yeah they are mean as shit.

I am an amatuer snake enthusiast personally. Actually, I am an amatuer zoology enthusiast, I love studying animals

6/23/2012 12:19:29 PM

Actually copperheads are more aggressive. While all snakes will try and avoid you, they will react when threatened. Rattlesnakes rattle their tails, cottonmouths open up and show you their pearly whites, and copperheads bite. This isn't a full on ” I'm gonna kill you” bite, but rather a ” maybe if I do this you'll leave and I wont have to use all my venom on you” bite.

Also, I've seen cottonmouths way farther west than durham.

6/23/2012 12:26:49 PM

You clearly have no understanding of the difference between aggression and defense.

If you have legitimately spotted a cottonmouth west of Wake Co., be sure to check a distribution map, because obviously all of the people familiar with their range and telling you you're full of shit isn't enough. Go south, and yea...their range extends a little westward.

People who swear snakes are aggressive like they'll come after you are full of shit. Yea, the occasional individual is gonna get snappy. Keep your distance and everything is alright. It's not like copperheads are taking over the local cities.


^cottonmouth range map for NC

[Edited on June 23, 2012 at 12:43 PM. Reason : feeding trolls]

6/23/2012 12:32:26 PM

KILL EM ALL

6/23/2012 12:38:38 PM

I dont recall ever seeing a cottonmouth while I was in Raleigh, however here in Florida they are all over the damn place in all the swamps and canals. In Florida we also have the usual NC snakes like copper heads and several types of Rattlers. We also have some coral snakes in Florida.

6/23/2012 12:41:25 PM

I understand the difference, but since copperheads are pretty much the only snake around here that bites as a first line of defense, they are going to get a reputation as mean.

6/23/2012 12:41:47 PM

^^where are you in FL? Because copperheads barely range into Florida.

6/23/2012 12:44:55 PM

I am in Jacksonville, north Florida. Copperheads are more rare here, but cottonmouths are plentiful.

http://venomoussnakesfl.com/copperhead.htm

6/23/2012 12:49:24 PM

I think you failed to read the information in the link you posted.

[Edited on June 23, 2012 at 12:52 PM. Reason : but maybe I failed to understand the point you were making.]

6/23/2012 12:51:40 PM

I didnt say that copperheads were common in Florida, I said they can be found there. I said quite clearly that cottonmouths are all over the place. I am very familiar with the difference. Hell, technically coral snakes can be found in southern North Carolina in theory, but its rare.

6/23/2012 12:53:50 PM

Quote :

"take your pick: 3 snakes or worms, slugs, bugs "

worms, slugs, bugs...no doubt about it.

6/23/2012 1:01:07 PM

That cottonmouth distribution is effectively meaningless or at least low-resolution. I grew up on lake norman (north of CLT) and saw plenty of them over the years. Last year I killed one out at my mom's place in the stix outside Mt. Airy, and I saw one there about a year before that. Even taking into consideration the small chance some of those sightings were the same snake, I've probably killed about 10 total in these areas and that is not statistically insignificant. And before you suggest it: yes, I'm 100% positive on the IDs.

When I said copperheads are angry, I'll admit I've only seen two or three in the wild but I remember them being very nervous/wary of me and while I'm not a herpatologist I've been arouns enough snakes to know what "back the fuck up" looks like. I was also partially referring to the fact that they LOOK angry...they are pretty striking and aggressive-looking, and in any case are immediately recognizeable to even the layman.

Cottonmouths in my experience are just foul fucking snakes that I often smell before I'm eyes-on. They're like pissed-off venomous footballs.

Cottonmouths in my experience are just evil fucking creatures

6/23/2012 1:20:35 PM

^ You are outside the range on the map presented, you must be 100% wrong!

6/23/2012 1:25:32 PM

^^cmon dude, I appreciate you and all...but you're misidentifying another species as a cottonmouth. I grew up on Lake Norman, too, and I am telling you that you don't know a cottonmouth from a water snake.

6/23/2012 1:32:17 PM

I'm telling you man I'm not a complete idiot. I'll even go against my better judgment and admit that some that i saw in the water or through a car window i could have misidentified. Fact remains, i was up close and personal with quite a few cottonmouths over the years. They're pretty damned unique looking. For the record, I lived all over the lake from bills marina on the north end to queens landing area, main channel to the 150 bridge, turners knob, by governors island, by the peninsula and the south dam...and i only saw them up north

6/23/2012 1:56:50 PM

i believe those are what we call "dead snakes"

6/23/2012 2:06:00 PM

Yeah I've seen cottonmouth where i grew up in Burke County.

6/23/2012 2:07:20 PM

Quote :

""

I can't believe the babies are that small!

Dumb question, but are they just as poisonous at that age as they are fully grown...can they even bite through skin at that age?

6/23/2012 3:02:18 PM

The babies carry less venom, it's no more or less harmful drop-for-drop compared to adults.

And yes, they can bite through skin from the moment they are born.

6/23/2012 3:24:27 PM

but, from what I've heard, the younger ones are more dangerous because they don't have as much control over how much venom they put out when they bite.

6/23/2012 5:34:01 PM

Quote :

"HERPS OF NC"

[Edited on June 23, 2012 at 6:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2012 6:16:39 PM

HERP DERP!

6/23/2012 8:50:20 PM

the babies have cute yellow tails

6/23/2012 10:46:59 PM

How about this one?

7/25/2012 3:52:30 PM

i spy a 4-leaf clover

7/25/2012 3:55:49 PM

Looks like a dump snake to me.

7/25/2012 3:57:13 PM

what is it with you calling shit a dump x?

7/25/2012 4:00:14 PM

I had no idea that the dub had so many snake fappers.

dudes, it's a snake. although useful, it isn't that big of a deal to kill them

7/25/2012 4:09:49 PM

dudes, it's a snake human. although useful, it isn't that big of a deal to kill them

7/25/2012 4:13:00 PM

cue, the script

7/25/2012 4:16:25 PM

ever since i was chased in a lake by a water mocassin, i kill every snake that comes near my property

tl;dr OP did the right thing

7/25/2012 4:24:49 PM

we grew up on a creek in eastern nc, and i remember as a little kid almost seeing my dad get bit by a cottonmouth. it snapped at him as he was climbing the ladder to come back up on the dock

7/25/2012 5:16:34 PM

I would say "mountains ftw!", but soon enough I'll get to play with rattlesnakes.

7/25/2012 5:28:43 PM

synapse, that's a red-bellied water snake, Nerodia erythrogaster.

7/25/2012 5:45:19 PM