East Tennessee Outdoors: Common Household Snakes – Part 1
Published 11:49 am Friday, June 26, 2020
Photo Contributed The Copperhead is a very common snake in our area. Its venom can send you to the hospital for a dose of anti-venom. They usually strike without warning, so watch where you place your hands and feet when in an area with Copperheads.
Photo Contributed The Timber Rattler is the most dangerous venomous snake in this area. He likes to hide in sheds, under wood and lumber, and in rock crevices.
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BY DANNY BLEVINS
STAR CORRESPONDENT
We all need to remember, though, that snakes play an important job in our ecosystem because they eat rodents such as mice that can invest our homes, barns, and shops.
We all have heard of the two snakes in this area that are the most important and dangerous, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Copperhead snake. These two are very venomous and their bite can kill if not treated quickly.
Please understand that there are venomous snakes in many parts of this area, but there are not as many as many people believe. Our mountains and fields are not infested with venomous snakes waiting for you to walk near them so they can bite you and kill you.
A few days ago, I almost fell into that same trap myself. My wife had placed glue traps in our basement to catch mice, but when I went into my basement, I saw that she had caught a snake.
The poor creature was only about 12 inches long, but it did have a color pattern similar to a Copperhead. I picked up the glue trap and looked at it a little closer.
It did not have the “pits” behind its eyes that a Copperhead would have. It had small eyes that set close to the top of his head. A Copperhead will have eyes more to the side of its head.
Finally, its head was an oval shape while a Copperhead would have more of a flat head that is pointed like a diamond.
From all of this, I concluded that what my wife had caught was a small water snake, a snake mistook as a Copperhead.
Please don’t misunderstand me. Sometimes that snake that looks like a Copperhead is a Copperhead. Take precautions when near any snake and treat every snake as dangerous until you know different.
Venomous snakes are out there, and sometimes they are closer than you think. Be careful moving lumber, digging into a woodpile, or looking under a piece of tin or another place a venomous snake may take refuge from the heat of the summer.
Be safe but enjoy all the creatures God has placed on this earth. They are all here for a reason.
