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Southern
Copperhead, Huntsville, TX Venomous
The southern copperhead is found throughout the eastern third of Texas, where moisture is abundant most of the year. It has a pale copper-colored body with dark copper-colored crossbands that are distinctly hour-glass shaped (wide on the sides, narrowing toward the spine and widening again on the other side). As in these photos, the dark crossbands sometimes do not meet at the spine.
This snake apparently bit the pet dog at the residence where it was found. The dog died, and the owner assumed the death was caused by heat stroke until this snake was found under a tree in the yard. The southern copperhead typically lies stretched out or coiled at rest and takes advantage of its coloration to avoid detection. Unfortunately, it often has the appearance of a tree branch on the ground and this may invite an untrained child to step on it. My mother grew up in Alabama, where copperheads were common; she taught her children never to step on a tree branch across a path in the woods, as it might be a snake instead. I benefited from this advice more than once. In fact, it is likely I would otherwise not have survived past my teen years (I walked the woods in Missouri almost every day while growing up). Copperheads are among the least aggressive snakes found in Texas, but when stepped upon, the copperhead will bite the offender in self-defense, producing a wound that requires immediate medical attention. * 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-- |
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