“Most people know some version of the old rhyme: ‘Red and yellow, kill a fellow, red and black, friend of Jack.’ In reference to the correct way to distinguish a real coral snake from a mimic. “Victims are almost always goofballs who attempt to catch one after mistaking it for a similarly colored milk snake or kingsnake,” Jared Kirby, a snake authority, told the Houston Press. Coral snakes are extremely reclusive and generally bite humans only when handled or stepped on. The venom is particularly potent and while the bite may not cause immediate pain, the victim will soon experience slurred speech, difficulty breathing, drooping eyelids, blurred vison, paralysis and potential respiratory arrest. They range from the southeast to the southwest depending on the species. The color pattern is mimicked by a number of other snake species including milk snakes, kingsnakes and the scarlet snake. with the western diamondback rattlesnake taking second.Ĭoral snakes – are the most colorful of the venomous snakes with bands of red, yellow and black wrapping around them. While fatalities from bites are rare, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake kills the most people in U.S. Rattlesnake bites cause pain, tingling or burning at the bite area, swelling, labored breathing, blurred vision and weakness. Unlike other snakes that flee humans, copperheads will freeze instead which can result in more bites when unsuspecting people step on them. It lives in a variety of habitats including forests, rocky outcroppings and swampy regions. Copperheads range throughout the eastern and central United States, but are absent in Florida and south-central Georgia. Copperheads love to eat mice and other small rodents, and, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society, the snakes play a “pivotal” part in keeping the rodent population regulated.Ĭopperheads – these snakes have a body that is tan, brown or even orange with hourglass-shaped crossbands with the heads almost always a solid copper color. These snakes range from the Southeast to southeast Virginia and favor swamps, shallow lakes and shores of bodies of water. Snake Species in Massachusetts Black rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) DeKays brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). Their name comes from their bright white lining of the inside of their mouth, which they use as a warning when feeling threatened. Below are the four venomous species and the common traits they share.Ĭottonmouths – these snakes are semi-aquatic and have a variety of colorations including brown, black and banded with brown and tan. In North America, you will only encounter four types of snakes that are venomous. Rattlesnakes particularly are on the move in the late summer as they search out mates. Young hatchlings also begin to appear as the temperatures rise which increases the number of snake sightings. Snake season runs from April to October as the reptiles emerge from their winter burrows and seek out food in the spring.
0 kommentar(er)
