Cottonmouth

Species Name: Cottonmouth, Water Moccasin
Agkistrodon piscivorus

Average Adult Size: 74 in
Diet: Nearly every vertebrate they can physically eat. While they mostly eat fish and frogs, they will also eat birds, bird eggs, small reptiles, salamanders and newts, small snakes, small turtles, small rodents and bats.
Habitat: Marshy and swampy areas of the South-East and South-Central US.

Shot: Taken at the Oregon State Fair.

Comments: Like the majority of venomous snakes in the USA, cottonmouth is in the viper family, and is sometimes simply called 'viper.' They're called cottonmouths because the inside of their mouths tend to be very pale colored, and they display it when threatened. One of the most ornery snakes I've worked with, cottonmouths tend to bite first and ask questions later. If you see one in the wild, please don't try and pick it up.

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