Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
- Height: 1″-3″
- Length: 24″-40″
- Weight: 1-3 pounds
- Diet: Carnivorous, eating birds, rodents, and small insects.
- Breeding: July through August.
- Gestation: 3-9 months.
- Reproduction: Live birth of 5-8 young late summer through early fall.
- Habitat: Tolerant of habitat disturbance, so lives in urban areas well.
- Legal Status: Common in North Carolina, and illegal to harm, capture, or remove from the wild in North Carolina.
- Other Names: Highland moccasin or Dry-land Moccasin, Southern Copperhead, American Copperhead, and Northern Copperhead.
- Interesting Facts: In North Carolina, most snake bites occur from a copperhead. Most copperhead bites are a “dry” bite, with little to no venom. Juvenile copperheads have a bright yellow tail, to mimic a small worm to lure small insects, rodents, and amphibians closer.
Copperheads are well known from their copper appearance and colorations, as well as being the most responsible for occuring snake bites. Most bites occur when the snake is stepped on or near, and may be a dry bite where very little to no venom is injected. Copperheads are around Middle North Carolina. Most bites are a reaction strike, and Copperheads will not hesitate to strike. Their copper patterns can make them incredibly hard to spot among leaves as they blend right in. Adults can measure 2-3 ft, as some can be longer. They are usually active between February – October, and mating occurs between February to May and again in late fall from August to October. Copperheads can have between 2-18 young usually a grayer color. Young Copperheads are born with a bright yellow tail, and as they lay motionless, can flick the tail giving off the apperance of a caterpillar (Caudal Luring) for a unsuspecting lizard or frog. Copperheads can live as many as 20 years in the wild.