The Cottonmouth, or water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorous), is a venomous snake closely related to the copperhead. It is a pit viper, with a heat-sensing organ (heat pits) in its nose that allows it to locate warm blooded prey. The cottonmouth, contrary to popular belief, is not aggressive and will not attack unless agitated. In fact, Scientists at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory designed tests to measure the suite of behavioral responses by free-ranging cottonmouths to encounters with humans. When confronted, 51 percent of the test subjects tried to escape and 78 percent used threat displays or other defensive tactics. Only when the snakes were picked up with a mechanical hand were they likely to bite. In addition, the scientists noted that many of those that did bite, did not inject venom. Such a “dry” bite could also be another, more serious threat display. Unlike most snakes, including the copperhead, when startled the cottonmouth will stand its ground and open its mouth ("gape" or "smile") to warn predators to stay away. That behavior is many times seen as aggressive, but if left alone they will leave. The bite of a cottonmouth is hemotoxic, causing severe necrosis near the site of the wound and potentially death of the victim if treatment is not received promptly. Treatment generally includes IV fluids, antibiotics, and an Antivenom like CroFab. These snakes are good climbers, and they will frequently sun themselves in the branches of trees.

Its young are born live, and in coloration, are a dull brown/gray, with distinctive yellow bordered patterns. Young cottonmouths can be quite "copper-colored" near the mouth and head. The tip of its tail is cream or yellow-colored and serves to lure small prey.

As the snake grows older, its colors will mute, leaving it a muddy, grayish brown or dull black. The yellow tail coloration is also lost. The cottonmouth's range is confined to the southern United States, with the northernmost population occurring in southern Illinois. There are three subspecies of the Cottonmouth, the Western Cottonmouth, the Florida Cottonmouth and the Eastern Cottonmouth.

Because of the perceived "aggressiveness" of the snake, the danger of its bite, and the way that its coloration changes with age, many harmless snakes (particularly water snakes of the genus Nerodia) are killed from the mistaken belief that they are cottonmouths. However, cottomouths have heat pits, and a single anal plate. The cottonmouth range is in the following states:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• southern Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• southern Illinois
• southwestern Indiana
• southeastern Iowa
• southwestern Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• southern Missouri
• eastern North Carolina
• western Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• western Tennessee
• eastern Texas
• eastern Virginia
• coastal Maryland

External links

• Cottonmouth - image of the snake
• Cottonmouth Water Moccasin - general information and images
• Defensive behavior toward humans
• Safely removing a snake from your property - how to catch a cottonmouth, for a layman.
• cottonmouth fact sheet
• [1]

Other meanings

Cottonmouth is the codename of Lucy Liu's character O-Ren Ishii in the movie Kill Bill, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Cottonmouth is also a slang term for the dry sensation left in the mouth after smoking marijuana.nl:Watermoccasinslang pl:Mokasyn błotny