Eastern copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
The venomous snake you will actually meet in Dearborn County. Chestnut hourglasses on a copper body.
- Marks
- Hourglass bands; copper head; no rattle
- Size
- 24–36 in
- Habitat
- Rock piles, woodpiles, south slopes, collapsing foundations, leaf litter. They do not chase people.
- Season
- April–October. Night hunting in heat.
- Frequency
- common
A heavy-bodied pit viper. Pattern is dark-brown hourglasses or Hershey-kiss bands that are wide on the sides and narrow on the back. Head is unmarked copper. Young have a yellow tail tip. Heat pits between eye and nostril. Pupils vertical in bright light.
If this is the one
Bites are painful and medically serious but rarely fatal for healthy adults. They almost always happen when someone grabs, steps on, or kills the snake.
Get to an ER. Remove rings. Keep the bitten limb still and below heart level. Do not cut, suck, ice, or apply a tourniquet. Note the time. Call ahead so antivenom can be ready.
Lookalikes
Northern watersnake
Nerodia sipedon
The snake people kill at the creek, thinking it is a water moccasin. It is not. Cottonmouths are not established here.
Eastern ratsnake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Black climber. Eats rats and eggs. Harmless, often in barns and rafters.