Cottonmouth Snake Facts

Cottonmouth snakes are widely found snakes, commonplace especially in South Carolina and Florida. These snakes are dangerous, and so learning more about them will come handy if you ever spot them. Here are some facts with scientific information that you may find fascinating about these venomous snakes.

Species Information
Cousins to copperhead snakes, cottonmouth snakes belong to the Crotalidae - Pit viper Snakes family. The scientific name for the species is Agkistrodon piscivorus. The eastern cottonmouth snake, can be seen during autumn in South Carolina. The first image on the right is of a cottonmouth water moccasin snake or the Florida cottonmouth. Cottonmouth water moccasin snake, have distinct facial markings.

Habitat
They are semi-aquatic and are mostly present in wetlands like rivers, lakes, swamps and ponds. One of the interesting fact about these snakes is they are also residents of drainage ditches. Thought they can be often seen sunning themselves around the edges of a water-body, a cottonmouth snake is more active at nighttime.

Appearance
Cottonmouth snakes have elliptical eye pupils. Their back is black, brown or dark olive-colored. On the back and especially on the sides of these snakes, a light-dark crossed pattern is noticeable. This pattern is more visible in the young ones. You can see this pattern on the third image on the right. The adults can be 30 - 48 inches long. To defend themselves against any potential enemy, they open up their mouth to show the white lining. Due to this defensive display habit, which can be seen in the second image, these snakes are called cottonmouth snakes.

Diet
The dietary habits of these snakes vary according to their development. Newly borns have a peculiar way of catching their food. They flick their brightly colored tails, so that the prey thinks that the tail is a worm, and the newborn snake waits till the prey is within striking range. Adult snakes hunt for their prey. They eat warm or cold blooded animals, like salamander, turtles, rats, small birds, other small snakes, etc. However, if in captivity the diet of an adult cottonmouth snake comprises mice, rats and chicks.

Reproduction
Spring season is the breeding time for these snakes. The male nudges the back and sides of the female for hours, till she exposes her tail for copulation. The female cottonmouth reproduce every alternate year. There is very less possibility that very young female cottonmouth will give birth to new ones.

Life Cycle and Life Span
The life cycle of a this snake differs a bit from the normal life cycle of a snake. The eggs are developed and hatched inside the female. Sometimes the eggs hatch immediately, after laying. Normally, 6 -12 babies are born, each of which are 10 - 25 cms long. The life span of cottonmouth snake is still 'unknown'.

Snakebite and Venom
Cottonmouth snakes are not generally aggressive. Sometimes, the bite of a this snake is referred to as a dry bite which means that it doesn't contain any venom. However, that does not mean that they are non-venomous. The bite of a cottonmouth snake can result in a person's death. The deadly venom is produced by these snakes in the glands present around the area where the jaws join. While biting, the muscles around the glands squeeze out the venom and transfer it to the enemy or prey.

Snakebite Treatment
There are many types of snake venoms. Cottonmouth snake venom, destroys the blood cells and causes a reduction in the clotting of the blood, which leads to hemorrhage of body parts of the enemy or prey. In some cases, their bite is fatal. In case you are bitten by a cottonmouth, seek immediate medical care. The cottonmouth snakebite treatment consist of antivenins, antibiotics and some intravenous fluids. One should keep first aid for snakebites handy, when staying in an area, that is heavily populated by snakes.

These snakes are misunderstood to be very aggressive and they are actually quite docile. I hope that the cottonmouth snake facts about their appearance, habitat, and nature, has been informative.