Water Moccasin, Cottonmouth: Different Names, Same Venomous ...

• Science
• Tech
• Home & Garden
• Auto
• Culture
• Health
• Money
• Animals
• Lifestyle
• Entertainment

• Quizzes

Submit Search Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close ​ HowStuffWorks Newsletter Mobile Newsletter chat close Mobile Newsletter chat dots Mobile Newsletter chat dots Mobile Newsletter chat dots Mobile Newsletter chat avatar Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe

Advertisement

HowStuffWorks Animals Wild Animals Reptiles Snakes Cottonmouth: Snake With Potent Venom and Catlike Eyes By: John Perritano & Talon Homer | Updated: Oct 16, 2024

• Share Content on Facebook
• Share Content on LinkedIn
• Share Content on Flipboard
• Share Content on Reddit
• Share Content via Email

When Hurricane Florence blew through North and South Carolina in September 2018, wind, rain, and flooding were not the only threats people faced. A bevy of slithering, sneaky, watch-where-you-step snakes came out of hiding.

Chief among them was the notorious and venomous cottonmouth snake, a.k.a., water moccasin, that turned up in the floodwaters.

Advertisement

Contents

1. Venomous Snakes of North America
2. What Does a Cottonmouth Look Like?
3. Cottonmouths in Different Regions
4. Aquatic Habitats of the Cottonmouth
5. What Do Cottonmouths Eat?

Venomous Snakes of North America

The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is the only venomous water snake in North America, and one of only four venomous snakes in the United States. The others include the rattlesnake, copperhead and coral snake.

Populating most of the Southeast, the cottonmouth gets its name from the white color inside its mouth, although a Native American legend on how the snake got its name and venom is more lyrical.

Advertisement

The cottonmouth also goes by such colloquial monikers as black moccasin, gaper, mangrove rattle and several others, including "water mamba."

The cottonmouth, like the rattlesnake and copperhead are "pit vipers," using its heat-sensitive organs on each side of its head to detect its dinner. While cottonmouths have a bad reputation of being aggressive, Jeff Beane, a herpetologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, says that with its triangular head and steely eyes, cottonmouths will only bite when threatened.

Although Beane has studied the reptiles for years, he has no idea where its "water moccasin" nickname came from. It's possible that it originates from the belief that cottonmouths glide through underbrush as silently as someone whose feet are sheathed in moccasins.

Advertisement

What Does a Cottonmouth Look Like?

Still, you'll know a cottonmouth when you see one. The water snakes are big, ranging from 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters). Their heads are massive triangles with dark crossbands near each nostril. Their snouts are pale. Because of their venom glands, the cottonmouth has a large jowl.

The venomous snakes also come in a variety of colors. Some are downright cool to look at, their large bodies tattooed with large crossbands with hues of yellow, black and brown.

Advertisement

The tip of a juvenile's tale is often yellow, which the venomous snake uses as a lure to attract prey, while older adults are completely black or brown.

Cottonmouths in Different Regions

Taxonomists had once split the cottonmouth moccasin species into two subspecies known as the western cottonmouth and the eastern cottonmouth, with the eastern cottonmouth occupying the east coast and western cottonmouths moving into Alabama, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico region.

However, genetic testing has shown both western and eastern cottonmouth varieties are a single species. Another currently recognized subspecies is the Florida cottonmouth, which lives in a relatively small region of northern Florida and southern Georgia's swamps.

Advertisement

The habitat of Florida cottonmouths also overlaps with the more populous water moccasin species. Another unique variety is the northern cottonmouth which can be found in the Ozark region surrounding the Missouri River.

Aquatic Habitats of the Cottonmouth

If you live in the Southeast, especially in Florida all the way through to southern eastern Virginia, then you have probably seen a cottonmouth. They inhabit nearly all freshwater habitats, including cypress swamps, river floodplains and wetlands.

Cottonmouth snakes tend to inhabit the same kinds of environments as nonvenomous water snakes, so caution should be taken when spotting any kind of slithering reptile out in the swamps.

Advertisement

You can see them during the day and at night when they hunt for their food. They might be lounging on a rock by the water's edge, hanging near a tree branch or in a pool of mud.

What Do Cottonmouths Eat?

The cottonmouth tends to eat fish but will dine on anything it can get into its large mouth, including lizards, other snakes and turtles, baby alligators and birds. The snake is also a prolific breeder, with each litter containing one to 20 babies.

Cottonmouth snakes are ovoviviparous, which is a fancy way of saying their eggs incubate inside the mother's body; the tiny tots are live born. Once they slither out, the juvenile cottonmouths are left on their own. Mom wants nothing to do with them.

Advertisement

While cottonmouths are common, just because you see a snake in the water doesn't mean it's a cottonmouth. To tell them apart, stare into their eyes. If a snake has round pupils, it is not a cottonmouth. But if the eyes look like they should be on a cat, you should leave the snake alone. It's a bonafide cottonmouth.

Cottonmouth Venom Symptoms

The venom of the cottonmouth is highly toxic and can kill you, although fatalities are rare. Beane says the venom prevents the blood of humans from clotting. As the hemotoxins spread, they break down blood cells causing hemorrhaging.

The venom can lead to tissue and muscle damage, internal bleeding and lots of pain around the bite mark. Thankfully, there is an antivenin. If you are bitten, seek immediate medical attention, as is recommended with any snake bite.

Now That's Interesting

Antivenom, also known as antivenin and sometimes pronounced "antiveneen," was originally developed in late 19th-century France at the Pasteur Institute. It is made by immunizing donor animals, such as horses or sheep, with different snake venoms, causing the animals to create antibodies against the poison, which can then be harvested, purified and used to treat human snake bite victims.

Advertisement

​ Cite This!

Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article:

Copy John Perritano & Talon Homer "Cottonmouth: Snake With Potent Venom and Catlike Eyes" 8 July 2019.HowStuffWorks.com. <https://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/water-moccasin-cottonmouth.htm> 12 March 2026 Close Citation Related Links Up Next Why the Garter Snake Is Your Garden's Best Friend Explore More You May Like The Copperhead Snake Is Seldom Lethal But Always Venomous Explore More Keep Reading How Did Snakes Lose Their Legs? Explore More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Loading...

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement