The Skinny on Snakes - Wildlife of the James

Go walking near a stream or river during the dry months of summer and you are likely to run into a snake. When the small rivulets and seasonal pools in the woods dry up, animals search for a consistent source of water. Snake are no exception, and it is best to be prepared to see one when you are out and about near water yourself. You may see a snake swimming but this doesn’t mean it is a water snake, as most snakes can and do swim.  Some interesting facts about snakes:

• Snakes, like other reptiles, control their body temperature only by exposing themselves to different external conditions. In the heat of the summer, their likely to spend midday hiding in the cool shade.
• Snakes have no ears and cannot hear sounds.
• Just before snakes shed their skin, they are partially blinded when the old clear scale over their eye (called the spectacle) becomes translucent.
• Snake gather scent with their tongues and bring it back to a spot on the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson’s organ.
• Some snakes give birth to live young while others lay eggs.
• Snakes have an un-hinged jaw and un-fused ribs that allow them to swallow very large prey relative to their body size. Because of this and their slow metabolism, snakes need to eat infrequently.

When you are near the James River, there are only three poisonous snakes that you might have to worry about: the Timber Rattler (generally in mountains and Piedmont), the Copperhead (everywhere)  and the Cottonmouth (only in the Tidewater region).  To tell whether a snake is poisonous, look at the head and eye. If its head has a triangular or wedge shape and the pupil is like a cat’s eye, then the snake is poisonous. If the head is more oblong and the pupil is round like a human eye, then it is non-poisonous. Always err on the safe side and don’t get close enough for the snake to strike you.
Snakes are amazing creatures that should be observed from a safe distance and left unharmed. Snakes help control pest population such as mice and rats, and non-venomous black rat snakes (often called black snakes) are reputed to keep away copperheads. So if you find a non-poisonous snake near your home, its best to leave it be. And of course in a natural area any snake, venomous or non-venomous, should be left unharmed.

Poisonous snake’s in Virginia and how to avoid snakebites.