Snakes in Mississippi!! *reptile warning*

[ronsig]

We spent several days at Wall Doxey State Park in Mississippi to watch hummingbirds. It was great. There was no swimming allowed because there was no lifeguard.

We went kayaking on the beautiful lake and enjoyed the scenery. While walking around the lake, we came accross a very unusual snake. We saw 2 more while kayaking. We don't know snakes and kept our distance.
Are they really cottonmouths?

If we ever thought about swimming we quickly changed our minds.

Sigrid

If you have a snake phobia, don't look.

 

[GG.]

you were very wise to keep your distance

water moccasins/cottonmouths are extremely poisonous

I'm no snake expert, they are one of the few creatures I really, really try to avoid, but it looks like you have some cottonmouths and some water snakes in your video

someone will be along to identify them better for you

Wall Doxey is a beautiful park, I remember going there when I was little

 

[Chicklette]

Oh I would be terrified. Those are some huge snakes.

 

[Billie Faye]

Re: Snakes in Mississippi!!

Looks like them...nice and big also!LOL
When a cotton mouth open it's mouth it is white inside (reason for name) and they are poisonous...and they will go for you UNDER the water...
Cottonmouth Snake Page

 

[Robin]

No thank you !!

 

[crzybrdldy]

In most cases; not all, you can tell by the shape of the head and the eyes.
A poisonous snakes eyes will look like cat eyes, non-poisionous will round pupils.

Looks like you had a cotton mouth.

 

[Shamrock]

Yes'um....I do believe that those are cotton mouths. Nasty little buggers and very tenacious! They're one of the few snakes who don't go out of their way to avoid humans.... I like snakes, but not these guys. If ever I were to imagine the kind of serpent satan was in the garden, it would be a cotton mouth!

 

[evsrin]

Oh my Lordy! Eeeeekkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!! Thems snakes is the only thin that scares me 'bout movin' down south! EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!

 

[*K*J*B*]

In most cases; not all, you can tell by the shape of the head and the eyes.
A poisonous snakes eyes will look like cat eyes, non-poisionous will round pupils.

Looks like you had a cotton mouth.

You can also generally tell by the shape of their heads. A more "arrow" like head is poisonous while a rounded head is not. Then you don't have to get close enough to look them in the eye

 

[Greycloud]

Yup! That's a cotton mouth. We lived on the water and had many of them. Always getting trapped in our crab traps! Ugh!

 

[Gilraen]

A poisonous snakes eyes will look like cat eyes, non-poisionous will round pupils.

Actually. . . . MOST venomous(it's not poison, it's venom, pet peeve, don't mind me) snakes on this continent are pit vipers, so that would be true, however coral snakes are related to cobras and mambas and do NOT follow that rule. They're the ones that follow the poem "red on yellow, kill a fellow, red on black a good for jack" since some king snakes also have yellow/black/red barring. But yes, if you see a big thick snake with a triangular head in North America it is most likely venomous

Definitely cottonmouths(we called them water moccasins where I grew up ) nasty aggressive snakes if you get close to them!

 

[ronsig]

Wow!

Thanks for all the replies!!!
I had encountered a snake in Florida before and people warned me that it was a cottonmouth. But then I checked on the internet and found out it was harmless.
I new about the pupils. That's why I try to look into the eyes of every snake I see now. But I could not see the pupils of these snakes, and I didn't want to get really close. But the shape of the head was like an arrow.
They never opened their mouths, so I never saw the white "cotton" inside.

I am more scared now than I was when I saw them, especially the first big one where we were walking right by it. But it was only a couple of years ago when swimming was allowed in that park.

Still, I consider myself fortunate for seeing it. In Arizona a ridgenosed rattlesnake was coiled up and rattling right beside my foot. The ranger there had been looking for one for years.

Wow..I saw 3 cottonmouths.

Sigrid

 

[Aleu]

Actually. . . . MOST venomous(it's not poison, it's venom, pet peeve, don't mind me) snakes on this continent are pit vipers, so that would be true, however coral snakes are related to cobras and mambas and do NOT follow that rule. They're the ones that follow the poem "red on yellow, kill a fellow, red on black a good for jack" since some king snakes also have yellow/black/red barring. But yes, if you see a big thick snake with a triangular head in North America it is most likely venomous

Definitely cottonmouths(we called them water moccasins where I grew up ) nasty aggressive snakes if you get close to them!

I agree! Poisonous snakes is a pet peeve of mine.

Poison you ingest or absorb...venom is injected.

Edit: Toxic is something absorbed through the skin or soft tissue. Poison is ingested. Venom is introduced through mechanical means (sting, bite, etc).

 

[ronsig]

I agree! Poisonous snakes is a pet peeve of mine.

Poison you ingest or absorb...venom is injected.

Edit: Toxic is something absorbed through the skin or soft tissue. Poison is ingested. Venom is introduced through mechanical means (sting, bite, etc).

I have to admit that I had "poisonous" on my youtube video. Then I read about "venomous" and changed it.

Thanks for the explanation.

Sigrid

 

[Aleu]

I have to admit that I had "poisonous" on my youtube video. Then I read about "venomous" and changed it.

Thanks for the explanation.

Sigrid

lol It was Gilraen who posted it first really, but no problem! Most people get it confused. I work at a zoo with a friend doing reptile shows and when we talk about this, you hear a collective "ohhhhhhh...". There IS some overlap with toxins, poisons and venom, but I just wanted to simplify it!

 

[ronsig]

lol It was Gilraen who posted it first really,

I work at a zoo with a friend doing reptile shows and when we talk about this, you hear a collective "ohhhhhhh...".

Yes, Gilraen too for explaining the difference first.

You do a reptile show at a zoo? No wonder you know so much.
Can you tell us the location of the zoo?
I will try to remember the toxin, venom, poison difference. I did not know that....

Sigrid

 

[waterfaller1]

You can smell cottonmouths. We call them water moccasins too.

 

[ronsig]

You can smell cottonmouths. We call them water moccasins too.

Really? What do they smell like, and how close to you have to get?

Sigrid

 

[waterfaller1]

It's a defense mechanism, so you or something would have to upset them. It smells musky.

 

[Gen120]

Interesting! I have seen them many times here on lakes in TN