Cottonmouth Question

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Thats why Dad taught us from a young age to NEVER EVER step where you cannot see, so we learned to step onto a log, then step AWAY from it while looking to see if 1 was laying against the log and maybe 10% of the time a snake indeed was sunning against the log.


yeap,,,that's been put out for a LONG time,,through generations, books, magazines, etc,,,,,,and I've never (well never say never) have seen a snake on the other side of the log,,,,,but I still step up and then over,,,,

guess I'm lucky,,,,
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
Did not have their home environment to defend.
I'm not an expert herpetologist but I've always been interested in reptiles of all kinds. As a kid we would catch and "study" frogs, turtles, lizards, salamanders and the occasional snake. We never kept them around for long or killed any of them. We moved into a newly developing neighborhood when I was 12 and lots of neighbors would burn piles of brush when they cleared the back of their lot. Word got around that my brother and I would help get rid of any snakes that showed up in their yard and we got called on a lot to do just that. Sometimes the snakes would be either dead or dying because of the fire or smoke, or from people trying to kill them with a rake or something. There was a creek behind the place and we'd let the live ones go there. In all the years we did that we never saw a venomous snake but we did see many different species, such as, garters, pines, kings, blacks, waters, decays, to name a few. Once we got hold of a six foot black snake that was dead. We convinced our little sister or maybe 10 years old to put it around her neck and hold the head in her hands while we rang our front doorbell. When our mom opened the door and saw that we thought she was going to have a heart attack. It was hilarious to us at the time. Later when we had to go home, not so funny then.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer

Thats why Dad taught us from a young age to NEVER EVER step where you cannot see, so we learned to step onto a log, then step AWAY from it while looking to see if 1 was laying against the log and maybe 10% of the time a snake indeed was sunning against the log.
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I still do that to this day and I taught my sons that when we spent time in the woods and now I'm teaching my grandkids the same thing. We have this thing we say when we walk in the woods. The first person to walk close to a snake wakes it up. The second one makes it mad. And the third one is the one that gets bitten. It is really fun when they keep trying to pass each other to not be the third one in line. It is a silly thing but it helps make them aware of where they put their feet.
 

Rubline

Twelve Pointer
I don't live in cottonmouth country but I saw a snake this afternoon while on the mower that I've never seen before.
At a distance looked like a black snake, a little over a foot long.
When I got closer I could see faint markings on it, kind of like a copperhead.
The head didn't particularly look like a poisonous snake but it got in some weeds before I could get a good close up look.
Anybody have any idea of what kind of snake it is?
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Some adult hognose are almost black with darker markings. They are kinda scarce these days. I used to catch them all the time in Franklin Co. when I was growing up. Been up here in Granville nearly 25 years now and have only seen one about 3 years ago and it was very dark. Nothing like the lighter ones I saw in Franklin.
 

UpATree

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Thats why Dad taught us from a young age to NEVER EVER step where you cannot see, so we learned to step onto a log, then step AWAY from it while looking to see if 1 was laying against the log and maybe 10% of the time a snake indeed was sunning against the log.

OK, please explain this one to the dummy. You mean, you first stand on the log with both feet, look down, and verify all clear, then step forward? Or something else?
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
OK, please explain this one to the dummy. You mean, you first stand on the log with both feet, look down, and verify all clear, then step forward? Or something else?
Depending on how big the log is...if its small enough I just look over. If it's large I stand on it and look over.

The worst thing for me is old lap piles or a cutover thats a couple years old. You can't see where your stepping and sticks break and pop up against your leg....I hate that.

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
now I have learned that a water snake and a cotton mouth can look a lot alike.

Is there anything that looks like a copperhead. Had one of those a couple years ago that was a little too friendly.

About 3 feet long and left no doubt in my mind that it was a copperhead. Anything else it could have been?
 

curdog

Ten Pointer
Contributor
now I have learned that a water snake and a cotton mouth can look a lot alike.

Is there anything that looks like a copperhead. Had one of those a couple years ago that was a little too friendly.

About 3 feet long and left no doubt in my mind that it was a copperhead. Anything else it could have been?
There's a couple of snakes that look similar to a copperhead. Some of the water snakes at a glance could be mistaken for a copperhead..
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
There's a couple of snakes that look similar to a copperhead. Some of the water snakes at a glance could be mistaken for a copperhead..
Yeah, especially in cover. Like I said in another post upon close inspection they are fairly easy to tell the difference, but when you are getting the hell away from them you aren't looking that close. LOL
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
This one was between a cutover and a tobacco field on high ground. A few hundred yards from any water.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
A hognose snake can look and act very much like a copperhead.
They are completely harmless except for the funky musk they can leave on you.
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
your first clue may have been that it allowed the dog to "chase it for a hot second"
A cottonmouth would likely have just bit the dog or you or both if you screwed with it.
Learned that lesson on currituck many moons ago.
I have no idea of their official range.
Every true CM that I have run across had a bad attitude and reacted the same way if not given "their" space.
It may be defending only a 2 foot circle or a 15 foot circle, you never know.
The ones on Pine Island on the Santee NWR don't like a bright flashlight beam either [my closest call with any venomous snake].
The US Army told me as a recruit at Ft Jackson to just leave all snakes alone and that is the best advice I've ever gotten about snakes and should be heeded here.
 
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