Florida Snakes
Posted by Contributor on Mar 9, 2009 in Snakes • No commentsThe ecosystems of Florida include a huge variety of reptile species from alligators and turtles to snakes and lizards. Florida snakes are classified in forty species with highly varied habitats, Florida snakes make their abode in salt and fresh water wetlands, coastal mangroves and dry lands but they are equally present in residential areas. Six Florida snakes require attention in particular due to their potent venom, and they are coexisting with the non-poisonous, venturing in urban settings too. The best way to stay out of trouble is to care enough to learn about their morphology and thus become able to distinguish among these Florida snakes. Avoid snakes and they will avoid you!
Florida snakes
The poisonous Florida snakes count corals and pit vipers, they can be identified by a wide range of characteristics. The cottonmouth, the rattlesnake and the copperhead are pit vipers, they all have vertical eye pupils, facial pits between the nostrils and the eyes as well as on the lateral of the V-shaped head. These Florida snakes fall in the haemotoxic category as the toxin in the venom attacks the red blood cells, and causes unstoppable hemorrhage by the destruction of the blood vessel walls. Coral snakes on the other hand are neurotoxic, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body nerves and inducing paralysis.
Rattlesnakes are the Florida snakes responsible for the majority of snakebites reported in the United States in a year. As their venom spreads quickly in the body system, without immediate medical intervention, the victim will die within less than half an hour. A major difference in the group of Florida snakes comes from copperheads, the venom of which will hardly require antidotes. Their toxins are the least potent and they are therefore considered the most gentle poisonous Florida snakes.
- Image via Wikipedia
Even if poisonous snakes are the first to attract attention by the risk they pose, the most widespread of Florida snakes is the black racer, a non-toxic species that relies on very sharp fangs to put down its prey. It is common practice for home owners to try and get rid of snakes from their properties, yet, specialists stress out the fact that without them, rodents would breed out of control pestering us even more. Snakes should be left alone, particularly if we are talking about the non-venomous species, as you will hardly ever see them around the house.
