Venomous Snakes of Florida

A survey of the venomous snakes found in Florida has shown that there are mainly four species of venomous snakes found in the Central part of the state of Florida. These four venomous species of snakes found in Florida are the Florida Cottonmouth which is also known as the water moccasin, the eastern coral snake, the dusky pygmy rattlesnake and the eastern diamond back rattlesnake. It is very important to learn the identification of these four species of snakes. This is because other than these four venomous species there are more than fifty other non venomous species of snakes found in the state of Florida. Learning the identification of the venomous species will help you to avoid the non venomous species of snakes around you.



An overview of the venomous species of snakes is as follows:

Eastern coral snake

For the identification of this snake, you have to remember the rule of the stop signals of traffic lights. The yellow and red lights are always close to each other and whenever you see the red light you immediately stop just for your own safety. Same is the case with identification of this snake. There are red and yellow stripes on the snake next to each other. Therefore whenever you see the red and yellow strips alongside each other, you should immediately stop and try to avoid the snake as it is extremely poisonous. The venom of this snake is neuro-toxic in nature. This means that the venom acts immediately by paralyzing the individual. The most severe case is the paralysis of the diaphragm.

The Florida Cottonmouth

Florida cottonmouth is also called as the water moccasin. This is basically a venomous snake found in water bodies. There is a variation in the body color of the snake. It appears to be simple dull black in color or sometimes it is also appears patterned. The most important symptom of identification of this snake is the black line which runs from the side of eye to back of the head. This mark is present on all the cottonmouth snakes whether adult or babies.

Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake

This is a small sized snake with the size in range of about 15 to 22 inches. The rattle of this snake is also very small just like the buzzing of an insect. The basic color of this snake is grey with round blotches in black color. The bite of this snake is not dangerous or life taking but it is very painful. There is a need to educate and aware the children about this snake because it may be believed that this snake is not dangerous.