The cottonmouth snake is an aquatic venomous snake.  These snakes prefer areas surrounding wetlands, areas around lakes, rivers, and swamps.  Their primary source of food are small creatures like mice and frogs. They are found throughout the entire state of Florida.

They look very similar to the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, but they can be distinguished from the diamondback mostly by the patterns on their body.  The diamondback has diamonds across the back of the body of the snake.  The cottonmouth has features more like stripes or bands around the body.

One notable feature of many of the poisonous snakes in Florida is the shape of their head.  The snakes with a large triangular shaped head are always poisonous, and it’s important to keep a safe distance from these deadly snakes.  One other snake to know about and to be weary of is the coral snake.  It is a smaller colorfully banded snake with a smaller head.  The coral snake is one of the most poisonous of the Florida venomous snakes.

All snakes have a pronounced pose when they are about to strike.  Snakes will coil up their bodies into a spring like shape, so when they determine it’s time to strike they have the full strength of their body muscles to propel them forward towards their assailant or prey.

Fortunately, the cottonmouth, like many other poisonous snakes are not stupid enough to attack a human, something 100 times as big as it without having been provoked, cornered, or ambushed.  If you find yourself confronted with an agitated snake, you should try to subtly distance yourself from the snake.  Then, the snake will almost certainly retreat. In spite of the threat they pose to humans, they are another interesting and important part of the Florida ecosystem.