Just a nice little article trying to teach how to identify good versus bad snakes. Basically boils down to what I've been saying for years... There's not that many bad snakes in Texas. It's pretty easy to learn them all and then leave them alone.

Good info thanks..

That is a great article! I consider myself extremely knowledgeable yet I learned a few things. Growing up in south Florida (Loxahatchee) I collected and kept snakes as pets. I've had at one time or another every species of snake indigenous to the state as a pet including the poisonous ones (except an Indigo, I've only seen one and I couldn't catch it ... not that it was legal to). I've had several Hog Nose but never knew they had tiny rear fangs. Out of all the poisonous snakes I've had, the one that was the most intimidating was an adult, jet black, Fla.Cottonmouth, that was one mean & nasty snake!!

I'm guilty of killing copperheads and cottonmouths on a regular basis. We have small dogs and children running around all the time. I am good at snake ID and don't kill all the other resident snakes we have.

Huckleberry brings up a good point.

There are regional variations. As he mentioned, having grown up in the Deep South...adult Cottonmouths to me were jet black..or close to it. Also, copperhead were darker than what is common in Texas.

Hate to say it but that Florida Water Snake would get blasted by me everytime. Looks too much like a cottonmouth.

I ain't taking no chances. A good snake is a dead snake.

well, now I know what kind of snake it was that joined me on the boat a couple of yrs back on fork, coral snake.
looked just like the black one with yellow bands. swam up and got in the jackplate, took a little ride later so not sure where it bailed.
had never seen a snake with those markings before, thought it might be some sort of king snake.

have killed 24 cottonmouths here at the ranch, all but 3 were black as an ace of spades, the 3 looked almost like a diamondback watersnake and were dark dark brown.

These are the ones we have in south florida

Great info. Does the author have a follow up on how to ID venomous snakes in the US, now that we’ve covered the misconceptions?

looks like the majority of the ones I have killed, cool snakes but sorry charlie, you die!

quick way to id a cottonmouth is the tail, notice how it goes from fat snake to skinny tail all of a sudden.

Good read. Thanks for sharing it.

Same here. Texas copper heads look like Arkansas copper heads.

Cottonmouths in Arkansas are mostly black, razor backed and stink to high heaven.......and are by gawd aggressive !

East Texas and southwest okie cottonmouths must be a completely different species then. I've never met an aggressive one in my life. Yellow belly water snakes and broad banded water snakes just want you to think they're the biggest badaces in the pond.