How to Distinguish Venomous Snakes

Learn about snakes. There are four types of venomous snakes in the United States: the water cobra, the rattlesnake, the copperhead, and the coral snake.

Water cobra. Water cobras have elliptical pupils, the color of which varies from black to green. They have white stripes along the side of the head. Water cobras are usually found in or around water, but they are also adapted to life on land. Baby snakes have bright yellow tails. They usually live alone, so if you see many snakes living peacefully together, it is probably not a water cobra.

Rattlesnake. Find the ring of horns on the tail. Some non-venomous snakes mimic the rattle of the horns by rubbing their tails over leaves, but only rattlesnakes have a knot-like ring of horns at the end of their tail. If you can’t see the ring of horns, you can see that the snake’s head has a very clear triangular shape and the pupils are elliptical like a cat’s eye.

Cobra. This snake has a similar body shape to the water cobra but is much lighter in color, varying from copper brown to bright orange, silvery pink and peach colors. Baby cobras also have yellow tails.

Coral snake. Coral snakes are beautiful but extremely poisonous, they are very beautiful and look like some other snakes like milk snakes (which are non-venomous snakes). Even so, coral snakes are easily distinguishable, with black, yellow and red bands, a yellow head and a black stripe on the nose. There is a saying that distinguishes coral snakes from king snakes, which is ‘Red with yellow is a poisonous snake. Red and black are non-venomous snakes. However, coral snakes almost never bite because they are very afraid of humans. There have been no known deaths from Arizona coral snakes, and only a few cases from coral snakes in the Central to Southeastern United States.

Observe color characteristics. Venomous snakes in the US often have many colors, while most snakes have only one uniform color and are harmless. However, water cobras are also poisonous, so you cannot tell them apart in such a simple way. You also need to be careful with poisonous snakes kept in cages when they come out.

Check the head shape. Non-venomous snakes have round, spoon-shaped heads, and venomous snakes have triangular heads. This shape is produced by venom glands (this feature is unknown on coral snakes).

Find the horn ring. If a snake has a ring of horns on its tail, it is a poisonous rattlesnake. However, some non-venomous snakes fake their horns by waggling their tails but do not have the horn ring “button”, so it sounds like a small salt shaker.

Find the temperature sensor. Some venomous snakes in the United States have a small hollow between their eyes and nostrils. This depression is where snakes use to sense the heat emitted by their prey. Coral snakes do not belong to this group of snakes.

Pay attention to mimicry behavior. Some non-venomous snakes mimic the appearance and behavior of venomous snakes. Rat snakes can look like rattlesnakes, milk snakes and king snakes look like coral snakes.

• Always treat snakes like venomous snakes if you are not sure if it is poisonous or not. Although caution should be taken, you should not kill snakes – you may be breaking the law by doing so, and killing non-venomous snakes can allow venomous snakes and harmful organisms to thrive.

Water moccasins have elliptical eyes, while harmless water snakes have round eyes. Either way, you should leave it alone and let it go somewhere else.