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JL Sargent

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Just an iPhone picture, but a couple of weeks ago I went out on the Tarmac (aka driveway) to assess how much pine straw, pine cones, sticks, and leaves I would need to deal with before I mowed. While I was standing at one spot near the edge of the driveway, assessing what I needed to do, I happened to look down and about two feet from my left foot was a tightly coiled young, what I thought was a Copperhead, on the driveway. When I was walking down the edge of the driveway, the snake just looked like a large, colorful, Sassafras leaf or wad of pine straw. I’m reminded of the old saying, “if it had been a snake, it would have bitten me”! I'm really surprised this one didn't try to nail my leg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even though I thought it was a young Copperhead because of the color; there was just something about the girth of the snake, the pattern, and the shape of the head that puzzled me, but I dismissed those thoughts and just figured it was a Copperhead. Turns out I was wrong, it was a young Cottonmouth and after researching them online I discovered that young Cottonmouths can indeed be easily confused for a Copperhead because of the color, but not all young Cottonmouths are the color of this one. In all my time hunting, fishing, and frog gigging; I’d never seen a Cottonmouth with that copper color.

 

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1 hour ago, billybob said:

Looks like a Copperhead...wait, looked at it's tail.

 

About one inch of the tip of the tail is yellow and that seems to be common to young Cottonmouths and Copperheads. They use it to lure in prey aka snacks.

 

Needless to say, I will pay much closer attention to snake details and will trust my instincts next time when something doesn’t seem right!

 

I killed a baby Copperhead about 5 weeks ago; I saw it while mowing and got off my Lawn Tractor, found a good stick, and systematically removed its head. That was the first Copperhead we’ve seen on our side of the County Road since we retired and moved here in 2006. The Cottonmouth pictured above lost its head also, but I used a shovel on it.

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The last Copperhead I saw, my work associate picked it up and showed it to me.

I like your method better. Of course, this is the same guy who picked up rattlesnakes, while we were out and about and other daunting tales of yore.

On second thought back to Copperhead as the coloration and the snake shedding skin could cause those type tail.

Another thing, generally a rattler generally curls it's tail inside, yes...

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Here is a different angle that shows the yellow tail. When I took these pictures my iPhone was very close to the snake, too close in reality. Even though a Copperhead is poisonous, its venom isn't that deadly unless you have underlying medical conditions. Had I realized it was a Cottonmouth, I would have taken the picture from about 6 feet back!!!!!! 😲 I'm darn lucky I didn't get nailed. Also, with Cottonmouths, I can usually smell them before I see them, but this little guy didn't have that musty smell.

 

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9 minutes ago, Buck115 said:

Here is a different angle that shows the yellow tail.

Ok now you can see it better, I didn't know they have a yellow tail when young.

10 minutes ago, Buck115 said:

Even though a Copperhead is poisonous, its venom isn't that deadly unless you have underlying medical conditions.

But the bad thing is they say the little ones don't have much control with how much venom it puts out compared to a older snake. Small ones just use all the venom in one shot. 

 

That's what they say, don't know if it's true or not.

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12 minutes ago, Buck115 said:

Here is a different angle that shows the yellow tail. When I took these pictures my iPhone was very close to the snake, too close in reality. Even though a Copperhead is poisonous, its venom isn't that deadly unless you have underlying medical conditions. Had I realized it was a Cottonmouth, I would have taken the picture from about 6 feet back!!!!!! 😲 I'm darn lucky I didn't get nailed. Also, with Cottonmouths, I can usually smell them before I see them, but this little guy didn't have that musty smell.

 

 

I'm thinking copperhead. Common here is Missouri. They have a yellowish / light green tip to their tail when young. 

Either way, stay away.

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9 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

I'm thinking copperhead. Common here is Missouri. They have a yellowish / light green tip to their tail when young. 

Either way, stay away.

 

I've decided that it was a Copper Headed Rattle Moccasin! 😂

 

When I posted the pictures on one of my gun forums, two members who are very knowledgeable corrected my Copperhead assumption and stated that it was a Cottonmouth. However, when the one member that is an expert on snakes and other reptiles chimed in and concurred that it was a Cottonmouth I figured it really was a Cottonmouth. When I looked at pictures of young Copperheads and Cottonmouths side by side, I was convinced.

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29 minutes ago, Buck115 said:

 

I've decided that it was a Copper Headed Rattle Moccasin! 😂

 

When I posted the pictures on one of my gun forums, two members who are very knowledgeable corrected my Copperhead assumption and stated that it was a Cottonmouth. However, when the one member that is an expert on snakes and other reptiles chimed in and concurred that it was a Cottonmouth I figured it really was a Cottonmouth. When I looked at pictures of young Copperheads and Cottonmouths side by side, I was convinced.

My resident expert agrees with your expert. I was unaware the cottonmouth had the yellow tail as well when young.

Still a "nope rope" or "danger noodle", stay away.

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2 hours ago, Buck115 said:

I killed a baby Copperhead about 5 weeks ago; I saw it while mowing and got off my Lawn Tractor, found a good stick, and systematically removed its head. That was the first Copperhead we’ve seen on our side of the County Road since we retired and moved here in 2006. The Cottonmouth pictured above lost its head also, but I used a shovel on it.

Making my day one snake at a time!  😂

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9 hours ago, Dave1290 said:

Making my day one snake at a time!  😂

 

My great-grandmother was bitten by a water moccasin (cotton mouth).  She grabbed a butcher knife and cut out the bite area on her arm, poured whiskey on it, and had a few swigs.  She lived on to later be either struck by lightning, or illuminated by a side flash, ground current, or some such.  She lived through that and moved to California in time for the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.  But she reproduced well, and there have been 4 generations since.  My daughter was in a band named Water Moccasin in honor of Granny.

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Next to my house, Roman bridge "Le Pont du Gard" : aqueduct which supplied the baths and water of the city of Nîmes, Gard France. It is almost 2000 years old, The stones are placed one on top of the other without cement because at the time there was none.. In the middle of the 18th century, a road bridge was attached to the first floor to transport goods.

 

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18 hours ago, garyrc said:

She grabbed a butcher knife and cut out the bite area on her arm, poured whiskey on it, and had a few swigs.  She lived on to later be either struck by lightning, or illuminated by a side flash, ground current, or some such.  She lived through that and moved to California in time for the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

my uncle was born in Oakland in 1907.  He talked about how they used to put tobacco on cuts and it would heal fast. He told a funny story about being a young man (already driving) and he had a friend that was named Sam Francisco.  They got stopped by the cops once and the cop asked their names, this guy truthfully said Sam Francisco.  The cop wasn't amused at all and it took a great deal of convincing to prove that was indeed his name.

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