How do you tell the difference between a posionous snake and a nonpodionous snake?

Question

Well I and a friend were wondering...

Answer 1

The only way to really tell is to get to know all of the snakes. Here are some general ways to tell in The U.S.A. A coral snake (venomous) looks like a scarlet snake and a scarlet king snake (both non-venomous). All three have red, black and, yellow bands (sometimes white instead of yellow on the scarlet snake). If red and yellow bands are touching, it is a coral snake, if the red and yellow bands are not touching, then they are either a scarlet or a scarlet king. Usually a coral snakes nose or head is black as a scarlet or a scarlet king's is red (sometimes yellow. This only works for the Southeastern U.S. The further west you go, you will find more and more harmless species with red and yellow touching, such as the sand snake (there are others). The eyes of a coral snake have round pupils like most North American non-venomous species as opposed to the slit pupils of the dominant pit vipers. Coral snakes' heads and necks are of the same circumference, unlike all of the other venomous species in North America (which are pit vipers, and the coral snake is not a pit viper), which are either shaped like a diamond or a triangle and the neck is much smaller. However, many non-venomous snake have this characteristic as well. A hognose snake (harmless) can even form a hood and rear up much like a cobra (most people that don't know about where snakes live assume they are cobras), which are not a native of the Americas. Many non-venomous snakes shake their tails in dry leaves or other debris when they feel threatened, sounding much like a rattlesnake. Though not as thick as a rattlesnake, the markings may be quite similar. Therefore giving the impression that it is a rattlesnake. A pygmy rattlesnake's rattle is very small and you have to be very near to see it as it is pointed as well and not very loud, so people sometimes think they are small harmless snakes. I could go on and on about this, and the general rule follows for snakes all over the world, you can't be sure by the pupils or other characteristics unless you know the snakes in that area. What I recommend, is getting an Audubon Society's book on snakes of North America (if that is where you live). If so or not it also pays to browse book stores for regional field guides that offers pictures, descriptions, characteristics, and so on for snakes in your region. Like I said, even though there are ways to tell the regional difference between venomous and non-venomous, such as between coral snakes and scarlet snakes or scarlet kingsnakes, the only way to be 100% sure is to get to know your snakes. I have seen thousands of harmless snakes killed in eight countries by people assuming they were venomous. I have also been called to retreive well over a hundred supposed venomous snakes only to arrive and find a common water snake, a juvenile racer or rat snake, ring necked snakes and so on. Never once has one of these snakes been venomous. In general, venomous snakes are not as common as non-venomous snakes.

Answer 2

First of all there are venomous snakes, now not toxic. Venomous implies that the animals is competent of injecting the toxin by way of some way of fang,backbone or a stinger,ex: snakes,spiders, scorpions and stingrays. Poisonous implies that haven't any way of injecting the venom. In order to be suffering from it's by way of consuming the toxic flesh of the animal, or on the subject of toads, it has the input the blood movement by way of an open wound,examples: puffer fish . Well to inform whether or not the snake used to be innocent, it is well to have an outline. Here within the US, we've 4 most important species, the rattlesnake, water moccasin or cottonmouth,copperhead and the coral snake. Of path the rattlesnake is the simplest to spot for the reason that in their rattle, and so they more often than not help you understand whilst you get to near. The first 3 are pit vipers and feature a triagular form head and so they pits above the lips which become aware of warmth. Coral snakes are brightly colour to warn predators that it's venomous and are the one member of the elapids to be observed within the Americas. The elapid loved ones entails the cobras,mambas and kraits, that are observed within the Old World. There are innocent snakes, such because the scarlet king snake that mimics the coral snake. The coral snake colour is purple,yellow, and black. The scarlet kingsnake is purple,black, and yellow. The riddle is the purple and yellow kill a fellow. Red and black a buddy of jack. And if you're now not certain depart it on my own. The colubrids, which entails garter,king, and rat snakes, have circular students and circular form heads and absence the pits. And so much of them aren't venomous. There are a couple of colubrids which can be name again or rear-fanged snakes. They are referred to as rear or again fanged is for the reason that the fangs are founded behind the mouth. Fortunately regardless that the rear-fanged snakes right here within the US are innocent, on account that there venom is most effective powerful ample to kill there prey. But there are 2 species with a view to inflict a deadly chunk. They are the boomslang and the twig snake. And luckily for us they are each observed in Africa. And if you're now not certain if the snake is venomous or now not, then it's larger to depart it on my own. Give the snake ample area in order that it could possibly break out. And in the event you desire to grasp extra approximately snakes perform a little study. Don't attempt to kill it for they're an principal facet of the environment, adding the venomous ones. After all snake's venom is used to trap meals. They so much alternatively flee then must waste it on a whatever as enormous as you're. But will chunk, if there is not any opposite direction, and so they do it for self safety.

Answer 3

"thisismynewage" is right, snakes are not poisonous, they are venomous.

You can't really tell if snakes are venomous or not just by looking at them, you will need to know something about snakes.

Best thing to do is start learning about the snakes in and around your area/country and then branch off from there. It doesn't hurt to know and it might help you when possibly confronted by one.

Answer 4

There really is no hard-and-fast way to do it. Vipers have a fairly distinct head shape (sort of triangular - wide in the back and then tapering to a point at the front), but not all venomous snakes are vipers. Plus, water snakes and bullsnakes will puff out the backs of their heads when they're angry to look like vipers. So that can get confusing.

Vipers also have vertical pupils (like a cat's eye), but who's going to get close enough to one to see that?

There's also the whole red-on-black/red-on-yellow thing that people always talk about. That doesn't work either. There are non-venomous snakes that are red-on-yellow (long-nosed snakes, shovel-nosed snakes), and there are deadly coral snakes that are red-on-black.

The best thing to do is get a guide. (The best guides are the Peterson Field Guides to Reptiles & Amphibians. They come in Eastern and Western editions for the two halves of the US.) Learn what venomous species are in your area and what they look like. For example, here in eastern Tennessee, I have copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. As long as you know what those two look like, any other snake is OK.

Answer 5

not all venomous snakes have vertical pupils, its best to just learn what the venomous that are in your area look like.

Answer 6

There are a lot of ways to tell, but one of the easiest I know of is to look at the pupils of the snake's eyes. If they're round, they're non-poisonous. All poisonous snakes have a vertical elliptical-shaped (cat's eye) pupil. It's easy if you have a good view of their eyes, that is.

Answer 7

Snakes are venemous, not poisonous.