Cottonmouth Snake Facts

Cottonmouth snakes are widely found snakes, commonplace especially in South Carolina and Florida. Here are some cottonmouth snake facts, with scientific information that you may find fascinating about these venomous snakes.

Cottonmouth Snake Fact Sheet

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 of Cottonmouth Snakes
They are semi-aquatic and are mostly present in wetlands like rivers, lakes, swamps and ponds. One of the interesting cottonmouth snake facts 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 night time.

Appearance of Cottonmouth Snakes
The following cottonmouth snake facts regarding their appearance, will help you in identifying them. Cottonmouth snakes have elliptical eye pupils. Their back is black, brown or dark olive-colored. On the back and especially on the sides of cottonmouth 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.

Cottonmouth Snake Diet
The dietary habits of cottonmouth snakes vary according to their development. Newly born cottonmouth snakes 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 cottonmouth 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 of mice, rats and chicks.

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

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

Cottonmouth Snake Bite and Venom
Cottonmouth snakes are not generally aggressive. Sometimes, the bite of a cottonmouth 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 cottonmouth 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.

Cottonmouth Snake Bite 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 snake, seek immediate medical care. The cottonmouth snake bite treatment consist of antivenins, antibiotics and some intravenous fluids. One should keep first aid for snake bites handy, when staying in an area, that is heavily populated by snakes.

Read more on:

• Types of Snakes with Pictures
• Snakes as Pets
• Facts About Snakes

Cottonmouth 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.