Eastern Cottonmouth

Eastern Cottonmouth
Relatives in same Genus
Common Cantil (A. bilineatus bilineatus)
Ornate Cantil (A. bilineatus taylori)
Southern Copperhead (A. contortrix contortrix)
Broad-banded Copperhead (A. contortrix laticinctus) ...

EASTERN COTTONMOUTH

Photo Credit: Roger Birkhead
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Agkistrodon piscivorus ...

The eastern cottonmouth preys upon fish, amphibians, other snakes, baby turtles, baby alligators and small rodents. Most captives, whether neonate or adult, readily accept mice.

dog (Canis familiaris), coyote (C. latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), barn owl (Tyto alba), barred owl (Strix varia), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), eastern cottonmouth ...

eastern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus)
eastern fence lizard (Sceloporous undulatus)
eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)
eastern glass lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)
eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platyrhinos) ...

The eastern cottonmouth (Ancistrodon piscivorus), a semiaquatic pit viper of lowlands, swampy regions and bayous of the southern United States. It has a heat-sensitive organ for detecting warm-blooded prey. The average length is 3 to 4 feet.

The Northern Copperhead Snake is closely related to the dangerous Eastern Cottonmouth Snake, a venomous snake that does not live in nature in Ohio.

Scott, D. E., R. U. Fischer, J. D. Congdon, and S. A. Busa. 1995. Whole body lipid dynamics and reproduction in the eastern cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus. Herpetologica 51:472-487.

See also: Snake, Cottonmouth, Reptile, Western Cottonmouth, Northern Copperhead