The Cottonmouth Snake is a fairly common snake found in wetland areas such as rivers and lakes, as well as other aquatic environments It is larger than its close relative, the Copperhead Snake, and normally it reach a length of 30 to 48 inches (75-125 cm).
Another name often used instead of Cottonmouths Snake is Water Moccasin. The name cottonmouth originates from the cotton like color in the snakes mouth.
It is a common misunderstanding that the Cottonmouth Snake, with the Latin name Agkistrodon piscivorus is a particularly aggressive snake compared to other snakes. This misunderstanding was challenged in a study by Gibbons and Dorcas (1998)1.
Gibbons and Dorca demonstrated that when the Cottonmouth was threatened it would try to escape in more than 50 percent of the provoked incidences. Most of the snakes used threat displays to avoid the danger (an artificial hand) and less than one out of three snakes tried to attack the artificial hand. These data suggest that the Cottonmouth isn't as aggressive as people commonly believe they are.
The Cottonmouth snake is black, brown or olive colored with lighter bands on its side.
Diet
The cottonmouth eats a lot of different prey. The diet includes other snakes, fish, lizards, turtles, frogs, small birds and alligators and mammals. It doesn't swallow its prey until it is dead, a behavior seen when the prey is held in the snake's jaws until it finally succombs to the venom. Prey that is likely to bite back is first struck and then released to avoid eventual attacks. Howeveer, if the prey flees the cottonmouth is able to track and hunt down the escaped prey.
Cottonmouth Snake Bite
The cottonmouth produces its venom in glands close to where the jaws join. In the case of a bite the muscles around the glands squeeze venom from the glands through channels to the fangs. The venom is able to destroy blood cells and reduces the normal coagulation and clotting abilities of the blood. This results in what is called hemorrhaging in the parts of the prey's body penetrated by the poison.
Life Cycle
The eggs of a cottonmouth mature inside the females body and hatch within the parent before birth. Sometimes the egg hatch immediately after laying. The size of the Cottonmouth litter range from 6-12 living young snake and can be anywhere from 8-10 inches long (10-25 cm) and 0.75 inches (2 cm) in diameter.
Most female cottonmouth reproduces every other year. The percentage of females reproducing depends on prey availability, temperature and the size distribution of females in the given population. Small female cottonmouth snakes are less likely to give birth to new young snakes. In a Virginia survey of cottonmouth (Blem & Blem, 1995)2 it was found the winter mortality during hibernation had a huge impact on fertility rates.
