Creature Feature – Sssssssnakes

If you’ve been outdoors during a Georgia summer, you’ve probably heard this before: Watch out for snakes! While it’s a warning worth heeding, these reptiles are much less scary than they’ve often been portrayed. Snakes fill an important ecological niche and have just as much of a place in our natural world as the more widely beloved mammals and birds.

Over 2,500 species of snakes exist worldwide, but less than a third are venomous, and only a small fraction pose a serious threat to humans. In the United States, snakebite fatalities are extremely rare, averaging only about five to six deaths each year. The US has just 22 venomous species, and all have an effective anti-venom treatment. Globally most snakebite deaths occur because people lack timely access to medical treatment.

Snakes belong to the order Squamata, the larges order of reptiles, and are closely related to lizards. They have relatively poor eyesight and rely heavily on their sense of smell and their ability to detect vibrations. Some species, particularly pit vipers (family Crotalidae), have specialized heat-sensing pits between the eye and nostril. These organs can detect extremely small temperature differences, allowing the snakes to locate warm-blooded prey—even in darkness. What that means is that they have a natural version of heat vision goggles!

Native snake species are found in every continent but Antarctica. They are both predator and prey, playing a crucial role in maintaining balanced ecosystems. For people snakes help control rodent populations that might otherwise take up residence in our homes, attics and basements.

An Eastern Copperhead housed at the Maryland Zoo

Veterinary student handling an Eastern Garter Snake at the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab

Snakes do not want to hurt you, their instinct is to remain still and avoid detection or retreat if given the opportunity. It’s very risky for a snake to reveal it’s position and strike. It is still important to recognize our venomous species though, which can be divided into four groups; Rattlesnakes, Cottonmouths, Copperheads, and Coral Snakes. At Blue Heron Nature Preserve, the only venomous snake regularly found is the Copperheads which camouflages itself among dead leaves and other forest debris.
Though general identification tips such as those to the left can be helpful, the only way to correctly identify a snake is by learning the individual species. Never handle a wild snake unless you are a trained expert. If you are bitten, stay Calm. Move away from the snake, sit down, keep the afected limb as still as you can, take deep, slow breaths and call 911 immediately. Tell emergency responders what the snake looked like, if you can, but do not attempt to capture or kill it.