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How Many Venomous Snakes Are In Texas? The State of Texas is home to 15 potentially dangerous snake species or subspecies. Despite this, each year, there have been more deaths in Texas attributed to lightning strikes than to venomous snakebites.
How many poisonous snakes are in Texas? There are four kinds of venomous snakes in Texas: coral snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths (water moccasins) and rattlesnakes.
What is the most venomous snake in Texas? Officially, the most venomous snake in Texas is the coral snake. They have incredibly potent neurotoxic venom, which causes very little pain or swelling, at least initially.
How many snakes are in Texas? Texas is home to over 105 different species and subspecies of snakes. Only 15 of those are potentially dangerous to humans. Those are the snakes that we feature here. For more general information on all the snakes of Texas, please visit our Snake pages.
Snake Safety: Identifying venomous snakes in Texas. There are four venomous snakes in the State of Texas: Copperheads, Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins), Rattlesnakes and Coral Snakes.
There’s also the fact that Texas has a number of snake species that are protected, and killing one of them can result in a hefty fine. Plus, some snake species are also protected by Federal law and fines for killing those can go as high as $25,000 per offense. Your best bet here, would be to speak with a game warden.
Many snakes in Texas are protected by state law, and indiscriminate killing or any other control is illegal. Before using any snake control measures or relocating captured snakes to another area, contact local representatives of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
King cobra, the world’s largest venomous snake. The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest venomous snake in the world. Its bite delivers a tremendous amount of paralysis-inducing neurotoxins. The snake’s venom is so strong and so voluminous that it can kill an elephant in just a few hours.
The belief that the snake may chase the humans is not true since there is no way that the snakes may pursue the person actively in order to hurt them. The snakes normally bite because of two reasons, it can be to subdue the prey or for the self defense.
When is snake season? The rule of thumb in North America is that snakes are most active from April to October and hibernate during the cold months outside of that range.
The Central Texas region has the largest number of species. As for parts of Texas where there are many individuals, West Texas, Central Texas and South Texas are great places to go to find snakes.
Snakes live in a wide variety of habitats including forests, swamps, grasslands, deserts and in both fresh and salt water. Some are active at night, others during the day. Snakes are predators and eat a wide variety of animals, including rodents, insects, birds’ eggs and young birds.
A snake may be attracted to houses or yards if there is shelter and food that are unknowingly being provided by humans. Taipans and brown snakes eat rodents and they are attracted to farm sheds or gardens where they can hunt mice or rats. The python may eat chickens or other birds.
“Cutting the grass, removing brush and debris, and trimming the lower branches on bushes and trees will go a long way in reducing the places a snake might want to hide.”
Texas Water Moccasin scales will be rough looking and keeled. Keeled means that instead of smooth scales, there are little ridges that run down the center of each scale. This also means the snake will not be shiny. The coloration will show as dull and non-reflective.
A. All non-indigenous (species not native to Texas) venomous snakes and the following constrictors: African rock python (Python sebae), Asiatic rock python (Python molurus), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), reticulated python (python reticulates), and southern African python (Python natalensis).
Anyone can kill a rattlesnake at any time in California, with one exception: the endangered red diamond rattlesnake. There is some confusion here in the regulations. Mostly because California considers snakes game animals but puts its reptile regulations under the fishing regulations (for some odd reason).
Owls and hawks are the copperhead’s main predators, but opossums, raccoons and other snakes may also prey on copperheads.
The copperhead follows this odor trail and dines on its freshly killed prey. Copperheads also use venom for self-defense and this is how humans get bit. A copperhead will not “hunt” a human, but it will strike if it feels cornered or threatened.
The snake is most active in summer, just as people are flocking to water to cool off. But copperheads, like northern water snakes, swim and can be found near water across the region. So, if a snake is not easily identifiable as a non-venomous water snake, it is best to beware.
Biologist Joseph C. Mitchell, author of “The Reptiles of Virginia,” offered another reason to let copperheads live: “They are great rodent eaters. They play a major role in controlling rodent populations.”
The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.
There are many scents snakes don’t like including smoke, cinnamon, cloves, onions, garlic, and lime. You can use oils or sprays containing these fragrances or grow plants featuring these scents.
Owls are natural predators of snakes. The false representation of the owl fools snakes into thinking enemies are lurking in the area. Because there is an “enemy” in the realm, snakes run from the spot. The scarecrow owl, better referred to as a “scare owl,” frightens them off and out of your yard.
Rule Number 1: Don’t Try To Outrun A Snake
Not because your kid can’t — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.