Natural History: Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

 

Finding snakes in the wild is a thrill that I throughly enjoy, whether it's a tiny red-bellied snake or a nice, hefty cottonmouth, it's always exciting to find these magnificent individuals. Last August while enjoying a walk through the swamps of Cypress Gardens, a very healthy adult cottonmouth (agkistrodon piscivorus) was crossing the trail. This species is venomous, and because of that I remained at a safe distance and did not attempt to handle the snake. As a side note, you should never attempt to handle a snake unless you have verified the species as non-venomous. 

                           

This particular individual was about 30 inches long, with a very dark dorsal region that faded to a soft yellow. The identifiable characteristics for cottonmouths are a cross bands that taper from small at the top to wider at the bottom, and the head with its prominent canthus ridge. Male cottonmouths are larger than their female counterparts, but I was unable to identify this individual as male or female. Juvenile cottonmouths are easily identified by a yellow-tipped tail and more vibrant patterns. Adults lose the yellow-tip and their vibrant patterns tend to fade to more solid, dusky colored bodies. Adult cottonmouths are heavy bodied, which means their thickness to length ratio is higher than most snakes. Non-venomous water snakes (genus nerodia) are often confused for cottonmouths due to this heavy bodied trait. This is why it's especially important to be able to identify multiple features of snakes in order to correctly identify it. 

Cottonmouths spend most of their time around water as they primarily feed on fish and other amphibians. During the hot seasons they will mostly forage at night, so finding this indivdual active during the hottest part of the day in the hottest season of the year was quite shocking. I imagine it was retreating to a cool area to maintain a comfortable body temperature. You can usually find cottonmouths basking near the water usually on low hanging limbs or rocks. Their heavy bodied structure does not lend them to be the best climbers, so you will not usually find them high in trees. 

Unfortunately cottonmouths have a reputation for being aggressive, which can often times lead to people going out of their way to kill them. Their behavior is actually the opposite. They will do everything they can to avoid interactions with humans, and will only bite when stepped on, picked up, or if they do not have a way of escaping the interaction. My experience with these snakes is exactly as such. Once this individual was aware of my presence, he initially froze, and after several minutes of staying about 10 feet away, it finally moved slowly underneath a nearby bush (pictured in the second photo, you can make out its face in the center of the picture)

Spotting any snake in the wild is an exhilarating experience, but spotting one of our 6 local venomous species is even more so! I will continue to do my part of not harming local species, and I will continue to educate people about the importance of snakes in our ecosystem (yes, that also includes the venomous ones). Snakes unfortunately have a negative connotation and most people fear them, this is unjustified and with just basic education, people can have a better understanding of these amazing species'.