Venomous Copperhead snake Agkistrodon contortrix, found on the Great Trinity Trail in the Joppa Preserve in Dallas Texas on a night mountain bike ride in the Great Trinity Forest near Little Lemmon Lake south of Loop 12. Snake was released unharmed and slithered away.
Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake found in North America, a member of the Crotalinae (pit viper) subfamily. The more common name for the species is "copperhead". The behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Like all pit vipers, A. contortrix is generally an ambush predator: it takes up a promising position and waits for suitable prey to arrive. One exception to ambush foraging occurs when copperheads feed on insects such as caterpillars and freshly molted cicadas. When hunting insects, copperheads actively pursue their prey. Juveniles use a brightly colored tail to attract frogs and perhaps lizards, a behavior termed caudal luring. In the southern United States, they are nocturnal during the hot summer months, but are commonly active during the day during the spring and fall.
Like most North American viperids, these snakes prefer to avoid humans and, given the opportunity, will leave the area without biting. However, unlike other viperids they will often "freeze" instead of slithering away, and as a result many bites occur from people unknowingly stepping on or near them.This tendency to freeze likely evolved because of the extreme effectiveness of their camouflage. When lying on dead leaves or red clay they can be almost impossible to notice. They will frequently stay still even when approached closely, and will generally strike only if physical contact is made.
Although venomous, these snakes are generally non-aggressive and bites are almost never fatal. Copperhead venom has an estimated lethal dose of around 100 mg, and tests on mice show its potency is among the lowest of all pit vipers, and slightly weaker than that of its close relative, the cottonmouth. Copperheads often employ a "warning bite" when stepped on or agitated and inject a relatively small amount of venom, if any at all. "Dry bites" involving no venom are particularly common with the copperhead, though all pit vipers are capable of a dry bite.
Bite symptoms include intense pain, tingling, throbbing, swelling, and severe nausea. Damage can occur to muscle and bone tissue, especially when the bite occurs in the outer extremities such as the hands and feet, areas in which there is not a large muscle mass to absorb the venom. A bite from any venomous snake should be taken very seriously and immediate medical attention sought, as allergic reaction and secondary infection are always possible.
The venom of the Southern copperhead has been found to hold a protein called "Contortrostatin" that halts the growth of cancer cells and also stops the migration of the tumors to other sites. It will probably be ten or more years before contortrostatin is used in practical treatment but it has shown to be a very promising drug in laboratory studies.
Although technically the antivenin CroFab could be used to treat an envenomation, it is usually not administered for copperheads, as the risk of complications of an allergic reaction to the treatment are greater than the risk from the snakebite itself in most cases. Pain management, antibiotics, and medical supervision in the case of complications is usually the course of action. In 2002 the Illinois poison control center report on the availability of antivenin, the report stated it used 1 Acp to 5 Acp depending on the symptoms and circumstances. The symptoms of a mild envenomation include swelling of the hand, mild cellulitis, and respiratory distress. The symptoms of a moderate envenomation would include swelling of the hand, vomiting, mild bleeding, ecchymosis, diaphoretic, sinus tachycardia, and hypotensive, where the most likely circumstance is the person bitten was collecting rocks.
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Playing With Deadly Copperhead Snakeby MicahMedia9,378 views
beats the hell out of most Texan's reaction to snakes though. Big man kill snake!
Tokay18 7 months ago
@Tokay18 besides this practice takes away from the natural beauty of this species smashing up its face and watching it struggle is not pleasant, I would have enjoyed a video of the snake slithering freely, gives a better representation of their head shape.
Tokay18 7 months ago
I would never wish a bite on anyone, but you put yourself at great risk of a bite when you captured this snake by the head, grabbing their head like that does not mean it cannot stick you with a fang, there was no reason for you to grab that snake by the head. It stressed out the animal and put you at risk. I hope next time you will snap a picture or two at a safe distance and not feel the need to do this.
Tokay18 7 months ago
"Snake was released unharmed and slithered away."
kvnlynn 7 months ago