A Florida mountain biker got the surprise of a lifetime when he was riding on a trail in Brevard County. According to the poster, he cruised past a pair of surprising sunbathers on the trail when he saw two snakes unusually close to one another.
He snapped a few photos of the snakes to share them on the What Is This Snake subreddit, asking members if he had stumbled upon what he believed he did, which was a cottonmouth and a pygmy rattlesnake.
The people of Reddit were confident in their identification of the snakes, and quickly responded to user sambousac, sharing some exciting info about the find.
And while everyone was very enthusiastic about the unique find, there were still some safety tips shared in the post that were important reminders of just how dangerous these snakes can be.
Florida cottonmouth and pygmy rattlesnake?
by
u/sambousac in
whatsthissnake
Redditors Wasted No Time Sharing Some Fun Facts About the Snakes
There was no arguing in the comments of the post, because the Redditor quickly and correctly identified the snakes in question on his own. However, the interesting part came in the responses from a poster who detailed the lifestyle of the rattlesnake, noting that it’s rare to see a pygmy rattlesnake because of the reptile’s personality, which tends to make them fairly reclusive.
According to the poster, they spend most of their time in rotting logs and leaf litter, which makes it odd to see one in the middle of the trail like that. “Pygmy rattlesnakes possess a medically significant venom composed primarily of cytotoxins that destroy nucleated blood cells, delivered through a pair of hinged fangs in the front of the mouth,” the commenter wrote, noting that while the snake’s bite is unlikely to kill an adult human, it would be considered a medical emergency.
The cottonmouth, on the other hand, was considered a bit more common.
Knowing When You Encounter a Venomous Snake Could Be a Lifesaver
According to Victor Pest, there are more than 3,000 different types of snakes found around the world. Of all of the snakes in all of the world, only 100 types of these snakes call North America home, which is probably good news if you’re someone who is afraid of the slithering critters.
Thankfully, of those 100 different snakes, only 21 are venomous varieties. While the OP correctly identified two of them, there are clearly a lot more that people may not so easily recognize. If you’ve stumbled upon a snake and you’re wondering whether or not it may be venomous, Victor Pest says there are a few things you can be on the lookout for.
For example, most venomous snakes will have triangular heads and pupils that form a slit, much like a cat’s eye. Of course, if you’re close enough to see these distinguishing traits, you may already be too close for comfort. If you’re in an area with venomous snakes, you may want to instead learn about the habits and appearance of the snakes in that region so you know more specifically what to look out for so you can identify (and avoid) any “spicy nope ropes” as some people call them online.