What kind of snake? [Georgia, US]

[u/JellyOrchid996]

Ran into this snake at the park today! What kind is it?

[u/iymlucid]

Eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), !venomous and best admired from a safe distance

[u/JellyOrchid996 → u/iymlucid]

oh my lord🫪 i didn’t notice it at first while walking and my foot was only about 1 feet away from it! super cool tho!!

[u/mediocre_remnants → u/JellyOrchid996]

They are generally very chill and don't want to bite you. But still, it's best to keep your distance.

[u/FranzKafka_irl → u/mediocre_remnants]

I was almost bitten by one once. I was on a run and stepped beside what i thought was a pile of dead pine needles, until it hissed and struck out at me. Barely missed me by a few inches.

Apparently theyre brighter colored when they're young; thats also when theyre most dangerous because they cant quite regulate how much venom is dispersed when they bite. He was very, very bright.

[u/thesoapmakerswife → u/FranzKafka_irl]

I believe that this is a myth about the venom regulation.

[u/Irma_Gard → u/thesoapmakerswife]

Yes, it is a myth, u/FranzKafka_irl. Newborn venomous snakes are capable of regulating their venom delivery. And while bites from medically significant species are a medical emergency regardless of the age/size of the snake, adults are capable of delivering much more venom (because their venom glands grow with them), so they are potentially more dangerous. See the !myths bot reply for more information.

[u/SEB-PHYLOBOT → u/Irma_Gard]

Here is a list of common myths and misconceptions about snakes. The below statements are false:

Non-venomous snakes shake their tails to mimic rattlesnakes

Baby venomous snakes are more dangerous than adults

Snakes Chase People

Rattlesnakes are losing their rattle because of {insert reason}

The only good snake is a dead snake

Snake repellents are useful and effective

---

I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, here report problems here and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that here. This bot, its development, maintenance and use are made possible through the outreach wing of Snake Evolution and Biogeography - Merch Available Now

[u/jdauhmer → u/[deleted]]

And in this case, it's head is much more copper colored than it's body. It's actually a copperhead.

[u/chuffberry → u/jdauhmer]

Yeah, I was gonna say, this is the most copper-headed copperhead I’ve ever seen

[u/onegoodmug → u/chuffberry]

I think this particular snake is sponsored by Hersey.

[u/NecessaryEcho7859 → u/chuffberry]

I said that exact thing to my husband when I saw the video.

[u/whatsthissnake-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Rule 6: Avoid damaging memes or tropes and low effort jokes.

Please understand a removal doesn't mean we're mad or upset; we're just committed to maintaining an educational space so jokes and memes are held to a higher standard than a typical comments section.

Avoid damaging memes like using "danger noodle" for nonvenomous snakes and tropes like "everything in Australia is out to get you". This is an educational space, and those kind of comments are harmful and do not reflect reality.

We've also heard "it's a snake" as a joke hundreds of times. We've probably removed it a few times from this very thread already.

Ratsnake and other rhymes and infantilization can be posted in /r/sneks and /r/itsaratsnake. While we encourage creativity are positive talk about snakes, but even comments like "____/" mislead users.

[u/Flesh_Trombone → u/JellyOrchid996]

Their camouflage works insanely well. A very fun little rabbit hole is to image search "spot the copperhead". It is very difficult.

[u/FeralFloridaKid → u/Flesh_Trombone]

Growing up in Florida, my childhood was a neverending game of spot the copper/pygmy/moccasin or is that just a really convincing banded water snake or half-hidden hognose? Coral snakes are fun by comparison just because you might actually see them before you're stepping over them.

[u/eye_no_nuttin → u/FeralFloridaKid]

Ohhh man~ You nailed it!! Florida native/cracker, and my dad would always tease me about snakes and stuff, but I mistaken a cypress knee tree root for a copperhead! He slowed doen in the teasing, just for that weekend though, lol 😂😊

[u/SEB-PHYLOBOT → u/iymlucid]

Eastern Copperheads Agkistrodon contortrix, are one of two recognized species of copperhead pit vipers. Adult copperheads are medium-sized snakes (61-90.0 cm record 132.1 cm) that live in a range of habitats, from terrestrial to semi-aquatic, including rocky, forested hillsides and wetlands. They can also be found within cities where wooded areas are present, such as city parks. They also will hang out where there is deadfall; their camouflage is perfect for this!. When young, Eastern Copperheads are known to readily consume cicadas as a major part of their diet. As they grow they switch to larger prey like small mammals and amphibians.

Many people find it helpful to liken the pattern of the Eastern Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix to "Hershey kisses," but please don't rely on any one trick. The bands on Broadbanded Copperheads Agkistrodon laticinctus do not narrow at the top of the snake.

Eastern Copperheads are venomous but usually only bite humans or pets in self-defense. As with many blotched snakes, their first line of defense is to freeze in place or flee. Copperheads also shake and vibrate the tail in self defense and as a caudal lure.

Range map | Relevant/Recent Phylogeography

The Agkistrodon contortrix species complex has been delimited using modern molecular methods and two species with no subspecies are recognized. There is a wide zone of admixture between the two copperhead species where they overlap.

This short account was prepared by /u/unknown_name and edited by /u/Phylogenizer.

---

Snakes with medically significant venom are typically referred to as venomous, but some species are also poisonous. Old media will use poisonous or 'snake venom poisoning' but that has fallen out of favor. Venomous snakes are important native wildlife, and are not looking to harm people, so can be enjoyed from a distance. If found around the home or other places where they are to be discouraged, a squirt from the hose or a gentle sweep of a broom are usually enough to make a snake move along. Do not attempt to interact closely with or otherwise kill venomous snakes without proper safety gear and training, as bites occur mostly during these scenarios. Wildlife relocation services are often free or inexpensive.

If you are bitten by a venomous snake, contact emergency services or otherwise arrange transport to the nearest hospital that can accommodate snakebite. Remove constricting clothes and jewelry and remain calm. A bite from a medically significant snake is a medical emergency, but not in the ways portrayed in popular media. Do not make any incisions or otherwise cut tissue. Extractor and other novelty snakebite kits are not effective and can cause damage worse than remaining calm, seeking help and waiting for professional evaluation.

---

I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, here report problems here and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that here. This bot, its development, maintenance and use are made possible through the outreach wing of Snake Evolution and Biogeography - Merch Available Now

[u/Quasirandom1234 → u/SEB-PHYLOBOT]

good bot

[u/JustSh00tM3 → u/iymlucid]

It doesn't move the way I think w snake should...

[u/iymlucid → u/JustSh00tM3]

This method of movement is called rectilinear locomotion, and it is primarily associated with heavy-bodied snakes.

[u/JustSh00tM3 → u/iymlucid]

Oh! That's really cool.

[u/Infamous_Koala_3737 → u/JustSh00tM3]

And the other method of locomotion they use is called  lateral undulation

[u/minkingthan]

Cool rectilinear movement. I thought only heavy bodied snakes do it

[u/Late-Application-47 → u/minkingthan]

That is a very heavy bodied Copperhead. The larger US pit vipers can get very chunky.

[u/STS986 → u/minkingthan]

This is what i noticed, gaboon viper esque 

[u/Roccosrealm → u/STS986]

I came here to say this! Gaboons are my favorite snake!

[u/MissPicklechips → u/Roccosrealm]

When I was in college, my environmental biology professor was, by profession, a herpetologist. His day job was running a wildlife center which included exhibits of venomous snakes. Some of the resident snakes were rescues that had come to the wildlife center by various means, and which could not be rereleased back to the wild.

One such snake was the Gaboon Viper. My professor was often called upon when animal control needed help with snake issues. A sanitation crew was doing their job one day in the city of Chicago when they came upon a snake. One of them was about to pick it up when another guy on the crew, an African man, stopped him. He recognized it as native to where he had immigrated from. They called animal control, who called my professor, who came with the proper tools and equipment to capture it safely. They theorized that someone had it illegally and dumped it when it became too large for them to deal with.

My professor semi-retired several years ago and the wildlife center closed. All of the animal residents were relocated to other wildlife facilities or zoos. I believe that the Gaboon viper went to a zoo in Tennessee.

[u/soonerwx → u/minkingthan]

Like a long slow train of Hershey kisses

[u/Smokeybearvii → u/soonerwx]

Was telling my GF the hersheys kisses thing this morning. The snake we were looking at wasn’t super impressive in this regard- but this one is! Can’t wait to show her all these spicy kisses!

[u/Lyramisu → u/minkingthan]

I have never seen a copperhead move this way and it looks so weird I wondered if the video was fake.

Edit: Just to be clear I do know there are snakes that move this way, I’ve just never seen a copperhead do it, and a copperhead doing it is what looked so weird to me.

[u/fairlyorange → u/Lyramisu]

Nope. Vid is real and they can move like this 👍

[u/JellyOrchid996 → u/fairlyorange]

i had to wait about 5 minutes for him to slither into the wooded area😆 he was moving VERY slow

[u/Mr_MacGrubber → u/minkingthan]

Always makes me very uncomfortable to watch. lol

[u/LogicalStomach → u/Mr_MacGrubber]

I know it's natural, but it reads as uncanny when their movement resembles a train. 

[u/AlabasterPelican → u/minkingthan]

I was coming to ask if this was common in some populations. I've never seen one use rectilinear locomotion before. Then again, they normally are sitting still, but when. They are moving its more the "s" shaped movement.

[u/Genderless_Anarchist → u/minkingthan]

I literally said out loud “why is this copperheads gaboon viper-ing? ”

Very cool thing to learn.

[u/ptgoetz]

That thing certainly seems well fed!

[u/middle_aged_90s_kid → u/ptgoetz]

He’s working overtime as a vermin exterminator.

[u/Goatboy132]

That’s gotta be the most beautiful copperhead I’ve ever seen

[u/Ok-Suggestion7186]

Tats a chonky boy

[u/c_marten]

If I know ONE snake thanks to this sub...

[u/falldown99xgetup100 → u/c_marten]

My wife will PROUDLY say she can ID one snake thanks to this sub’s “hershey kisses” tip.

[u/senorsolo → u/c_marten]

Too bad. I'd have proudly identified this as the gaboon viper lol.

[u/VioletAmethyst3]

Oh, it's a beaut!!

[u/Oldfolksboogie]

A most copper- headed copperhead! 👏

[u/Electrical-Recipe919]

omg! it is look like gaboon viper from a distance

[u/whatsthissnake-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Rule 6: Avoid damaging memes or tropes and low effort jokes.

Please understand a removal doesn't mean we're mad or upset; we're just committed to maintaining an educational space so jokes and memes are held to a higher standard than a typical comments section.

Avoid damaging memes like using "danger noodle" for nonvenomous snakes and tropes like "everything in Australia is out to get you". This is an educational space, and those kind of comments are harmful and do not reflect reality.

We've also heard "it's a snake" as a joke hundreds of times. We've probably removed it a few times from this very thread already.

Ratsnake and other rhymes and infantilization can be posted in /r/sneks and /r/itsaratsnake. While we encourage creativity are positive talk about snakes, but even comments like "____/" mislead users.

[u/froggylover66]

Classic saddle marks of an Eastern copperhead. Thankfully they're usually pretty chill and would much rather slither away then bite. When i visited a camp in Georgia one of the locals told me roughly 85% of copperhead bites are from handling them (or stepping on them accidentally)

[u/amarugia]

Is there a way to know if it's gravid?

[u/Phylogenizer → u/amarugia]

Ultrasound or palpation

[u/aydengryphon → u/amarugia]

All I know is it's rude to ask 😮‍💨

[u/whatsthissnake-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Rule 6: Avoid damaging memes or tropes and low effort jokes.

Please understand a removal doesn't mean we're mad or upset; we're just committed to maintaining an educational space so jokes and memes are held to a higher standard than a typical comments section.

Avoid damaging memes like using "danger noodle" for nonvenomous snakes and tropes like "everything in Australia is out to get you". This is an educational space, and those kind of comments are harmful and do not reflect reality.

We've also heard "it's a snake" as a joke hundreds of times. We've probably removed it a few times from this very thread already.

Ratsnake and other rhymes and infantilization can be posted in /r/sneks and /r/itsaratsnake. While we encourage creativity are positive talk about snakes, but even comments like "____/" mislead users.

[u/largestcob]

this copperheads head is really coppering

[u/Aggravating-Move8297]

Fattest lookin copperhead i’ve ever seen, good to see he’s been eating well

[u/angelwild327]

If you recognize what a Hershey Kiss looks like, you're probably never NOT going to recognize a copperhead.

https://giphy.com/gifs/3oKIPqGYCETNken16w

[u/eye_no_nuttin]

Passionate Kisses!!

[u/D3adBw3]

I really don't understand how someone wouldn't immediately recognize it. crazy

[u/senorsolo]

Somebody imported a gaboon viper lol.

[u/cptwranglr]

This looks ai generated to me. Do they move with their bodies in a straight line like this, like a centipede?

[u/iymlucid → u/cptwranglr]

They can. It is called rectilinear locomotion.

[u/JellyOrchid996 → u/cptwranglr]

not ai generated! i took this at our local community park! it gave me a jump scare when i saw him just laying there in the middle of the walking pathway haha

[u/whatsthissnake-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Rule 6: Avoid damaging memes or tropes and low effort jokes.

Please understand a removal doesn't mean we're mad or upset; we're just committed to maintaining an educational space so jokes and memes are held to a higher standard than a typical comments section.

Avoid damaging memes like using "danger noodle" for nonvenomous snakes and tropes like "everything in Australia is out to get you". This is an educational space, and those kind of comments are harmful and do not reflect reality.

We've also heard "it's a snake" as a joke hundreds of times. We've probably removed it a few times from this very thread already.

Ratsnake and other rhymes and infantilization can be posted in /r/sneks and /r/itsaratsnake. While we encourage creativity are positive talk about snakes, but even comments like "____/" mislead users.

[u/whatsthissnake-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

If you disagree with an ID that is well upvoted or was provided by a flaired Responder, then make sure you respond directly to that ID. This is important for three reasons. First, it promotes collaboration, which is an important feature of our community. Second, it facilitates discussion that can help educate others. Third, it increases the visibility of your ID, which is very important if you happen to be correct. However, ONLY disagree if you can point to discrete diagnostic characteristics that support your ID.

Before suggesting any future IDs, please review these commenting guidelines.