How to Identify a Venomous Snake

If you're the curious type, you may want to know how to identify a venomous snake. There are three types of venomous snakes--the Opisthoglyph, which includes the Hog nose, Boomslang, Twig Snake and the Mangrove, the Proteroglyph, which includes the Cobra, Mamba, Kraits, and Coral snakes, and the Solenoglyph, which includes the pit vipers such as Rattlesnakes, Cottonmouths, Copperheads, Eyelash Viper and the Gaboon.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Identify a venomous snake by the shape of its head. Most venomous snakes have rather flat, heart-shaped heads that are distinctly wider than their bodies and have more pointed noses than harmless snakes.

2. Differentiate a venomous Coral snake from a harmless King snake by the location of the yellow stripes that encircle its body. On a Coral, the yellow stripes separate the red and the black so red touches yellow. Leave that fellow alone.

3. Distinguish a Rattlesnake from a harmless Bull snake by the dry scaly nodules on the end of its tail that make a distinct buzzing noise as the tail quivers, although sometimes a rattler has lost its rattles and can't make this noise.

4. Examine the snake's head from afar to see if there is a ridge or pit between the eye and the nostril. Pit vipers such as Rattlesnakes, Copperheads and Cottonmouths all have this indentation. The indentation is a heat detector that helps them identify appropriate-sized prey by the amount of heat emitted.

5. Recognize a Rattlesnake by a diamond shaped pattern along the length of the snake. There are 27 different species of Rattlesnakes, however, and each has its own distinctive markings.

6. Mark a Cottonmouth snake, also known as the Water Moccasin, by the pale stripes on both sides of a darker head.

7. Confirm a Copperhead snake by the classic copper color with darker hourglass shaped markings around its body.

Tips & Warnings

• Familiarize yourself with the venomous snakes known to be in your area by looking at pictures of them in books or on the Internet.
• Snakes will usually try to get away from you, so let them. Don't tease or harass them.
• The best policy to use with all snakes is to treat them all as if they are venomous and stay away from them.
• Never try to pick up a venomous snake whether dead or alive. Snakes have reflex movements even after they are dead and can still strike you with their fangs. Some snakes look dead when they are only cold and some even play dead.
• If you are in an area with known venomous snakes, wear long pants and tall leather boots and watch where you are placing your hands and feet.

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