Copperheads live in leaf-covered clearings in deciduous forests, where their color markings camouflage them well.
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Our most common poisonous snake, Copperhead occurs throughout North Carolina. The snake stretched out above is the biggest one I've ever seen, well over 2 feet long.
Copperhead (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!)
NEVER TRY TO TOUCH/HANDLE A COPPERHEAD, VERY TOXIC VENOM!! This one is being handled by a herpetologist.
Copperhead
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
poisonous snake, Ancistrodon contortrix, of the E United States.
Copperhead Snake
The Copperhead Snake is a long snake, growing to a full length of 30 to 35 inches. Its name comes from its plain reddish-copper colored head and lighter pink-tan body.
Copperheads are social snakes. They may hibernate in a communal den with other copperheads or other species of snakes including timber rattlesnakes and black rat snakes. They tend to return to the same den year after year.
Copperhead Species Profile
Known also by the vernaculars of chunk head and highland moccasin, the venomous northern copperhead is a relatively slow moving, abundant, viperine snake.
The Copperhead is from the order Squamata. Species from this order are amphisbaenians, lizards or snakes. There are over 6,000 living species belonging to the squamata order - it is the largest order of all reptiles.
Juvenile copperhead.
Photo by JD Willson
Head of a copperhead, note facial pit and vertical pupil.
Photo by RW Van Devender ...
The Northern Copperhead Snake is closely related to the dangerous Eastern Cottonmouth Snake, a venomous snake that does not live in nature in Ohio.
Mama Mia: The copperhead breeds in late summer, but not every year: sometimes a female will produce young for several years running, then not breed at all for a time.
As with all Pit Vipers in the United States, the Southern Copperhead gives birth to live young....there is no such thing as a Copperhead egg. The young average eight to ten inches at birth and have a bright yellow tail, which fades as the snake grows.
Copperheads
Physical Characters
The copperhead has a red, copper-colored head, but the rest of its body is shaded differently. The body is pinkish to gray-brown with a dark chestnut colored hourglass shaped pattern on the body.
Copperhead Characteristics
The American copperhead, with five subspecies, occurs over much of the southern two thirds of the eastern United States.
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) - Venomous
Photos by J.D. Willson unless otherwise noted ...
OSAGE COPPERHEAD FACTS
Description
The Osage Copperhead has dark chestnut cross bands that are narrower in the center and wider on the sides, giving the bands an hourglass shape. There are also dark rounded spots at the sides of the belly.
Lowland Copperhead Snake
The Lowland Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) prefers to live in swampy or marshy areas where it feeds on frogs, lizards and smaller snakes. It has a relatively smaller head than the tiger snake.
Copperheads prefer habitats with lots of vines, vegetation and/or debris. Their coloration and patterning is very effective for camouflage in dead leaves on the forest floor. Copperheads rely upon camouflage and cover for safety.
Copperheads have a reputation for having a beautiful appearance and a nasty disposition. Copperheads CAN and DO inflict serious bites. In the summer of 1997, a friend of Mike's chased a rat snake into a hollow log.
Copperheads, like other pit vipers, do not lay eggs. Instead the eggs are kept inside the female's body until the eggs are ready to "hatch." Incubation time is 105 to 110 days.
Copperheads typically den in relatively damp and shaded rock crevices (when compared to Timber Rattlesnake den sites), but other denning sites, such as animal burrows, may also be used.
Northern Copperhead
(Agkistrodaon contortrix mokasen)
DESCRIPTION: The Northern Copperhead is a moderately large snake that typically measures 24 to 36 inches in length. Its head is reddish-brown in color and its body is tan.
Northern Copperhead
Scientific Name: Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen
Size: 24-36 inches (61-90 cm) in length
PA Status: Species of special concern
PAHERP Resource: Copperheads Mistaken Identity ...
Northern Copperhead
Range
Inhabits northern and central Georgia and northern Alabama north to Massachusetts and west to Illinois; also northeast Mississippi and the piedmont of South Carolina ...
Copperhead
Click on images to enlarge
Agkistrodon contortrix (24-36", up to 53") ...
Copperheads are widely scattered throughout most of unglaciated Ohio. Although they occupy a variety of habitats from floodplains to ridgetops, they show a marked preference for the rocky, wooded hillsides of southeastern Ohio.
Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix ssp. Common statewide. Most frequently encountered venomous snake in Alabama. Inhabits a wide variety of upland habitats. May be increasing in parts of Coastal Plain, especially where fire is suppressed.
Pygmy copperhead (Austrelaps labialis)
Dunmall's snake (Furina dunmalli)
Hamelin ctenotus (Ctenotus zastictus)
Rufous hare wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)
Cycad (Cycas cairnsiana)
Dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus) ...
Northern Copperhead Timber Rattlesnake
Mountain Earth Snake
Eastern Wormsnake Northern Red-bellied Snake ...
Northern Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen is a venomous pitviper subspecies[4] found in the eastern United States.
Cottonmouth, copperhead
CLASS: Reptilia (reptiles)
ORDER: Squamata (amphisbaenians, lizards, and snakes [scaly]) ...
I wrote you 'twas a copperhead. I have never seen a copperhead so did not remark the color then a hasty glance. Now I know it 'tis not that. Neither does it quite hit Foxicophus piscivorus. It is aquatic.
This behavior often causes them to be misidentified as Rattlesnakes, Bullsnakes, and because of their copper-colored head, Copperheads. They are often killed because of this. Bullsnakes have a much more pointed snout and are harmless also.
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Gartersnake, Common (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Greensnake, Smooth (Opheodrys vernalis)
Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)
Racer, Eastern (Coluber constrictor)
Rattlesnake, Timber (Crotalus horridus) ...
The copperhead snake is found in southern Indiana in the limestone regions. The banded water snake is often mis-identified as a copperhead because of similar coloration.
with other species such as the venomous water moccasin or copperhead. The variable outward appearance of this water snake is not helpful in identifying the species from afar.
The poisonous snakes in North America include the coral snake, the pit vipers, (the copperhead), rattlesnake , water moccasin, and massasauga . The Bushmaster , and the Fer-de-lance are other deadly pit vipers.
Unfortunately, many people mistake their coloration; a tan body with reddish-brown blotchy patches; as a poisonous copperhead snake and kill them out of fear.
Young cottonmouths are often reddish brown and thus resemble their close relative, the copperhead. Adult cottonmouths are considerably darker than juveniles and can sometimes be entirely black.
Learn to identify local snakes such as rattlesnakes, copperheads, scarket kingsnakes, ratsnakes and watersnakes. Snakes occupy an irreplaceable niche in the ecosystems where they exist.
The timber rattlesnake can be found basking or hiding in a hollow log along side the Northern Copperhead, another venomous snake native to Pennsylvania.
Home Meet Our Animals > Reptiles > Lizards and Snakes > Timber rattlesnake
Timber rattlesnake ...
" Because of their reddish heads, Foxsnakes are sometimes mistaken for "copperheads" (which do not occur in Wisconsin). Like most snakes, they can make a buzzing sound by rapidly vibrating the tail.
Hatchling box turtles may fall prey to shrews, birds, eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus), bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), and snakes [4,44,53]. Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix), cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus), ...
Unlike true water snakes, the cottonmouth will also vibrate its tail (though there is not a rattle). Unlike their copperhead cousins, cottonmouths will not often flee from predators or other perceived threats.
northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortix mokasen)
northern diamond-backed terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin)
northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica)
northern pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) ...
 See also: Copper, Snake, Rattlesnake, Reptile, Cottonmouth
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