![]() You’ll mostly find copperheads in woodland and deciduous forest areas. There are five subspecies of copperheads, but they all have a similar appearance. They live as far north as Nebraska in the central U.S., and Massachusetts in the east. They are only found in the United States, and a tiny portion of northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Coahuila).Įvery south-eastern state, from Florida to Texas, is home to copperheads. Where Do Copperhead Snakes Live?Ĭopperhead snakes are endemic to North America, meaning they don’t live anywhere else in the world. However, bites are medically significant and must still be treated in a hospital with antivenom. They have the weakest venom of all pit vipers. ![]() Human deaths from copperhead bites are extremely rare, according to the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. More serious envenomations can cause blurred vision and labored breathing. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and bruising at the site of the bite, nausea, and numbness of the extremities. Most bites occur when a copperhead is accidentally stepped on.Ĭopperhead venom is hemotoxic, causing tissue damage. Although copperheads aren’t aggressive, they bite if they feel threatened. People living in rural areas, especially near woodlands, may encounter copperheads in their backyards. They are venomous, and kill by injecting venom into their prey using their large fangs. Like all pit vipers, copperhead snakes have heat-sensing facial pits that help them detect warm-blooded prey. Copperheads are closely related to water moccasins (otherwise known as cottonmouths), and more distantly related to rattlesnakes. The copperhead ( Agkistrodon contortrix), also known as the highland moccasin, is a species of pit viper native to North America. Not only does the exposure of fence-post dwelling make them exponentially vulnerable to natural and man-made threats, but many Nicaraguans erroneously believe the Ctenosaura quinquecarinata to be venomous and kill the reptile on sight if encountered in fence posts.3.5 Eastern Hognose Snakes What Are Copperhead Snakes? In desperation, the endangered reptile has adapted to finding refuge in wooden fence-post cavities, a major lifestyle change from living in the forest canopy, where foliage and body camouflage help protect the Nicaraguan Spiny-tailed Iguana from natural predators. This reality has created a housing crisis of dramatic proportions for the Nicaraguan Spiny-tailed Iguana. quinquecarinata is fortunate enough to survive natural predators, deforestation and intentional fires, its refuge may still be destroyed by the most responsible of farmers, ones that instead of burning or clear-cutting forest, remove only dried branches and trunks for use as cooking fuel. What’s worse, more than 90% of the Nicaraguan campesinos cook using fire wood. ![]() Nicaraguan cattle ranchers and farmers set fire to their land twice annually to regenerate pasture and prior to crop planting biannually burning already occupied and potential Ctenosaura quinquecarinata refuge sites. However, habitat loss is just the beginning, since the Nicaraguan Spiny-tailed Iguana only lives in the cavities of dried tree trunks and branches, its survival challenges are multiplied. Despite having diverse natural predators, the biggest danger to the Nicaraguan Spiny-tailed Iguana’s continued existence is the destruction of its tropical dry forest habitat by humans.
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