Northern Copperhead  (Agkistrodon contortrix Mokasen)

Scientific Name History : The generic name is derived from the Greek word ancistron meaning "fishhook," supposedly in reference to the recurved fangs. The species name is from the Latin contortus meaning "twisted," referring to the pattern of the snake's back.

 Size: Average adults range in length from 610 - 900 mm (24 - 36 in).  This snake is piosouns.
 

Color:The Copperhead can vary in color from grayish-brown to light brown or even pinkish. It has 10 - 20 hourglass-shaped dark crossbands which are chestnut brown or reddish brown to brown. The head can vary from gray to brown to reddish. The belly can be light brown, pinkish, or cream, with black, brown, or dark gray blotches.
 Other things to look for: This is a stout-bodied snake. The scales are weakly keeled. As in all pitvipers there is a pit on each side of the head between the nostril and the eye.

Reproduction:Most Copperheads breed in the spring months of April and May, but mating may also take place in the fall in September and October. After a gestation period of 105 - 150 days the young are born alive and ready to feed. This snake is active from March through November in the South. In rocky, mountainous regions, it will congregate in rock crevices to hibernate for the winter months.

Location:The Copperhead can be found in a variety of habitats, from bottomland hardwood forest along the coastal plain to rocky hillsides in the Piedmont and mountains.

Diet:Adults feed primarily on small mammals, but a wide variety of prey has been recorded, including various insects such as cicadas, grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars, and also birds, snakes, and amphibians. Young Copperheads have a bright yellow tail tip which is used to help them attract food. A young Copperhead will coil itself up on the forest floor and extend the bright yellow tail tip, then slowly wiggle it to mimic the movements of a worm. When a small frog or lizard comes close to investigate, the young Copperhead strikes and gets a meal. Predators of the Copperhead include the Indigo Snake, kingsnakes, hawks, owls, the Opossum, the Coyote, and the Bobcat.

Education:   Education is the key to changing attitudes and long-held false beliefs about snakes. As more people become aware that these creatures are not mythical, but rather an important and interesting species of wildlife.

Copperhead Myths  

Myth History:   How myths get started is unclear. The fact that they persist is based on the continued misunderstanding of these important predators.

Myth 1:   Simply by being snakes, copperheads are often the subject of myths, tall tales and unsubstantiated claims of extraordinary behavior. One old tale suggests that a person can tell when a copperhead is nearby because they give off an odor that smells like cucumbers. Fact is, most snakes when handled or frightened release a fluid-like musk from their vent. This is done to discourage predators. This musk has an unpleasant odor and is certainly not a smell that you would want on your salad.

Myth 2:  Another more recent tale is that copperheads are interbreeding with black rat snakes, thus creating a new species of venomous snake. If one considers the biology of our venomous and nonvenomous snakes, particularly the copperhead and black rat snake, it becomes obvious that this claim is untrue. As mentioned earlier, copperheads give birth to fully formed young, which are encased in a membrane. Black rat snakes lay eggs from which their young hatch after several months. Thus, it is a biological impossibility for these two species to breed and produce offspring.