how to tell a snake is poisonous just by looking at it ?

Question

i had a close encounter with a snake and my immediate reaction was negetive. was the snake harmless ? We usually dont have many snakes around. this is the first time i have seen a snake in the open

And If somehow we both come near each other unknowingly...what should i do...should i stand still...make a run for it....battle it.....play dead.....i think i should stand still so it can get on with its business

Now...when its dark.....i have to take a torch along with me so that i dont accidentally step on it and give him and excuse to bite me. During earlier days i just went out to my backyard without any torch and without a care in the world and i used to enjoy my cig.....but now i am with a torch and on high alert.....i dont want to harm the snake in anyways...but then what if my luck runs out or the otherway round and i just cross its path unknowingly....and it does not like it...

Answer 1

Identifying Snakes There are several characteristics that will help you identify snakes, or at least get you close to an accurate identification. These characteristics, are:

* Length
* Body Shape
* Head & Neck Shape
* Color & Pattern
* Scale Texture
* Eye Pupil Shape
* Anal Plate Division

Length

The first question to ask is, "How long is the snake?" Imagine how long the snake is when it is stretched out. For example, small land snakes like the redbelly, brown, ring-necked, earthworm, and Southeastern crowned snake rarely get over 12 to 16" long. Medium sized snakes typically range from 18" to 3' in length. These might include garter snakes, ribbon snakes, green snakes, queen snake, milk snakes and kingsnakes. The large snakes can often obtain sizes in excess of 3' and would include rattlesnakes, rat snakes, watersnakes, coachwhips, black racers, and cottonmouths.

Body Shape

The next question to ask concerns body shape. "Is the body slender, or is it thick and heavy?" Examples of a slender snake would be the ribbon snake whereas an example of a stout snake might be a cottonmouth.

Head & Neck Shape

Next look at the head. Does it have a broad head? A medium sized head (a little larger than the body)? Or does it not appear to have a head? Many of the small land snakes do not appear to have any significant head whereas species like the garter snake have a medium sized head. Water snakes, cottonmouth, Eastern hog-nose, and rattlesnakes all have large heads. Folklore has it that if the snakes' head is shaped like an arrowhead it is venomous. While it is true that pit vipers (these are the only poisonous snakes in Kentucky) do have heads that might have an arrowhead shape, many nonvenomous species may flatten their heads into the arrowhead shape when they feel threatened. Therefore this is not a good characteristic to tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes.

Color & Pattern

The most useful field identification characteristics to use in identifying snakes are their color and patterns. Some snakes like the rough green snake are easy to identify because they are the only bright green colored snakes that occur in Kentucky. Corn snakes are bright orange and scarlet snakes are bright red. Look at the color of the snake carefully. Is it really black or dark brown? Is it dark gray or brown? Patterns are also very helpful. For instance many snakes have no discernable pattern at all. The earth snake and black racer are good examples of snakes that are generally one color with no lines, blotches, or bands. Some snakes have a head that has a different color from the body. The southeastern crowned and ring-neck snakes are excellent examples of this type of pattern. The coachwhip is an example of a multicolor pattern where the color gradually blends from one to another with no distinctive pattern. The garter, ribbon, and queen snakes are examples of species that have linear stripes running the length of the body. The final pattern to look for is a snake that has spots, blotches, or bands. Species that may exhibit this type of pattern include the rattlesnakes, copperhead, corn snake, rat snake, milk snakes, water snakes, kingsnakes, pine snake, cottonmouth, and brown snake.

Scale Texture

If you are still having difficulty identifying the snake you may want to look at the scale texture, tail scales, and the anal plate division. Some snakes have scales that are rough (or have a ridge on them). Snakes that have no rough (keeled) scales are often quite shiny in appearance. As a general rule we do not have any snakes in Kentucky with strongly rough scales. Some species with mild keeled scales include the rat snake, corn snake, copperhead, and cottonmouth. Most of our snakes have smooth scales.

Eye Pupil Shape

An easy method of telling the difference between a venomous or poisonous versus a non-poisonous snake is to look at the shape of the pupil. Non-poisonous snakes all have a round pupil (in the center of the eye) whereas all poisonous snakes have a vertical elliptical (cat-like) shaped pupil. All pit-vipers (poisonous) also have a small hole (pit) between the nostril and the eye.

Anal Plate Division

The anal plate on a snake is the last body scale on the underside or belly. One good identification characteristic is to determine if the snakes' anal plate has one scale or is it divided into two scales. You can not use the anal plate to tell the difference between poisonous and non- poisonous snakes. You can use the tail scales to determine if a snake is poisonous. The pit vipers (poisonous) have a single row of scales under the tail beginning at the vent. Near the end of the tail, the single row will change into a double row. All others have single tail scales.

Answer 2

First of all there are venomous snakes, not poisonous. Venomous means that the animals is capable of injecting the toxin by a way of fang,spine or a stinger,ex: snakes,spiders, scorpions and stingrays. Poisonous means that have no means of injecting the venom. In order to be affected by it is through eating the poisonous flesh of the animal, or in the case of toads, it has the enter the blood stream through an open wound,examples: puffer fish .

Well to tell whether the snake was harmless, it's good to have a description. Here in the US, we have four main species, the rattlesnake, water moccasin or cottonmouth,copperhead and the coral snake.

Of course the rattlesnake is the easiest to identify because of their rattle, and they usually let you know when you get to close. The first three are pit vipers and have a triagular shape head and they pits above the lips which detect heat.

Coral snakes are brightly color to warn predators that it is venomous and are the only member of the elapids to be found in the Americas. The elapid family includes the cobras,mambas and kraits, which are found in the Old World. There are harmless snakes, such as the scarlet king snake that mimics the coral snake. The coral snake color is red,yellow, and black. The scarlet kingsnake is red,black, and yellow. The riddle is the red and yellow kill a fellow. Red and black a friend of jack. And if you are not sure leave it alone.

The colubrids, which includes garter,king, and rat snakes, have round pupils and round shape heads and lack the pits. And most of them are not venomous.

There are a few colubrids that are call back or rear-fanged snakes. They are called rear or back fanged is because the fangs are situated in the back of the mouth. Fortunately though the rear-fanged snakes here in the US are harmless, since there venom is only strong enough to kill there prey. But there are two species that will inflict a fatal bite. They are the boomslang and the twig snake. And fortunately for us they're both found in Africa.

And if you are not sure if the snake is venomous or not, then it is better to leave it alone. Give the snake enough space so that it can escape. And if you want to know more about snakes do some research. Don't try to kill it for they are an important part of the ecosystem, including the venomous ones. After all snake's venom is used to catch food. They much rather flee then have to waste it on a something as big as you are. But will bite, if there is no other way, and they do it for self defense.

Answer 3

How To Tell Poisonous Snakes

Answer 4

Its impossible im afraid, unless you can identify the snake and therefore know it to be poisonous or not.

Sometimes snakes bite as a warning but dont inject venom, therefore never assume a snake is harmless, also, a non-poisonous snake can still infect you with salmonella poisoning if it bites you.

Answer 5

In the USA it's pretty easy after a little study. We have three pit vipers (rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads), all of which are readily identifiable by the triangular head. Plus the coral snake, a relatively small critter easily positively identified by its colored bands pattern (think "red on yellow kills a fellow"). So visual ID of poisonous snakes in this country is a snap. Outside USA it's a whole different ballgame.

Answer 6

I can't, so I stay away from all of them. I never get closer than my broom handle. Chased a 4' black snake, I think it was anyway, out of the yard the other day. Brandy, one of hubby's beagles, cornered it. I figured if it was poisonous, then I needed to get it out of the yard, but I didn't want me or the dog to get bit. Using the broom head to do the chasing would offer it something to bite, if it was going to, and keep me out of harms way. Worked wonderfully.
I remember my dad telling me that the snake wants to get away from you and as bad as you want him away, so I swished the broom head above his body and he took off like a streak.
Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't the most intelligent thing to do. If it had been poisonous, it may not have gone as willingly as this one did. But I didn't harass it once it started moving, only kept an eye on it to make sure it went away like I wanted it to.
Don't know enough about them to say how a poisonous one would act after being 'swished' but I'd hope it would move away after I stepped away from it.
Somewhere in one of my big flower beds there lives a little snake about 5" long and lizard about 6" long. And I won't kill any of them, they help keep the rodents and bugs down.

Answer 7

You cant. Because in some cases you'd be wrong. Unless you memorize all the world snakes. Rattlesnakes are easy to tell but there are a few snakes that mimic the rattlesnakes defensive posture and even the rattle.

Cobras are easy too but there is at least 1 snake that mimics the cobras hood and defensive stance.

Answer 8

Poisionis Snakes have diamond like pupils while non are round. If you encounter a snake you should stand still and slowly back away. Especially when it's in a s shape. That means he will strike

Answer 9

There is NO sure-fire rule to identifying venomous snakes... The only trustworthy method is to research what venomous snakes are found in your area, so you can properly identify them. If you see a snake that you can't 100% identify, STAY AWAY. Better to be safe then dead. Snakebites are pretty uncommon though. An overwhelming majority comes from macho (and often drunk)idiots that try to mess with them, or people who try to kill them. They will usually "run" away long before you'll ever see them, and if you do accidentally corner one, they will try to escape or bluff and scare you before biting, in which case just calmly walk in the opposite direction... As long as you watch your step and don't stick your hand into any dark holes, you've got nothing to worry about.

Answer 10

Most poisonous snakes in the US are vipers. They have triangular heads, often with a depression on top of the skull. I'm afraid it might have bitten you before you could check it out.
Advice: Leave all snakes alone and CALMLY retreat about 10 feet. then, run like all hell.
Please don't kill them - God gave even them a job to do (besides freaking people).