Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cat brought this to us this morning. We live in a residential neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama.

There are two problems -

1. Webshots doesn't allow you to post its pics on other websites. However, we normally can cut and paste the address of the picture from the red X and see it that way, but...

2. You posted the URL of your photo from inside your album while you were logged in, not the way it appears to us. Therefore, we can't see it because we aren't logged in as you.

Try posting the pic on the KS.com photo gallery. It is free, and simple and you already have yourself logged in as a user (using your forum ID). Then you can simply select your pic from the pull down "Select Image" menu below the text of the posting page.
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Chris Harrison

and yes, if this is your picture, it is venomous. It is a young copperhead.

Link to picture

Many areas of Birmingham are loaded with Copperheads, even residential areas. (Over the mountain?) And yes, they are venomous, though not considered a serious threat to humans.

But PLEASE don't start killing all the snakes you see! There are many, MANY other kinds of snakes in Birmingham that are perfectly harmless, and even beneficial. (I grew up there, and spent most of my hours looking for snakes; for every poisonous snake I found, I probably found hundreds that were NON-venomous.)

I thought I'd make the point that while copperhead bites are not considered as venomous as other pit vipers, they do pack a wallup! I got bit by one that size and spent three days in the cardiac ward with my hand swelled up to the size of a pillow! It might not kill you, but you could lose a finger/limb etc. Any pit viper can be potentially fatal if the venom is released directly into a vein or artery, so don't take chances. I also agree that just because a snake is dangerous, doesn't mean you should kill it. here's a couple of reasons why. First of all I got bit handling the snake, this is the way most people get bit. left alone the snake will flee from human contact. Secondly, if you kill it a new potentially more dangerous snake may then move into its territory.

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