Copperhead
VenomousAgkistrodon contortrix · also called highland moccasin, chunk head
The copperhead is responsible for more venomous snakebites in the United States than any other species, largely because it is common, it lives comfortably alongside people, and it freezes rather than fleeing when approached. Its bite is rarely fatal but is genuinely serious and always warrants emergency care. It is also the single most over-reported snake in America — the overwhelming majority of 'copperhead in my yard' photographs turn out to be juvenile ratsnakes, water snakes, or corn snakes.
Before anything else
- Back away and leave it alone. A snake that can see you leaving has no reason to bite. Most bites in the United States happen to people who picked up, cornered, or tried to kill a snake.
- Never handle a snake to identify it. Every identification on this site can be made from a photo or from several feet away.
- If someone is bitten, call emergency services now. Keep the limb still and below the heart, remove rings and watches, and go to hospital. Do not cut, suck, apply ice, or use a tourniquet — all of these make outcomes worse.
- Do not try to catch the snake for identification. A photo from a distance is enough, and hospitals treat symptoms rather than species.
In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.
Quick facts
- Venom
- Medically significant venom. Bites cause severe local pain, swelling and tissue damage, and require a hospital. Fatalities are very rare but roughly one in four bites is a 'dry' bite with little venom, which is not something you can determine yourself. Treat every bite as an emergency.
- Adult length
- 20–37 inches (51–94 cm)
- Markings
- Dark chestnut crossbands on a pale tan or pinkish ground. Each band is wide where it meets the belly and narrow across the spine — from the side it looks like a Hershey's Kiss, and that hourglass shape is the most reliable thing about this snake. The head is a plain coppery orange with no markings.
- Habitat
- woods, rocky, suburban, farmland
- Family
- pit viper
- Range
- 26 US states
How to identify a copperhead
- Crossbands are wide at the sides and pinch to a narrow waist over the spine. Bands that stay the same width, or that are widest on the back, mean a different snake.
- Plain unmarked coppery-orange head with no stripes, blotches or lines.
- Juveniles have a bright sulphur-yellow tail tip, which they wiggle to lure frogs and lizards.
- Ground colour is pale — tan, buff or pinkish. A dark chocolate or grey snake with bands is more likely a water snake.
What it does when it sees you
Copperheads rely on camouflage and usually hold perfectly still, which is why people are so often bitten stepping over a log or reaching into leaf litter rather than approaching one deliberately. They rarely rattle or hiss. Give one space and it will normally stay put or move off slowly.
What the copperhead is confused with
One test settles each of these.
Water snake bands are widest across the back and narrow at the sides — the exact reverse of a copperhead. Water snakes are also darker and heavily keeled.
Corn snakes have squarish blotches with black borders on the back, not bands that reach the belly, plus a distinctive black-and-white chequerboard belly.
Juvenile ratsnakes are grey with dark grey blotches — no copper tones anywhere, and the head has a dark bar between the eyes.
Milk snake blotches are red-brown with sharp black outlines on a grey ground, and the belly is a black-and-white chequerboard.