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Copperhead Or Chicken Snake? This Is The Easiest Way To Tell The Difference

Black Rat Snake, Animal Mouth, Animal Tongue, Animal Wildlife, Animals In The Wild© iStock.Com/RCKeller

The well-known copperhead is often mistaken for lesser-known species of nonvenomous snakes. One common snake that is sometimes confused with the venomous copperhead is the similar-looking chicken snake (also known as the eastern rat snake). According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, juvenile eastern rat snakes are the species most commonly mistaken for copperheads. Let's take a look at the similarities and differences between copperheads and chicken snakes and how to tell them apart.

Habitat and Range

Copperhead snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix) are found in much of the eastern half of the U.S. They live as far south as the Florida panhandle and as far north as Massachusetts. Their range extends as far west as Kansas and Nebraska. Copperheads live in a wide range of habitats, including forests, hillsides, and alongside streams or rivers. In suburban areas, they may be found living in piles of mulch or wood.

Chicken snakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), also known as eastern rat snakes or gray rat snakes, are found in much of the same range as copperhead snakes, although not as far north or west. Their habitats include pine forests, swamps, prairies, and fields. Like copperheads, chicken snakes may make their homes around suburban areas.

Size and Appearance

Copperhead snakes have hourglass shaped patterns along their bodies.

©Creeping Things/Shutterstock.Com

Copperheads grow to be about two to three feet in length, although the longest on record was measured at 53 inches. Chicken snakes are much longer on average, measuring around 36 to 72 inches. Copperheads are pit vipers with broad, triangular heads. They have dark reddish to brown hourglass-shaped patterns along their body. They are the only species of snake with these distinct, hourglass-shaped markings. As babies and juveniles, copperheads have bright yellow tails, which fade as the snake grows. The yellow color is used as a lure to help the juvenile snake catch lizards and frogs.

Chicken snakes lose their patterns as they grow into adults

©samray/Shutterstock.Com

Juvenile chicken snakes also have blotches across their body that may appear similar to a copperhead. As adults, their blotches fade and they can vary in color. Chicken snakes may be gray, yellow, orange, or tan with long stripes along their bodies.

Predators and Prey

Copperheads are pit vipers. These venomous snakes have specialized organs on their head that can sense heat, helping them to locate their prey. Copperheads will ambush their prey, biting down and releasing their venom. If the prey is small, they'll hold onto it and swallow it whole. If the prey is larger, they let it get away, but will track it down after it dies from the venom poisoning. Copperheads have a varied diet, although they are helpful at keeping rodent populations at bay. Copperheads may eat mice, frogs, lizards, insects, birds, and other small snakes. They have to watch out for various predators, including birds of prey, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and other large snakes such as kingsnakes.

Copperhead snakes help keep rodent populations under control.

©Suzanna Ruby/Shutterstock.Com

Chicken snakes have a diet similar to copperheads, eating frogs, lizards, rodents, and birds. Unlike copperheads, they don't kill their victims with venom. Instead, chicken snakes, like all rat snakes, are constrictors. They coil around larger prey, suffocating it. They may swallow smaller prey whole. Like copperheads, chicken snakes need to be wary of birds of prey and other snakes. Because of their large size, chicken snakes are most vulnerable when they are juveniles and not yet fully grown.

Interactions With Humans

A study showed that copperhead bites accounted for 40% of all snake bites in the U.S. Although venomous, the venom of a copperhead is not strong enough to kill a person. However, a bite is painful and requires immediate medical treatment. Some patients may require antivenom. Though they account for nearly half of all snake bites in the U.S., copperheads are not aggressive and will attempt to camouflage themselves to escape detection. They only bite when they feel cornered or threatened, with no way out. Unless you mistakenly step on a copperhead or try to handle it, these snakes do all they can to avoid contact with people.

Chicken snakes are shy of humans and will try to avoid direct contact if possible.

©Jay Ondreicka/Shutterstock.Com

Chicken snakes will also try to avoid contact with humans and only bite as a last resort when threatened. A chicken snake will either remain motionless or flee when it spots a human. If cornered, they defend themselves by striking and vibrating their tail. A chicken snake bite may be painful and require medical treatment, but they aren't venomous. According to the University of Florida Museum, virtually all chicken snake bites occur when the snake is bothered or handled.

The post Copperhead or Chicken Snake? This Is the Easiest Way to Tell the Difference appeared first on A-Z Animals.

Is That A Copperhead? No, It's More Likely One Of These Non-venomous NC Snakes

On social media sites, seemingly every snake in every photo is identified as a venomous copperhead.

Talena Chavis, owner of Cary-based NC Snake Catcher, understands the mistake. When you're frightened, it's easy to see a brown pattern and think a venomous snake is hanging around your home.

But there are many other types of snakes in North Carolina, and most are non-venomous. Some of the most common non-venomous snakes in the Triangle are the black rat snake, the black racer snake and the brown (or dekay) snake. The black rat and black racer snakes are solid black adults. The grown dekay snake, though it is small, has a pattern that can look similar to a copperhead.

The lesson: Identifying snakes isn't always straightforward.

"The hardest part of our black snakes is that neither snake is completely black when it's born. They look completely different with dark brown spots," Chavis said.

"People call me all the time thinking they have rattlesnakes or copperheads, not knowing this is a completely harmless snake that's good to stay in their yard."

The News & Observer spoke with Chavis to learn more about the "copperhead" calls she often receives and what she wants the public to know about these non-venomous, beneficial snakes.

Adult brown (or dekay) snake. At full grown, they are about a foot long.

Often misidentified: Brown (or dekays) snake or copperhead?

The brown snake, which experts call the dekay from its latin name Storeria dekayi, is "the most victimized snake in our area," Chavis said.

Homeowners think these snakes, which can grow to just over a foot long, are baby copperheads, since both snakes are brown with a darker brown pattern.

"Dekays are the least known and most confusing because of their patterns," she said.

There are a few telltale signs the snake in your yard is a Dekay, not a copperhead:

• Size: Full-grown brown snakes are a foot and a half long at a maximum. The brown pattern can be mistaken for a full-grown copperhead, but baby copperheads look much different.

Adult brown (or dekay) snake.

• Color: Baby copperheads have neon green tails.

"I like to point to my safety glove and say 'A baby copperhead has this color on it. The dekay does not," Chavis said.

• Habitat: Brown (or dekay) snakes are fossorial snakes, meaning they burrow under objects or in the dirt. You probably won't see one until you're digging or lifting up pavers in your backyard.

Copperheads are known to sunbathe. They will squeeze themselves into existing cracks in structures, but you won't find them covered in dirt or underneath stones.

If you see one while you're digging around your garden bed, don't worry. The snakes are non-venomous, and their teeth are so small that they can't pierce skin.

"Basically, if you're not an earthworm, slug or snail, you're safe," Chavis said. "And if you're a gardener, you're going to want this little guy around."

Juvenile Black Rat snake.

How to ID a black rat snake

Black rat snakes are named for their favorite foods (rodents), and they are excellent climbers. Juvenile black rat snakes can look strikingly similar to adult copperheads, but there's one key difference: Black rat snakes are often found in high places.

"I often get calls that there's a copperhead in someone's attic. And I tell them, I'll determine the kind of snake when I get there, but if you're correct, it will be the very first time I take a copperhead out of an attic," Chavis said.

"I still have never seen a copperhead in an attic, and I doubt I ever will. Black rat snakes like to climb, while copperheads stay low."

• Color: The adults have glossy black backs. Juveniles are light in color and have brown patches all over them, making them easily mistakable for a copperhead.

• Size: Adult black rat snakes can grow up to six feet in length.

• Food: Black rat snakes, like many other wild animals, follow the food.

"People freak out when they find black rat snakes because they are so big, but the truth is, if you have a black rat snake, you have rats (or some other kind of rodent)," Chavis said.

Juvenile black racer snake.

What does a black racer snake look like?

These nonvenomous snakes actually eat copperheads.

"The black racer is the unfriendly cousin to the black rat snake," Chavis said, adding that its name comes from its speed.

"It's more aggressive, and it's not afraid to tell you it's hanging around. When people are watering their bushes, they like to pop their heads out, like dinosaurs in Jurassic Park."

• Size: Black racers can grow to six feet in length, though their average size is four feet. (Copperheads are two to three feet long.)

• Color: Juvenile black racers typically have brown spots, making them mistakable for a copperhead. Adult black racers are slender and black (or dark gray) with smooth scales.

• Food: Along with copperheads (and other snakes), black racers eat lizards, rodents and frogs.

Adult Black Racer snake.

What does a copperhead snake look like?

While you can't rely solely on markings when identifying snakes (unless you're an expert), it's good to know what copperheads look like. Remember that there can always be variations in color and pattern.

• Pattern: Copperhead snakes are brownish-gray in color with an hourglass-shaped pattern on their backs, which resembles a Hershey's Kiss.

• Color: Newly born or very young copperheads will resemble their parents — except they'll have a bright yellow or neon green-tipped tail that darkens pretty quickly.

This copperhead snake, estimated to be 2 to 3 years old, was discovered in a Raleigh garden on Thursday, June 13, 2019. It was captured by Southern Wildlife and Land Management in Raleigh and relocated to game land away from homes near Jordan Lake.

How to avoid snake problems

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission offers the following advice for preventing conflicts with snakes:

• Declutter your yard: Snakes seek out areas with thick cover, especially where rodents and other prey species are likely to be found. By trimming bushes and plants, and by clearing out piles of rock, wood and other debris, the property around your home will be less appealing for snakes.

• Remove entry points: Close gaps and holes, which could encourage snakes to come inside your home. Repair damage to siding and foundations, and seal openings under doors, windows and around water pipes.

• Be aware of your surroundings: Watch where you step and where you place your hands when on walks outside or doing work in the yard or garden. Be prepared for the possibility of encountering a snake.

• Educate yourself and others: Keep a respectful distance from wildlife, and don't touch them. Know the common snakes in the Triangle and what they look like. Pay particular attention to venomous snakes.

(Source: ncwildlife.Org)

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