Cottonmouth Snakes!? (water, compare, near)

[OneDawg]

Cute lil ole garfish. Not as big as the ones in Tex-Okla lakes but can do almost as much damage.

[drinkthekoolaid]

There are water snake species that can look very similar to cotton mouths. They also share the same habitat... Near water....

The easiest surest way is to compare their faces. look for heat pits on side of nose and vertical diamond (cat eye) pupils. That is indicating a cottonmouth. Harmless Water snakes have round pupils and no heat pits on side of nose.

Cottonmouths if you compare side by side are much more stocky/stout. But if you only see 1 you could get them confused. So focus on the head and eyes. Focus on this not trying to determine their pattern or markings.

And cottonmouths sometimes but not always hiss and show their white mouth and you might even see their fangs if that happens.

Water snakes behavior is hit and miss sometimes they can be a little territorial but most times they just want to be left alone and escape while cottonmouths will stand their ground.

[thebruiser500]

Originally Posted by drinkthekoolaid

There are water snake species that can look very similar to cotton mouths. They also share the same habitat... Near water....

The easiest surest way is to compare their faces. look for heat pits on side of nose and vertical diamond (cat eye) pupils. That is indicating a cottonmouth. Harmless Water snakes have round pupils and no heat pits on side of nose.

Cottonmouths if you compare side by side are much more stocky/stout. But if you only see 1 you could get them confused. So focus on the head and eyes. Focus on this not trying to determine their pattern or markings.

And cottonmouths sometimes but not always hiss and show their white mouth and you might even see their fangs if that happens.

Water snakes behavior is hit and miss sometimes they can be a little territorial but most times they just want to be left alone and escape while cottonmouths will stand their ground.

Thank you for this breakdown very helpful!! Sounds like you have personal experience handling or studying some of these snakes?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

My son owns a ball python. Big snake fan. Watches all the YouTube videos of snake guys who go out into the wild and find snakes.

There's no reason to go out and handle snakes. Bad for the snake, potentially bad for the human. Just watch them in their natural habitat.

[carnivalday]

Actually, there are much easier ways to distinguish cottonmouths from watersnakes. Cottonmouths have whats often called "Zorro masks" across its eyes. Watersnakes have bands on their underjaw.

https://ibb.co/fF8Hq5d

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

Thank you for this breakdown very helpful!! Sounds like you have personal experience handling or studying some of these snakes?

Actually no. Lol

I live in NY never once seen a cottonmouth in the wild. But I really like snakes and learning about them. I also do hike down south and want to know what I may encounter or come across.

A little knowledge can be very reassuring.

Just my .02 cents

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by carnivalday

Actually, there are much easier ways to distinguish cottonmouths from watersnakes. Cottonmouths have whats often called "Zorro masks" across its eyes. Watersnakes have bands on their underjaw.

https://ibb.co/fF8Hq5d

That's accurate like 90% of the time not 100% foolproo be sometimes the markings aren't always as clear as that example.. But it will get you on the right track as something else to look for.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Normashirley

Cottonmouths are short and fat little soandso’s and are very aggressive. Water Snakes just want out of your way.

They are short and fat, while water snakes are bigger, but NEITHER are aggressive. That's an absolute myth, perpetrated by the fact that they will sometimes swim to a boat out of curiosity. But they are NOT aggressive when it comes to biting. I have extensive experience with them. Obviously you still should avoid them at all costs.

Originally Posted by drinkthekoolaid

The easiest surest way is to compare their faces. look for heat pits on side of nose and vertical diamond (cat eye) pupils. That is indicating a cottonmouth. Harmless Water snakes have round pupils and no heat pits on side of nose.

I've always thought it was funny that people would say this, as if it was a safe thing to do to get close enough to see this. Bad advice. It's much easier to just avoid, but you can still tell very easily. The venom pits make the cottonmouth's head much more triangular, and like others have said, they are fatter and shorter.

And to answer the OP's question, YES, cottonmouths are in your area. It goes without saying that I would STRONGLY discourage you from picking up any snakes, including the banded water snake. Their bites still hurt.

[GWoodle]

From the TWRA website:

https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/reptiles/snakes.html

Cottonmouth are mostly in the Western 1/3 of the state on the Mississippi to Tennessee maybe to Cumberland rivers. The dams may keep them from Nashville to Cookeville region.

There may be plenty of other snakes to watch out for!

More likely to see a rattler.

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

They are short and fat, while water snakes are bigger, but NEITHER are aggressive. That's an absolute myth, perpetrated by the fact that they will sometimes swim to a boat out of curiosity. But they are NOT aggressive when it comes to biting. I have extensive experience with them. Obviously you still should avoid them at all costs.


I've always thought it was funny that people would say this, as if it was a safe thing to do to get close enough to see this. Bad advice. It's much easier to just avoid, but you can still tell very easily. The venom pits make the cottonmouth's head much more triangular, and like others have said, they are fatter and shorter.

And to answer the OP's question, YES, cottonmouths are in your area. It goes without saying that I would STRONGLY discourage you from picking up any snakes, including the banded water snake. Their bites still hurt.

For sure, can't really disagree.

If you are going "herping" (into the field looking for reptiles) don't try to handle anything you can't 100% identify, and if you're not sure you shouldn't be touching it.

This guy actually has a pretty cool channel to watch


https://youtu.be/f31v0V912bs

https://youtu.be/iaQbww43Ix8