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                  FLORIDA SNAKES and LIZARDS

 

Florida is chock full of poisonous snake species, including Eastern Diamond Back, Pygmy Rattler, Coral, Copperhead, the Water Moccasin. Their bites are all toxic. They all can be found all over, even in heavily populated areas. Dogs often get bitten when exploring in woods or poking their nose into bushes. People get bitten also. There are some llizards that are unwelcome permanent visitors.

ALL TYPES OF SNAKES

Florida has many many snakes. North Florida around Tallahassee is an area having the most numerous species of snakes, perhaps 4 dozen. Some are poison and some are not. Deane and Chris made it their business when they moved to Florida to learn about these snakes and how to protect and defend against them. They have had snakes at all three of their Florida homes. Chris has killed dozens of poison snakes and Deane has killed some also. (once when Chris was away, Deane killed a coral snake that was in our atrium using a can of long shot wasp spray and a hand saw). Officials from the Fire Rescue Venom Unit verified it as a Coral. Chris and Deane recommend this Florida state site as a good one to use. Florida Wildlife SNAKES

Florida has three poison centers for reporting bites, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville. They get thousands of reports yearly, but say there are many more bites not reported to them.

TYPES OF NOT POISON SNAKES

Racer and Coachwhip	Rat Snakes	Kingsnake
Average adult size is 30-70 inches . "blacksnake" or, more properly, the southern black racer. All Florida	Average adult size is 30-80 inches Black and Red All Florida	Average adult size is 36-84 inches;   large, powerful snake All through Florida
Hognose	Garter and Ribbon	Water Snakes
Average adult size 20-45 inches. least offensive, yet most maligned nonvenomous snakes. All Florida.	Average adult size is 18-48 inches; black, brown or greenish . Throughout Florida.	Average adult size is to 48 inches; plainbelly, banded, brown and Florida green   All Florida.

 

TYPES OF POISONOUS SNAKES

Copperhead	Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin)	Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Average adult size is 22-36 inches and up to 53 inches has been reported. in North Florida.	Average adult size is 20-48 inches but over 70 inches has been reported. All Florida	Average adult size is 36-72 inches; the longest reported was 96 inches.   All through Florida and several offshore islands and keys.
Canebrake Rattlesnake	Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake	Eastern Coral Snake
	Florida Museum of Natural History	Photo: Bill Love
This is the southern subspecies of the timber rattlesnake found in other portions of the United States. in North Florida.	Average adult size is 12-24 inches; the longest was recorded at 31 inches. Throughout Florida.	Average adult size is 20-30 inches; some exceed 40 inches.   All of Florida.

 

SNAKE BITES

The most common cause of snake bite (from 60% to over 80% in Florida) is

attempting to kill or inappropriately handle a snake.

 Man bitten by Copperhead (below right) on finger, after three days of treatment.

               

Man was bitten by a rattlesnake (above left). He was in the yard when he was bitten by a rattlesnake hiding under a piece of tarp. He was taken to the hospital where he was at first listed in critical condition.The snake bit him near a major artery in his leg, and he suffered an allergic reaction to the bite.

Man bitten by a cottom mouth recovered. He managed a pool cleaning company and was cleaning a pool when he saw a baby water moccasin, which is also known as a cottonmouth snake.

He thought the snake was dead. When he reached to pick it up, the snake bit his hand. "I thought it was dead and I was in shock. I said to myself, I've been bit." He called 911 immediately and they said they would send fire rescue who brought antivenom to treat him.

Wildlife officials say water moccasins are the most common venomous snakes in Florida.  See pictures Water Moccasin Bites Man

Man bitten by coral snake was found dead in the woods near Bonita Springs, Florida. The bite of the coral snake which he and his buddy were trying to kill is the official cause of death. His friend survived his bite. The Coral snake delivers its poison by quickly moving it jaws open and shut (several times per second). The other snakes deposit a sack of poison via their fangs. One shot and thats it - they are empty. But the Coral keeps on generating poison as it bites, so how long its teeth are in you is important.

Woman bitten by snake hiding in the toilet

Going to the bathroom can be dangerous in Florida. A woman was bitten by a water moccasin which was hiding in her toilet. She spent three days in the hospital. She had an 11-year old son. Doctors said given the size of the snake, if it had bitten him, he probably would have died.

Boy bitten by a coral snake. A 10-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was bitten by a coral snake. The boy was playing with his dog in his backyard when the snake struck him in the leg. He was taken to the hospital, where he received anti-venin from a Fire Rescue's Venom Unit.

 

Pygmy Rattlesnake Bites Man At Wal-Mart

A man was treated with anti-venin after he was bit by a pygmy rattlesnake at a Wal-Mart. Officials said a man was reaching into a plant when the snake bit his hand.The man was treated and recovered from the bite. The store was closed after the incident.

 

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