The Venomous Snakes Of North Carolina
North Carolina hosts approximately 38 species of snakes, including six species of venomous snakes, each with unique traits and habitat requirments. The Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake, the smallest of the state鈥檚 rattlers, inhabits pine flatwoods and scrub oak habitats, often camouflaging in dull gray or reddish tones. The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake prefers longleaf pine ecosystems in the southeastern Coastal Plain, though its population is declining. The Copperhead, the state鈥檚 most common venomous snake, thrives in diverse habitats and accounts for most venomous bites, though its venom is rarely life-threatening. To learn more about the Tar Heel State's venomous snakes, read the descriptions below. Together, these snakes contribute to North Carolina鈥檚 rich biodiversity.
Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake
As its name suggests, the Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius miliarius) is the smallest rattlesnake in North Carolina, reaching an average size at maturity of 1 to 2 feet in length. It is commonly found in pine flatwoods and scrub oak habitats of the Coastal Plain and the Sandhills. They overwinter in logs, stumps, and abandoned mammal burrows. In North Carolina, pygmy rattlesnakes are on the state鈥檚 threatened species list.
The Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake is a pit viper with a telltale pit that senses heat between the nostril and eye on each side of its head, but unlike other pit vipers, it has nine enlarged scales on the top of its head. It is sometimes called a 鈥淕round Rattler,鈥� but it only makes a faint rattling sound with a slight rattle at the end of its tail, similar to an insect buzz.
The snake鈥檚 dull gray coloring is unremarkable, with dark spots down the center of its back and sides. In the Coastal Plain, the snake鈥檚 body may take on a red or pink background. They鈥檙e active day and night but rarely seen due to camouflage. They eat a steady diet of lizards, frogs, smaller snakes, and small mammals.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest of the venomous snakes found in North Carolina and the largest in North America. It is also becoming increasingly rare to see it in the state as its preferred habitat of longleaf pine is diminishing, but it will travel from its home over 400 to 500 hundred acres to find it. The snake is most commonly spotted in the southeastern Coastal Plain in longleaf pine ecosystems and the Sandhills.
The rattlesnake is a pit viper with elliptical pupils that look like a cat's eyes and, like all pit vipers, a heat-sensing pit between the nostril and eye. When viewed from above, it has a large, triangular head wider than its neck. The average size of the snake is 3 to 6 feet long. The snake has an average of 28 dark, diamond-shaped markings with light-colored borders along its body and a rattle on its tail. They eat mostly rodents and rabbits. The venom from the endangered Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is highly toxic; deaths from bites are known but very rare.
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
The Timber Rattlesnake is the most widely distributed in North Carolina. Timber Rattlesnakes were once categorized as two different subspecies, Southern and Northern Timber Rattlesnakes, but have since been grouped as a single species. The Southern Timber Rattlesnake is often called the 鈥淐anebrake Rattlesnake鈥� and is a protected species due to habitat loss. The Timber Rattlesnake is one of the two venomous snakes found in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains; the other is the Southern Copperhead.
Timber Rattlesnakes are pit vipers. The average size of a mature rattlesnake is 3 to 5 feet long, although some grow as large as 6 feet. Color alone is not a good way to identify the rattlesnakes, as they vary in color from dark black to light tan, but they have dark crossbands on a lighter background, and their tails are usually all black with a rattle on the end. The rattlesnake鈥檚 venom is highly toxic, but it is reluctant to bite unless provoked. They eat mice, squirrels, and the occasional bird.
Eastern Coral Snake
In North Carolina, the endangered Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) lives only in the Coastal Plain's xeric, pine-oak sandhill habitats in areas with porous, sandy soils. Like all coral snakes, they are highly potent venomous snakes. Eastern Coral snakes have small, fixed fangs in the front of their mouth. They do not have hinged fangs like pit vipers but hollow fangs they use to deliver their venom. The coral snake will bite its victim and then remain attached. The longer it can keep its hold, the more venom is poured into the wound. The coral snake does not inject its venom.
Thankfully, due to their shy nature, coral snakes like to stay in their dens during the day and emerge at night and in the morning to hunt prey like smaller snakes, lizards, frogs, nestling birds, and small rodents. They have been spotted in the state in every month except December.
The Eastern Coral snake is a very bright-colored snake, and it may be the only snake memorialized in poetry: 鈥淩ed on Black: Friend of Jack; Red on Yellow: Kills a Fellow.鈥� The rhyme has different versions, but the key is that if the red and yellow rings touch, it's probably a venomous coral snake. Another quick identifying feature is that the Eastern Coral Snake's head or nose is typically black. The average size of a mature Eastern Coral snake is 2 to 3 feet in length.
Eastern Cottonmouth
The Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus), sometimes called a Water Moccasin, gets its name from the color of the inside of its mouth, which is the color of white cotton and visible when the snake opens it to defend itself. The toxicity of its venom is the fourth most toxic after the Coral snake, Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, and Timber rattlesnake in North Carolina.
In North Carolina, the cottonmouth can be found in most habitats associated with water, basking at the water鈥檚 edge. Most active at night, they become inactive during cold weather, brumating underground over winter. Some cottonmouths will retreat if approached, but others may coil, vibrate their tail, and open their mouth to reveal the inner white lining.
The Eastern Cottonmouth is a pit viper with all the same characteristics. A mature Eastern Cottonmouth is approximately 3 feet long, but some may grow to 4 or 5 feet long. Mature Eastern Cottonmouths are often completely dark and unpatterned, whereas young snakes are brightly patterned with a yellow tip on their tails used to attract food. The snakes wiggle their tails in a motion, imitating a worm or caterpillar to lure their prey of frogs and lizards.
Southern Copperhead And Northern Copperhead
The Copperhead gets its name from the color of its head, similar to the color of a penny. The head is brown or reddish brown, with a V-shape on the forehead. Its body is brown or reddish brown, with hourglass-shaped markings on its back. Copperheads have elliptical pupils that look like cat's eyes and, like all pit vipers, have a heat-sensing pit between the nostril and eye on each side of their head. The tail is short and has a blunt tip.
The main differences between Southern Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) and Northern Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) are the geographic region in which they live and their size. The Southern Copperhead is larger than the other subspecies of Copperheads. A mature Southern Copperhead is 2.5 to 3 feet in length, whereas the average size of a mature Northern Copperhead can be slightly smaller at 2 to 3 feet in length.
In North Carolina, Copperheads are found all over the state in a wide range of habitats. They like 鈥渆cotones,鈥� which are areas between two ecological communities. They like rocky, wooded areas, mountains, thickets near streams, desert oases, and canyons. They can be found in suburban areas of Raleigh, in wood and sawdust piles, abandoned farm buildings, junkyards, and old construction areas.
Copperheads are the only venomous snake in the central part of North Carolina. Their bites account for over 90 percent of venomous snakebites than any other species. The length of a copperhead's fangs is related to the size of the snake 鈥� the longer the snake, the longer the fangs. A bite is painful, but it is not considered life-threatening. If disturbed, copperhead snakes sometimes emit a musk that smells like cucumbers.
According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, eight of the state's 38 snake species receive protection under the state鈥檚 endangered wildlife law due to a declining snake population. Loss of habitat and declining numbers landed two venomous snake species on North Carolina鈥檚 endangered species list鈥攖he Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake and the Eastern Coral snake. While a decreasing snake population might seem like a good thing to ophidiophobes (those with a fear of snakes), it is actually harmful to the environment. Snakes are crucial to the ecosystem, and their decline reflects broader environmental concerns, such as habitat destruction, climate change, or pollution.
