Cottonmouth Snake

Introduction to Cottonmouth Snakes

Do snakes give you the heebie-jeebies? It surely should. No matter which snake it is in question, they are bound to keep you hooked to the ground frozen, as they pass you by. Today, we are going to talk about a venomous and dangerous species of the pit viper. It goes by the genus name Agkistrodon, and the species name is A. Piscivorous. You will come across the venomous fangs of the Cottonmouth if it feels threatened. They are dangerous and can even cause death. The Cottonmouth is found around water bodies and is the only semiaquatic kind of viper. It is a good swimmer and can be found in shallow lakes, marshes, streams, as well as oceans.

How does the Cottonmouth snake look like?

This venomous and deadly snake is found in the south-eastern regions of America. When you come across an adult cottonmouth snake, you’ll witness its triangular shaped mouth that sits on the pale snouted head. The body of the snake is pretty wide whereas the neck is narrow in with. It has many similarities with the copperhead and the rattlesnake.

Between the nostril and the eyes of the Cottonmouth snake lie the organs that can detect and sense heat. The shape of its eyes is not circular like other snakes found in water, and the tongue is similar to the shape of a fork. It moves in the direction of smell present in the air. The fangs are present in front of its mouth that produces the venom from the junctures located in the jaws.

The Cottonmouth snake derives its name from the white lining inside its mouth. Color of a cottonmouth snake can vary. The adults have some form of patterns on their olive or dark black back, and the belly is however pale. Young Cottonmouth snakes have clear markings on their back which looks like thick dark bands. The tail, however, can be yellow or gray with a tinge of green in it.

Where does a Cottonmouth snake live?

The Cottonmouths are found in the United States of America especially in the south-eastern regions. They can stay anywhere in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Alabama, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. They can also be found in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas. Cottonmouths can live in different types of environment, but they love to stay in the wetland regions. This doesn’t mean they aren’t found on land. They can be easily found in swamps, cypress, creeks, river floors, dams, salt marshes, lakes, rivers, streams, sloughs, bayous, and bayheads.

What do they eat?

The Cottonmouth snake survives by eating fishes, as well as other mammals. It proceeds to first strike its predators and then bites it to release the venom into their bodies. The Cottonmouth wraps its prey around its tail until it dies. It opens its mouth wider than usual to swallow the whole prey in. Cottonmouth snakes have the ability to do this because it can detach its jaw bones. In the list of its preys, turtles, frogs, eggs, snakes, birds, carrion, and insects are present. The Cottonmouth loves to prey on black rat snakes, leopard frogs, bass, catfish, least shrews, and young snapping turtles.

How does the Cottonmouth Snake Reproduce?

The male Cottonmouths try to attract the female Cottonmouths by slithering in the form of combat dance. The males might end up in a fight to win the right to mate with the female Cottonmouth. The Cottonmouths usually mate with one suitable male. It mates during the spring. The females after mating carry its eggs in the body. Female Cottonmouths carry their eggs for four months and are ovoviviparous by nature. It can give birth to twenty snakes at one time after every few years. A young Cottonmouth snake doesn’t need the feeding or protection of its parents. They are vibrant and bright in color and live free from the day they are born.

Cottonmouth Snake Pictures

Take a look at some of these pictures of cottonmouth snake:

How poisonous are Cottonmouth snakes?

The bite of a Cottonmouth is extremely poisonous and destroys the red blood count in the human body. There are mostly two kinds of snake venom, the neurotoxic and hemotoxic. Both have different kinds of effects. When Cottonmouth strikes, it attacks the tissues along with the red blood cells. One can go into trauma caused by the damage that the snake bite makes. Sometimes a patient has to go through several kinds of skin grafts. Cottonmouth skin bite can even cause to tissue degeneration. Cottonmouth bites may not cause deaths, but the venom can cause other several damages.

How to treat Cottonmouth snake bites?

The bite of a Cottonmouth snake is highly poisonous. If not taken care of it on time, it will lead to severe complications. But, if you are fast, then the patient can survive. A person who has just been bitten by a Cottonmouth snake will experience swelling in the limbs. This happens because fluids start accumulating and continue to spread in the rest of the body. Firstly, swelling begins to appear and then it starts to itch. You will experience chills along with trembling and elevated heart rate. This is how your body starts to react when the venom reaches the blood. If a person has a weak immune system, then the symptoms start to develop faster.

Other signs of Cottonmouth snake bite include:

• The mark of the fangs on the body
• Pain in and around the bite mark
• Swelling and redness
• Bleeding or blood clotting
• Shock
• Blood Pressure drops
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Inability to breathe
• Vision becomes blurry
• Numbness in the body
• Production of saliva increases.

Keep the victim relaxed and make sure you have removed the clothing around the bite mark. Seek medical help as fast as possible else get a pump to suck out the venom. Make sure to follow every instruction mentioned in it. To prevent the venom from flowing to the rest of the body parts, tie a rigid piece of material above the wound. Giving any kind or form of cold compress is wrong and shouldn’t be done at any cost. Don’t try to use any tool to pull out the venom instead seek for medical help.

How to get rid of Cottonmouth snakes from your gardens?

Under no circumstances can one live in a house that is inhabited by snakes. Apart from the chills that they cause, they are life-threatening. If a snake is in your garden, it means it likes it there. The conditions are good enough for it to live there.

Follow these steps to make sure a Cottonmouth snake doesn’t start living in your home:

• Your garden should always be clean.
• The presence of debris, waste, rocks, and other pests shouldn’t be there.
• If there is a burrow in your garden, make sure it is covered. Burrows are perfect for a Cottonmouth’s breeding.
• Keep an eye on the rats, and frogs.

If you locate a snake in your home or garden, make sure to call the authorities. Never try to deal with it. Simply leave it alone.

Interesting facts about the Cottonmouth Snakes

Here are some facts that you might not know about the Cottonmouth snakes. Take a look to understand more about these deadly yet fascinating creatures.

1. The Cottonmouth snake is also referred to as water moccasin.
2. A Cottonmouth doesn’t live more than twenty years of age.
3. Cottonmouths share their dens with other poisonous snakes in winter for hibernating.
4. They are excellent hunters. After locating their prey, they use their tongue to taste what is around them.
5. The Cottonmouths have heat sensors located underneath their eyes. This helps them to hunt even in the dark.
6. They are able to sense the heat that is produced from their prey’s body.
7. Alligators, snapping turtles, king snakes, cranes, herons, humans, and snapping turtles are the predators of a Cottonmouth snake.
8. In order to keep their predators away, a Cottonmouth sprays foul odor with the help of its glands. This keeps predators away.
9. A Cottonmouth swims in a way that its body always stays on the surface.
10. In case a drought occurs, several Cottonmouth snakes attack water bodies where the amphibians and fishes are trapped.
11. When a Cottonmouth snake travels through desert areas, it produces a rattling sound similar to the rattlesnake.
12. A Cottonmouth snake is the only snake that is aquatic by nature and grows as long as 180 cm.

Different Types

A Cottonmouth snake has three different types of species.

Florida Cottonmouth

As the name suggests, it is found in Florida and Georgia’s southernmost regions. With extraordinary patterns on the head, it can weigh more than 10 pounds and grow as long as 74.5 inches.

Western Cottonmouth

This is the smallest type of Cottonmouth snake and is mostly dark in color. They grow only 36 inches. One can find these snakes in south-eastern coasts of United States of America.

Eastern Cottonmouth

These snakes can grow up to 74 inches. The stripes, as well as the color of the Eastern Cottonmouth, is dark. It is found around the coastal regions of USA.

This was all that you needed to know about the Cottonmouth snakes.