll be quite safe. The only venomous snake with a smooth head is the coral snake. In any event, if you don't know: don't touch!

 

[Trilobite]

Yes, I did a similar web search and found several articles referencing the swimming abilities/tendencies of copperheads. Also found a 15 minute video talking about how to distinguish copperheads from water snakes. It says any snake when frightened can flatten its head to look triangular (though a copperhead probably can't make its head not look triangular--so what you say about avoiding triangular heads may still be valid). (Scroll down to see the video--Do Copperhead Snakes Swim In Water? » Wild Animals Central). The video emphasizes the "hershey kiss" shape of the copperhead bands--wider at the bottom. Though it says not every copperhead will have this (and some northern races do not).

I've trudged the backcountry of copperhead country in Maryland for 15 years and have seen timber rattlers, tons of water snakes, and several other species, but not yet a copperhead. So they are not easy to come across, at least in Maryland.