Do Memphis have poisonous snakes? What do I know about the four found in Tennessee

Tennessee is home to about 32 different types of snakes, but only a few are dangerous to humans.

Most snakes in the Memphis region will join the Memphians in their pursuit of outdoor entertainment as summer approaches. Snakes, which are part of the reptiles family, are most active in the spring and summer months as temperatures increase, according to AZ animals.

Only four of the 32 different types of snakes in Tennessee are poisonous. These four snakes are copper head, cotton, wooden rattle and pigmeate.

Here’s what we know about them.

Copper

According to Tennessee, the Wildlife Resources Agency in Tennessee causes the most bites in Tennessee.

Bite, although poisonous, are not very powerful and rarely cause casualties, according to the State Agency.

There are two subspecies of copper snakes found in Tennessee in Tennessee, the southern copper head is found in Extreme Western Tennessee, and the northern copper head is found in the rest of the state.

A large, triangular shape of a copper-red head and distinctive dark brown intersections of watches give camouflage in its preferred environment. Its habitat is mainly wooded or rocky areas with “abundant logs, leafy waste or coverage rocks”, according to the State Agency.

Cotton

The cotton or “water moccasin” is found mainly in the western part of the state, receiving its name from its white mouth. The snake, which is poisonous, opens its mouth like a “protective pose” when it feels threatened.

The rumor that cotton is aggressive is “very exaggerated,” the state agency said.

“These snakes usually try to escape if they meet and escape in any direction, thus coming to you from time to time, not far,” the agency said on their website.

The cotton mutters are found mainly in marshes, helmet, wetlands and drainage ditches, but sometimes occur along rivers and lakes. Snakes can swim, so they can be seen swimming from above and sometimes underwater or hiding on the shores and in the surrounding vegetation.

Snakes are dark-oil-brown, almost black, and the transverse bands on their back are sometimes not visible. A wide band can be seen from the muzzle through the eye and on the neck of the snake.

Ordinary water snakes are often fooled by cotton muts because of their semi -atetic nature and similar characteristics.

One way to say whether a snake is a harmless water snake or a cotton fly is to look at the shape of the head. The cotton mutters have a triangular or flattened head, while many other water snakes are rounded.

Wooden rattle

Trying timber is the biggest and most dangerous poisonous snake in Tennessee.

Snakes have a large triangular head, vertical pupils and have a “rattle” at the end of the tail. Its coloring is “highly variable,” said the Wildlife Resources Agency in Tennessee, but is usually gray with a black tail. A rust color also appears in the center of the back.

Snakes prefer to hang in highly wooded areas with rocky hills.

Populations of timber trumpets are reduced in Tennessee due to habitat loss, road mortality and “persecution”, the state agency said.

Pygmy Rattlesnake

Pygmy Rattlesnake is the smallest poisonous snake in Tennessee; They are also the most in the list.

The Department of Environment and Tennessee Conservation Lists Pigmy Rattlesnake as rare to very rarely and imperatively. Snakes are similar to a tree snake, but much smaller.

Pigmy Rattlesnake has a gray or tan body with an orange-brown medium dorsal strip that walks on its back. There are dark spots that walk on his back, with one or two rows on each side.

Snakes are in the immediate vicinity of water.

This article originally appeared in the commercial appeal of Memphis: Snakes in Memphis: What to know about Tennessee’s poisonous reptiles