Cottonmouth Snakes

Juvenile Cottonmouth Snake

Most people are familiar with adult Cottonmouth snakes which occur in every Florida County and are quite venomous. Young or juvenile Cottonmouths are marked with broad, splotched bands that fade with age, and have tails tipped with mustard yellow. Juveniles may be misidentified as Copperheads which are only found in Florida in a small area of the panhandle. Their thick body is reddish brown to dark gray-brown; older individuals may be nearly solid black - typically what most people see in the wild. Dark bands run from each eye to the corners of the jaw. When threatened, it may coil and open its mouth wide, showing the cottony white interior. This snake gives birth to live young and does not lay eggs as is true of other venomous snakes in Florida.


They are usually found in or near aquatic habitats including ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, canals, ditches, cypress swamps, wet prairies, and brackish costal marshes. They may be especially abundant in areas where wading birds congregate. They are occasionally encountered in upland habitats away from water. They feed on fish, snakes, turtles, young alligators, birds (and their eggs), mice, rats, squirrels and rabbits.

Keep in mind that these venomous snakes, including Rattlesnakes, Cottonmouths and Coral snakes are all over the state of Florida and can end up in a home landscape. Most of the time snakes in home landscape are non-venomous. However, homeowners need to be prepared in the very unlikely event of an undesirable encounter with a venomous snake. Documents on dealing with venomous snakes can be found on Dr. Steve Johnson's website: http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/dealing_with_snakes.shtml