Western Cottonmouth Snake, 092708, Driftwood, TX--pg 3

The left side of the head, in slightly different lighting, shows a hint of the cheek stripe and the lighter band below it. A light mark at the posterior head, where the facial plane joins the dorsal plane, shows here and also in the photo on the previous page. I don't remember seeing that mark on other specimens. The cat's eye pupil and prow-shaped face and nose are obvious. The neck scales are smooth, quite unlike the strongly keeled scales of the nerodian water snakes. Ironically, since the harmless nerodians have scales keeled so strongly that they resemble an alligator, they tend to look meaner than a cottonmouth. Their demeanor is no help, either, because most nerodians aggressively defend their territory, while cottonmouths either ignore human intruders or turn tail and run at the first opportunity. It is not unusual for cottonmouths to be mistaken for harmless water snakes and vice versa.  A cottonmouth will strike if approached too closely, but not like a typical rattlesnake. A rattler strikes at lightning speed, often spanning a distance of one-third to one-half its body length (juvenile rattlers may span their full body length or more), then injects its venom and draws back before its victim realizes what has happened. A cottonmouth, by comparison, often strikes 10-12 inches outward, in a defensive, rather than an offensive, strike.

 *  1  *  2  *  3  *  4  *  5  *  6  *  7  *  8  *

* TERMITE ENCOUNTERS  *  SNAKE ENCOUNTERS * SNAKE BITE FIRST AID * SNAKE EXCLUSION * SPIDER ENCOUNTERS FOR 2008 *  SPIDER ENCOUNTERS FOR 2007 * SPIDER BITE FIRST AID * SPIDER EXTERMINATION * PUSS CATERPILLAR ENCOUNTERS * PUSS CATERPILLAR FIRST AID * PUSS CATERPILLAR EXTERMINATION *  Assembled & Edited by Jerry Cates. Questions? Corrections? Comments? BUG ME RIGHT NOW! ---- Ph: 512-331-1111 ---- E-Mail ---- Privacy ----BugsInTheNews * --0a0s--