Home Forums Gear Photography Baby Cottonmouths and a Moment of Zen

October is the time for Cottonmouths to be born. They're born alive, as all pit vipers are. And they have a bright green tip on their tail that they use to attract prey. Today, I saw about a dozen on the roads through the swamp. For every one I saw, there were probably a dozen in the grass I didn't see. Tiny little things, but they pack a full punch. And they are stubborn. I had to move most of them off the road. Here's some:








And still, they don't bother me as much as these things. Little fire demons.


And some Zen:

Nice pics! Can't imagine walking around knowing those could be nearby.....

Yeah, imagine frog gigging at 2 AM, and one or
two of them suckers drop out of a tree into the boat

Or reaching for a trotline or jug line

I like them in the road . makes them easy to run over 👍👍😁

Damn.
Shotshell are expensive, and a pita to load.
Especially at 12+/trip.

I think baby Copperheads also have a yellow tail tip.

They do, indeed. For the same reason. Copperheads and Cottonmouths are very closely related and can interbreed and there are hybrids out there.

Are these pictures taken in or near the Dismal Swamp?

No, Dare Co., North Carolina.

Been there, done that twice. There is no mistaking that sound of the “thud” on the deck. Before you even look to find it you begin calculating your options.

I've never had a Cottonmouth fall out of a tree, but I had a Northern Black Racer fall onto my kayak as I paddled under brush. Scared the [bleep] out of me. When it comes to shear meanness, Black Racers are hard to beat. It's the only snake that has literally come at me and tried to attack when I was near. I stopped picking them up because they are so pissy. And their musk stinks worse than any other snake I've handed except maybe a Smooth Green Snake.

Here's one of the videos I took of one of the little Cottons that I found, trying to fool me into believing he's a rattler.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1YFw8syGadrwcLB69

9 shot High Standard 22 loaded with rat shot takes care of the little ones .

Question? Approximate size of those babies? Maybe something for scale in a subsequent image.

Thank you for not being a baby and killing them for no reason. It is different if they are a threat around your home or kennel... they are just out earning a living, and we should all just leave them be.

about 10 inches long

I was totally unaware of that. Not doubting you but I’m going to dive into that one a bit as we have both here in Missouri.

Yep. Same genus, but different species. Critters of the same genus can generally interbreed. There's all kinds of hybrids out there. King/Corn Snakes, Diamondback/Timber Rattlers, and Copperhead/Cottonmouth hybrids. Not entirely common, but Cottonmouth/Copperhead hybrids do occur with some frequency. A common name for Cottonmouths is Water Moccasin. A common name for Copperheads is Upland Moccasin. Except for the mouth display, they both share the same pissy attitude. Even their body language is the same.



What's not the same is their venom. The Cottonmouth's is significantly worse. Copperhead bites result in red blood cell destruction, swelling, and bleeding, but after time, usually resolve with little or no permanent impairment. Cottonmouth venom does all that plus attacking muscle and connective tissues. A bite from Cottonmouth will likely result in some form of permanent injury, from minor tissue destruction to loss of a digit or limb, uo to, in rare cases, death.

Also, treatment for envenomation is incredibly expensive. The drug is Crofab and it's very costly. And it almost always take multiple vials, and some case, many vials. Treatment for a typical envenomation, including Crofab and supportive care, may cost $100,000 or more. I knew a guy who did a study on Cottonmouths who got bit. He was a in the hospital for several weeks. Didn't suffer too much tissue damage, but years later still had twitching and numbness in his lips of all things. Venom is some nasty stuff.

Agree about the nasty nature of the racer clan. We have two that are pretty common in areas with chaparral--the Western or Yellow-bellied Racer (called a Chaparral Snake where I come from), and the Red Coachwhip. Few folks ever see them because they are well named--they flee like lightning and often go up a vine or a tree. But if they feel cornered, WATCH OUT.

My first day at my new volunteer job up in the Santa Ana Mts. (30 miles and a galaxy away from LA), I didn't know that the new guy got to ride shotgun. And be the snake wrangler.

So I hopped out to move a non-poisonous snake from an old cattle ranch road on the game preserve and tried to move him with my boot, forgetting that they lie on the roads to warm up in the morning. And cold snakes are bitchy--NOT "morning people"!

So my new boss got a great action pic of me doing an Olympic-class backward broad jump and landing on my butt with a big Coachwhip staring at me! Great first day....

Now I always carry a stick, and it's not just because I'm a somewhat balance-challenged almost 80-year old!

GREAT pix, but glad we have only rattlers, a much more polite pit viper!

Diamond Head Copper Water Rattle Moccasin

Or having one grab a Jitterbug night fishing for big bass…. Jitterbug / Cottonmouth blasted with rat shot multiple times.