Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix
  • Average size:  22-36 inches;  Record 53 inches.  Young are 8-10 inches
    at birth.
  • Range:  Mainly in the panhandle from the Apalachicola River and its
    tributaries west.  The Florida Museum of Natural History has collected
    specimens from Jackson, Liberty, Gadsden, Calhoun, Gulf, and
    Escambia counties. There are no confirmed records from outside these
    counties in Florida.
  • Diet:  Mice, small birds, frogs.
  • Status:  Still common in some areas.  Can be found in suburban areas
    near people as well as swamps, river beds, etc.  
  • A bite from a copperhead is not usually life-threatening unless it bites a
    child or someone in poor health, however as with all venomous snake
    bites the victim must seek immediate care at a hospital or doctor with
    snake bite treatment experience.


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Southern Copperhead
Florida Backyard Snakes
While hiking at the
Apalachicola Bluffs and
Ravines Preserve on
3/25/07, my wife Yvonne,
saw this one peeking from
under a log while I was
looking in some debris
nearby.  I've lived in
Florida for most of my life
and have never seen a
Southern Copperhead in
the wild.  This little guy
made the hike worth
while!