All snakes including venomous species will try to escape from human contact, as their first line of defense. So to avoid bites, leave them alone and let them go on their way.
When cornered, the rattlesnake and copperhead will vibrate their tails, which may give you a sound warning to stay away.
The cottonmouth will generally open it's mouth wide and display it's fangs and characteristic white mouth, as a warning.
In scientific testing of the venomous species, the copperhead is the most likely to strike first, with the least amount of provocation. It is therefore logical that copperhead bites are the most frequent in the U.S. The State of North Carolina holds the dubious distiction of the most copperhead bites of any State within the U.S. on average. Fortunately, copperhead venom is the least toxic of the venomous U.S. snake types and it typically only injects small amounts of venom. Although not usually fatal, nontheless, the copperhead bite is extremely painful and requires immediate emergency medical treatment to avoid massive tissue destruction, secondary infection and loss of use of muscles and limbs.
The type and toxicity of rattlesnake venom varies widely between different species. Most rattlesnakes have a type of hemotoxic venom, which targets and destroys blood cells and tissues. The canebrake rattlesnake of the southeastern U.S. and the mojave rattlesnake of the far west are considered two of the most dangerous venomous snakes because they have a neurotoxic venom which attacks the nerve cells and can lead to paralysis, lung and heart failure. Then there's the southern pacific rattlesnake of coastal southern California, which has a very lethal combination of both hemotoxic and neurotoxic agents in it's venom.
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the largest of the venomous U.S. species reaching 3 to 5 feet in length. It is also very dangerous due to the amount of venom it injects with a bite, typically enough to kill 6 humans.. Venom amounts often vary with the size of the snake. Even baby venomous snakes though, usually produce serious amounts of venom and should be considered as dangerous as the adult snakes.
Approximately one out of four venomous snake bites is a "dry bite" meaning that no venom is injected with the bite. Nevertheless, emergency medical treatment should be sought immediately to rule out the need for antivenom treatment and to clean-out the wound. All snake bites,non-venomous, as well as venomous, are serious, since snakes have an abundance of bacteria in their mouths that can cause serious infections in humans.
The bite of the pit vipers, which includes the rattlesnake species, the copperheads and the cottonmouths, are typically very painful and can cause massive tissue damage in proximity to the bite. The rattlesnake bite is considered more dangerous than that of the cottonmouth and the cottonmouth's more than that of the copperhead, in terms of the toxicity of the venom.
The coral snake is the most elusive of the four venomous snake types in North America and is seldom seen. It is a burrower and spends most of the time hidden under leaf litter or sand. It tends to be very shy and less aggressive than the pit vipers. It has two small fixed fangs at the front of its mouth, unlike the 3 types of pit vipers, which have long retractable fangs.
Coral snakes have a deadly neurotoxic venom, and when they bite, they tend to latch onto the prey, in order to inject their venom, rather than the quick strikes and more massive injections, characteristic of the other three venomous snake types.
Coral snakes account for approximately 30 snake bites a year in the U.S. Bites from this snake are relatively less painful than the pit vipers and the affects of the venom may be delayed as much as 12 hours after the bite occurs. The venom being a neurotoxin, causes damage to the central nervous system and poses a serious threat to the respiratory and cardiac systems, as well as, paralysis. Patients bitten by coral snakes are admitted to the hospital for at least 24 hours to monitor their symptoms and treatment needs.
Photo below is a copperhead, which was taken in a swamp in South Carolina. Eyes are clouded-over indicating that it is ready to shed it's skin.
