Why are cottonmouths poisonous

A triangular head with slit-shaped pupils and fangs. A single row of plates or scales on the undersurface of the snake, including the tail. Symptoms of a cottonmouth bite usually appear from minutes to hours after a bite and can include: Severe, immediate pain with rapid swelling. Discoloration of the skin. Difficult or rapid breathing.

Changes in heart rate or rhythm. Metallic, rubbery, or minty taste in the mouth. Numbness or tingling around the mouth, tongue, scalp, feet, or the bite area. Swelling in lymph nodes near the bite injury. Signs of shock. Related Information Snake and Lizard Bites. The species common names include many variants like the water moccasin, black moccasin, swamp moccasin, gapper, or simply viper.

Some other defensive moves also include flattening the body and emitting a very strong, pungent anal secretion. It coils up in a circle and opens its mouth nice and wide Steroids for sale displaying an impressive set of retractable fangs as well as the classic cotton white mouth. Also, being that their native range is primary in the southern cotton growing region of the United States so the name cottonmouth was more fitting.

The 3 sub-species of cottonmouths are found in southeast Virginia, south through the Florida peninsula and west to Arkansas in eastern and southern Oklahoma, east and central Texas and west and south Georgia. Some populations of cottonmouths have also been observed on the offshore islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The adult cottonmouths often reach more than But occasionally, some specimens may reach 71 inches or more in length and weight 10 lbs.

The cottonmouth has a broad triangular-shaped head much wider than its neck a typical look in vipers. Their coloration is highly variable and the patterns on adult cottonmouths often become somewhat obscured, resulting in an almost totally solid dark brown to blackish color. Whereas the juvenile cottonmouths have a more brightly colored pattern with very distinctive markings. The body is a brown base color with red to brown bands with an hourglass shape, the tip of the tail is yellow and used to caudal luring.

Other keynote features of these snakes are their very broad and triangular shaped heads along with their elliptical pupils which differ from non-venomous water snakes that have an oval pupil. Juvenile cottonmouths have a bright yellowish or greenish tail that they use to lure prey within striking distance.

The best identifying feature for cottonmouths is the dark stripe that runs from the back of the eye to the corner of the jaw.

Water snakes lack this distinctive feature. Cottonmouths get their common name from their strikingly white mouth. When threatened, their characteristic defensive behavior is to hold their mouth open, displaying the white lining in hopes that it will scare away potential predators. This display can often be startling and some snakes make quick, jerky movements when performing it.

However, this is a classic example of an animal indicating that you are in its space and that the preferred outcome is for you to move away without further interaction. In fact, a study of cottonmouths by Gibbons and Dorcas revealed that cottonmouths rarely bite in self-defense.

These descriptions of cottonmouths as aggressive animals that frequently chase people demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of animal behavior and are perpetuated by purposeful exaggerations making snake encounters seem more exciting or dangerous than they really were.

This does not mean that reports of cottonmouths moving towards people are completely fictitious. In fact, when given few options for escape, cottonmouths tend to move in the direction of the closest cover, regardless of whether or not there is a person in the way.

Sometimes this movement is accompanied by a raised head in an additional attempt to convince intruders to get out of the way Means However, these behaviors can scarcely be described as aggression or chasing, and cottonmouths exhibiting this behavior will crawl over boots, between legs, or around people with little to no interest in actually biting a person plenty of videos now exist of this behavior.

In reality, people are many times larger than even the biggest cottonmouth, and venom is energetically costly to produce. The best strategy for these animals is to escape a potentially deadly encounter with a potential predator. The general perception of cottonmouths as aggressive is so widespread that it translates into two additional fallacies of basic snake biology. First, the average person is likely to describe any snake observed near the water as a cottonmouth, regardless of how similar in appearance it is.

This is not a rare phenomenon, and it can be difficult to convince people that many other species of snakes can be found in or near the water. Countless water snakes have met an unfortunate end for being identified as cottonmouths. Second, people will swear that cottonmouths occur well outside of their documented range.

While interning for Georgia Department of Natural Resources in northern GA, I was approached by a local who adamantly believed he had cottonmouths in the creek behind his house.