Also, another non-venomous snake called the scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea - pictured left is a harmless mimic of the coral snake.
There is an old adage to help distinguish these venomous versus harmless species but it only works in North America :. Of the three above pictured snakes, notice that the coral snake has distinct red and yellow bands, but the other two "mimic species" have red markings bordered by black. This venom facilitates capture of the snake's prey. These venomous snakes have another trait in common, a vertically elliptical pupil this resembles a cat eye - see top photo of a copperhead.
By contrast, most non-poisonous snakes have a round pupil, such as the black rat snake Elaphe obsoleta - bottom photo. Note: the coral snake also has a round pupil.
In addition, these five venomous snakes are known as "pit vipers. Infrared wavelengths are invisible to humans. With the aid of this heat-sensing pit, pit vipers locate rodents even at night the heat given off by the rodent can be "seen" by the snake. These heavy-bodied snakes are olive-brown to black and their dark crossbands are barely noticeable until they are wet.
Their upper lip also is white, and they have a black stripe from snout to neck. The Cottonmouth's belly is mottled with black or brown and cream-colored blotches. The young are brightly banded like a Copperhead, but turn darker with age, with tail tips that are yellow to greenish-yellow.
Adults average 24 to 36 inches in length. The Cottonmouth will be most often found in a variety of wetlands, from swamps and oxbow lakes to sloughs and drainage ditches and streams. They are active from April to November, and even at night in the hotter months. Two to 15 young are born per breeding couple between August and September.
These snakes eat fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, birds, and rodents. This small venomous rattlesnake grows to between 15 and 20 inches and is identified by a reddish stripe down the backbone with black cross-bands.
The general background color is slate-gray. The top of the head has a spear-tip pattern. This feature, HerpsOfArkansas. The tail is tipped with a very small rattle that some say sounds like a small insect buzzing, but the sound may only carry a short distance. The tail of the young Pygmy Rattlesnake, prior to developing rattle buttons, is a bright yellow or green and used to lure in prey such as frogs, lizards and small snakes.
They breed in the fall and between four and 10 eggs hatch per breeding couple. The yellow bands on this small but venomous snake make it stand out among the snakes found in Arkansas and lend to the old saying "Red touch black, venom lack. Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Texas Coral Snakes prefer moist pine, hardwood, or mixed pine-hardwood forests with loose, sandy soils and pine straw, leaf litter, and logs for cover.
They are active from late February to mid-November, in the early morning or at dusk when humidity is higher. They are also active at night after rains during the summer months.
It inhabits dry, rocky habitat characterized by exposed rocky escarpments, rocky glades, and talus slides. Little is known about the ecology and natural history of C. He provided information on their habitat, spring activity, and courtship. In addition, he collected ten C. Nothing is available about western diamondback rattlesnake reproduction in Arkansas.
Females are thought to give birth to live young in Arkansas in September, and in other parts of their range in Texas from August to October, with litter size ranging from four to twenty-five. Crotalus atrox feeds primarily on various mammals, including shrews, rodents, and rabbits. In one major study in Texas, woodrats Neotoma spp. However, lizards, bird eggs, amphibians, and lubber grasshoppers have also been reported in the diet of this snake. Predators include a variety of larger mammals deer, wild hogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats ; birds such as hawks , owls , and roadrunners; and snakes, including kingsnakes and coachwhips.
This snake is the most dangerous species in Arkansas and should be treated as such. A typical case of envenomation by C. A bruise-like discoloration with concomitant blistering and ecchymosis soon appears at the bite and may involve the entire bitten area. Physiological symptoms include increased pulse rate, hypotension, weakness, sweating, faintness, dizziness, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
Death, if it occurs, usually happens within six to twenty-four hours after the bite from a drop in hemoglobin, abdominal bleeding, hemorrhaging of major organs, and acute pulmonary edema. Timber or Canebrake Rattlesnake The timber also called canebrake rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus , is another extremely dangerous pitviper in the state. It is a large, heavily bodied snake that attains a maximum total length of cm; the largest specimen from Arkansas measured cm.
The adult dorsal color and pattern is quite variable but is mostly pale gray or tan with nineteen to thirty dark V-shaped crossbars and an orange to reddish-brown mid-dorsal stripe and black tail.
A variety of habitats support populations of this snake, including south-facing rocky outcrops, upland hardwood forests, brushy fields, and pine plantations as well as forested floodplains and swamps. Interestingly, a population of C. It feeds on insects, frogs and toads, lizards, shrews, rodents, rabbits, and ground-nesting birds. Predators of this snake are similar to those for the western diamondback. Although this rattlesnake has a relatively mild disposition and is reluctant to strike compared to the western diamondback, it is a highly venomous and dangerous snake that possesses very long fangs up to 10 mm , a considerable striking range, a substantial venom output, and a strongly hemotoxic venom.
Although unusually toxic venom has been reported in some populations of C. In addition, venom from juvenile specimens of timber rattlesnakes has been reported to be more toxic than that of the adults.
Human fatalities from envenomation by timber rattlesnakes have been reported, and the effects on people bitten by the snake are similar to those of C. It is gray with twenty-three to thirty-five black blotches or crossbands down the dorsum and a rust-colored mid-dorsal stripe. Although the head is boldly patterned, crossbands are usually incomplete, with gaps along the sides of the body. This snake is reported to occur statewide in Arkansas; there are records for nearly half the counties, but numerous counties, including several in the upper Arkansas River Valley and Mississippi Alluvial Plain, lack specimen records.
It occurs in rocky habitat, mixed hardwood-pine forests, pine plantations, palmetto-hardwood forests, and cedar glades as well as marshes, cropland, and brushy areas along the Red River in the southwestern part of the state. There is a lack of information on the life history of this rattlesnake in Arkansas. An average litter size is six to fourteen young, and they are born in August and September.
This snake is an ambush predator that feeds on a variety of invertebrates centipedes, insects, and spiders and vertebrates, including frogs, rodents, lizards, birds, and small snakes.
For example, a four-toed salamander Hemidactylium scutatum was found in the stomach of an S. Predators of western pigmy rattlesnakes include kingsnakes, hawks, opossums , skunks, and domestic dogs and cats. It is difficult to be forewarned of its presence on the ground because of its coloration and because of its hard-to-hear rattles that sound like the buzz of an insect.
Western pigmy rattlesnakes typically respond to a nearby threat by coiling and vigorously striking. Statistics indicate that snakebites from this pitviper are relatively few, and although they are capable of producing serious effects, rarely are human deaths reported. Envenomation produces moderate to severe localized symptoms such as hemorrhaging, passing bloody urine, and having difficulty in breathing.
Unless the victim is very young or old, most recover completely and uneventfully in a matter of days. Other Mildly Venomous Snakes Although there are other snakes in Arkansas that are considered mildly venomous, they are of no real concern to humans.
It rarely attempts to bite and prefers to demonstrate an extraordinarily defensive posture of its body known as death feigning. Others that are mildly venomous include those in the genera Nerodia watersnakes and Thamnophis garter and ribbon snakes.
Snakebite Treatment Snakebites are estimated to lead to as many as 9, emergency room visits yearly in the United States; venomous species account for approximately one-third of these visits, almost all of which are pitviper bites. Recent investigators have estimated the incidence of venomous snakebite in the United States at roughly 7, to 8, per year, with fatalities averaging fewer than ten a year. In Arkansas, statistics documented between and by the Arkansas Department of Health noted that only three Arkansans died from snakebites from native species, with all three occurring in the s.
One death in was from a rattlesnake unknown species bite, while the other two, in and , were from bites from an unspecified snake species. Arkansas Wildlife Weekly Newsletter. Conservation Education Workshop Snake. Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications. March Click here to register.
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