Copperheads can swim, and they do sometimes slip into creeks and ponds, but they are land snakes at heart that would rather stay dry.1CAES Field Report. Copperhead Snakes That means a brown banded snake you see swimming is more often a harmless water snake than a copperhead. Still, copperheads cause most venomous snake bites in North America, so it is worth knowing how to tell the two apart.2Cutis. Key Features of North American Venomous Snake Bites The most dependable clue is not the head shape people usually look for but the pattern on the snake’s back, which you can judge from a safe distance.3natureblog.org. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them
Why Copperheads End Up Near Water
Copperheads eat small amphibians, reptiles and mammals, and many of those animals live near water.4AAAC Wildlife Removal of Roanoke. Do Copperhead Snakes Swim? So you can find copperheads along creek banks, pond edges and swamp margins while they hunt.5Behavioral Ecology. The influence of prey-scent stimuli on predatory behavior of the North American copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix (Serpentes: Viperidae) A copperhead will enter the water to chase prey or to cross a stream when it needs to.6AAAC Wildlife Removal of Roanoke. Do Copperhead Snakes Swim? Even so, the higher risk is on the bank, where people step or sit without looking. On hot summer evenings copperheads are often active after dark, which makes a creek bank at dusk a likely place to cross paths with one.
Most of a copperhead’s life is spent on dry land.7CAES Field Report. Copperhead Snakes Their favorite home is a forest floor covered in dead leaves, where their pattern makes them nearly invisible.8natureblog.org. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them They favor spots with deep leaf litter and plenty of fallen logs and branches.9Forest Ecology and Management. Spatial ecology and multi-scale habitat selection of the Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) in a managed forest landscape They tend to spend more time in upland woods than in low river swamps,10ODU Digital Commons. Movement Patterns and Habitat Use of the Copperhead Snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) in Southeastern Virginia though in the far South they also live in floodplains, swamp edges and low ground near streams.11The Orianne Society. Eastern Copperhead
Where Copperheads Live in North America
Copperheads live in 28 states across the central and eastern United States.12Animal Diversity Web. Agkistrodon contortrix copperhead Their range runs from southern New England to northern Florida and west to southeastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, central Oklahoma and eastern Texas.13The Orianne Society. Eastern Copperhead Small populations also live in far western Texas and northern Mexico.14Animal Diversity Web. Agkistrodon contortrix copperhead In places like metro Atlanta, the copperhead is the most common venomous snake.15Amphibian Foundation. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them The color and band shape vary slightly from region to region.16Animal Diversity Web. Agkistrodon contortrix copperhead
Outside this range, a brown banded snake near water is very unlikely to be a copperhead, though other venomous snakes may live there. Inside it, assume a copperhead is possible and check the pattern rather than assuming a water snake because it was near water.
Copperheads are patchy within the range. They are common where leafy woods and rocky or log-strewn ground exist and absent from open farmland or heavily built-up areas. Because looks vary by region, a local field guide, state wildlife page or herpetological society often shows what copperheads in your own area really look like, along with regional look-alikes.
How to Recognize a Copperhead
A copperhead’s body is pale tan to brown, often with a light pinkish tint.17Home & Garden Information Center. Identifying Copperhead Snakes Darker brown crossbands run its length in an hourglass pattern when seen from above.18Home & Garden Information Center. Identifying Copperhead Snakes Each band is wide on one side of the body, pinches narrow over the backbone, then widens again on the other side.19Home & Garden Information Center. Identifying Copperhead Snakes Some bands are broken, meeting only partway across the back or stopping at the sides.20Virginia Herpetological Society. Copperheads and Similar-Looking Harmless Species The head often has a coppery or reddish tone, which gives the snake its name,21A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference? and copperheads keep the same colors and pattern as they grow.22A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference?
A broken or incomplete band does not rule out a copperhead, so look at several bands along the body and judge by the overall shape. The coppery head is a supporting clue only, since light and mud can change how a head looks. Copperheads also often freeze instead of fleeing, and their pattern blends with dead leaves, so a snake that holds still is not a sign it is harmless.
You can check the bands safely from at least several feet away. A zoomed phone photo lets you study the pattern later instead of moving closer.
Young copperheads have a giveaway tail. They wriggle the tip like a worm to lure prey within reach.23PubMed Central. Tail movements by late-term fetal pitvipers resemble caudal luring: prenatal development of an ambush predatory behaviour Their tail is relatively longer and colored to make the lure work,24Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. Ontogenetic Changes in Tail-Length and the Possible Relation to Caudal Luring in Northeast Kansas Copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix so a small banded snake with a brightly colored tail tip is a sign of a young copperhead. Young copperheads are venomous from birth, so a small snake is not a harmless one.
Copperhead or Northern Water Snake
A northern water snake’s bands are widest near the backbone and narrow toward the sides.25Virginia Herpetological Society. Copperheads and Similar-Looking Harmless Species From above they look like bulges that swell in the middle, while a copperhead’s look like hourglasses.26Appalachian Voices. Mistaken Identity: Recognizing the northern water snake Color alone can mislead. Young water snakes range from dark gray to reddish brown,27Virginia Herpetological Society. Copperheads and Similar-Looking Harmless Species and some adults lose their pattern and turn nearly plain brown.28Virginia Herpetological Society. Copperheads and Similar-Looking Harmless Species Water snakes are the ones you’d expect to find in and right beside water.29Virginia Herpetological Society. Copperheads and Similar-Looking Harmless Species Basking on a branch over the water is typical water-snake behavior, since a copperhead is not usually found that way, though it isn’t proof by itself.
Head shape and eyes are unreliable clues. Copperheads do have broader, arrow-shaped heads and slit-shaped pupils, while water snakes have round pupils.30natureblog.org. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them But many harmless snakes flatten their heads into a triangle to look dangerous when threatened.31Appalachian Voices. Mistaken Identity: Recognizing the northern water snake And close enough to see pupils is too close unless you have binoculars.32natureblog.org. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them
A swimming snake is mostly seen from above, the best angle for judging bands. Ripples and glare can hide the pattern, so wait for a clearer view or use a zoomed photo rather than guessing. If mud or fading hides the bands, treat the snake as unidentified and keep away.
Many harmless snakes are killed each year after being mistaken for copperheads.33Amphibian Foundation. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them Water snakes often bite and release a foul musk when grabbed, which makes people assume they are venomous. Leaving a snake alone is safer than trying to kill it, since bites often happen during such attempts.
Copperhead or Cottonmouth
The cottonmouth, also called the water moccasin, is a venomous snake that lives partly in water across the southern and central US.34Cutis. Key Features of North American Venomous Snake Bites It is larger and heavier-bodied than a copperhead and swims readily.35CAES Field Report. Copperhead Snakes Southern copperheads like low ground near streams and swamps, so the two are often confused.36CAES Field Report. Copperhead Snakes
Cottonmouths have less intricate patterns and grow darker and plainer with age, while copperheads keep their pattern.37A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference? Most cottonmouths have a dark band through the eye, which copperheads lack.38A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference? A cottonmouth’s mouth is white inside and a copperhead’s is pink.39A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference? Young ones of the two species can be very hard to tell apart, though.40A-Z Animals. Cottonmouth vs Copperhead: What’s the Difference?
The mouth color isn’t a field test. You only see it if the snake gapes at you as a defensive warning, and by then you are close to a venomous snake and should back away. The dark eye stripe and the darker, plainer body of older cottonmouths are the clues you can see from a distance, so use them first.
Habits offer hints too. A heavy dark snake swimming calmly and openly in a southern swamp is more likely a cottonmouth, while a smaller pinkish banded snake in leaf litter by a creek fits a copperhead. Both are pit vipers, so the response is the same for either: leave it alone and back away.
Does the Way a Snake Swims Tell You Anything
Copperheads tend to swim on top of the water with the head raised and rarely go fully under.41Wander North Georgia. Copperheads vs. Water Snakes Vipers have wider bodies that float more easily, while water snakes have sleeker bodies that cut through the water.42NAUI Worldwide. Do Copperheads Go in Water? And How to Identify Them A threatened water snake will often dive to escape.43Wander North Georgia. Copperheads vs. Water Snakes
The rule is only a tendency. Harmless water snakes often swim with much of the body at the surface, especially when moving fast or warm from basking.44snake-identifier.app. Can Snakes Swim? How to Tell a Water Snake From a Cottonmouth A venomous snake crossing a current may ride lower than expected.45snake-identifier.app. Can Snakes Swim? How to Tell a Water Snake From a Cottonmouth
If a snake swims toward you, it is almost always heading for the bank, a log or cover, not chasing you. Move calmly out of its path and give it room, since splashing or striking at it can provoke a defensive response. If you are in the water, head for the shore farthest from its path.
What to Do If You See One Near Water
Copperheads cause most venomous snake bites in North America,46Cutis. Key Features of North American Venomous Snake Bites so treat any brown banded snake you can’t identify as possibly venomous. Step back several feet and let the snake move away on its own. Never try to catch, move or kill it.
To prevent bites at creeks and ponds, wear closed shoes on banks and in leafy areas. Look before sitting on logs or reaching under rocks and brush. On warm evenings near water, use a flashlight, and keep dogs leashed along wooded banks.
If someone is bitten, call 911 or get to an emergency room right away. Keep the person calm and the bitten limb still, at or slightly below heart level. Remove rings or tight items before swelling starts. Don’t cut the wound, suck out venom, apply ice or tie a tourniquet. A photo from a safe distance can help, but don’t chase the snake.
For a snake near a backyard pond or pool, clear leaf piles, woodpiles and tall grass near the water. Remove rodent attractants like spilled birdseed. Call a local wildlife service rather than handling the snake yourself.