Scientifc Name

agkistrodon contortix

range of a copper head is throughout the eastern and central United States but are absent from most of Florida and south-central Georgia. Although copperheads are found in forested areas throughout most of South Carolina and Georgia, their habitat preferences change across our region.

The copperhead is a carnivore, as an adult eating mostly mice but also small birds, lizards, small snakes, amphibians and insects‐especially cicadas. Copperheads have fangs that inject its prey with venom that causes red blood cells to break down. Thus subdued, the prey is easy for the snake to swallow whole.

Small animals, like small dogs, may receive a fatal bite from a copperhead. The venom causes local tissue destruction and secondary infection often sets in. If you or your pet are bitten by any snake that you suspect is venomous, get medial attention immediately.

Copperheads are ovoviviparous, which means that eggs incubate inside the mother's body. Babies are born live. After mating in the spring, females will give birth to "from two to 18 live young in late summer or fall.

Copperhead Snake bites are, however, the last line of defence for this and many other venomous snakes.

When touched, copperheads sometimes emit a musk that smells like cucumbers.

the end