The Florida snakes, along with the turtles, lizards, alligators and other reptiles are all part of a complex wildlife structure that plays an incredible role in the maintenance of Florida’s ecosystem. There are many species of Florida snakes. There are forty-four species living in an incredibly varied habitat, ranging from salt marshes and fresh water marshes to dry uplands and coastal mangrove swamps to residential regions.
Only six Florida snakes are poisonous and they happily coexist with their non-poisonous cousins. They even go into towns and cities too. The best way to stay out of trouble with snakes is to learn their morphology and therefore be able to identify the various Florida snakes. The wisest approach to adopt in relation to all snakes is avoidance.
The Coral snakes and pit vipers are by far the most dangerous of the Florida snakes. They are identifiable by quite a range of common characteristics. Pit vipers which include the Rattlesnake, the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead all have in common: vertical eye pupils, a v-shaped head and facial pit sensors: one between the eyes and nostrils and the others along each side of the head.
The venom of this type of Florida snakes is haemotoxic, which means that their poison works on the red blood cells, destroying the walls of the blood vessels and causing uncontrolled bleeding. Coral snakes however, use a neurotoxic venom, the toxins of which act on the body’s nerves causing paralysis.
Most of the snake bites reported every year in the United States are attacks by Florida snakes or by rattlesnakes to be precise. As their venom spreads quickly through the body, the victim will almost certainly die within thirty minutes without the immediate injection of anti-venom.
A major exception in this group of Florida snakes is the copperhead, the venom of which very rarely, if ever, requires anti-venom. Their toxin is the least potent and thus they are considered the least dangerous of the poisonous Florida snakes.
It is because of the danger they present that poisonous snakes are the first kind to attract attention, however the most common of Florida snakes is the Black Racer, which is a non-toxic species that relies on very sharp fangs to hold onto its prey.
Although home owners usually try to remove snakes from their gardens, experts point out that, without them, rats and mice would soon multiply out of control giving us an even more cause for alarm.
Therefore, unless there are any special reasons for being worried, like snakes nesting in large numbers in your garden or outhouses, there is no reason to upset the lives of these usually retiring, useful animals.
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