http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/water_moccasin_watersnake_comparison.shtml
One snake to another I hear this gal in St pete has posted warning signs in her yard about us. We'd better go some where els to hag out in the sun

Water mocassins are found throughout Florida, pretty much anywhere there is a pond or slow moving stream or river. They are not as fiercely aggressive as some folks would have you think, but they do have a habit of staying put in the middle of a pathway where they could get stepped upon. That is what I personally think makes them a concern in SOME areas. Most urban areas won't be bothered with them, though, and if you leave them alone in the wild areas, they will leave you alone, as well.

The little boy who was bitten was chasing the snake and pulled it out from under a rock, not realizing it was a venomous snake. It was a small moccasin and I read that he would fully recover, though he had painful injuries to his thumb(s). Bottom line, he was bitten while trying to capture the snake.

As I always try to stress, learn to identify the four dangerous snakes in the central Florida area and don't worry about the rest. And don't forget that many people confuse several species of harmless water snakes with water moccasins. I've heard people swear the snake they killed was a cottonmouth (water moccasin) when it fact it was the large and dangerous looking (but harmless) brown water snake.

No real cause for alarm here. Just use common sense and take precautions in snake territory, and you should be fine.

Marcia

My take on the newspaper article was that a child bitten by a water moccasin has (only) one hour before antidote administration is necessary (the hour was just met in this case). Seems not at all a ho-hum matter, given it could happen when not near transportation / hospital / antidote. Or ... maybe I didn't read it well?

I'm not saying a BITE is a ho-hum matter, not at ALL. A bite from any venomous snake can be very dangerous. I'm saying that in normal situations, there isn't a huge danger of being bitten by one. Moccasins, in particular, aren't common in urban gardens, like black racers might be, for instance. And children should be taught not to pick up snakes they aren't familiar with in the wild. Plus, everyone should be able to recognize the snakes which might be dangerous.

I would NEVER say a bite isn't a matter for concern. The boy was lucky he got prompt medical care. However, to put it in perspective, a bite from a baby moccasin is not likely to be fatal to most people, and probably not even most children. It is a matter of ratio. The smaller the snake and the larger (and healthier) the person, the less danger. BUT it is still serious and demands proper medical treatment. Even when not life-threatening, bites can be extremely painful and cause a lot of tissue damage.

Sorry if I gave the wrong impression. We've talked about this a lot of times on here, and I have always advised caution in situations where venomous snakes might occur. I just hate for everyone to get all paranoid about finding them all over the place. It really isn't like that, and your own yard (if you don't live on a pond or slow-moving stream) will probably never have a moccasin in it.

If you guys missed it, I did a lengthy post on identifying moccasins, coral snakes and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, in the hopes of helping folks new to this area (especially) recognize the species NOT to touch. The posts on moccasins and coral snakes are still in the archives and can be found using the search feature. (If anyone is interested in learning what they look like and how to identify them quickly.)

Marcia

What is really made a ho-hum matter that should be taken more seriously, is things like distracted drivers on their cell phones, doing all kinds of things instead of paying attention to the road. These are things that put a bunch of people in the hospital and worse, everyday. The snake bite gets a bunch of news, and people therefore indisciminately kill snakes whether or not they're poisonous for fear they might be, yet the percent chance of something happening is quite small, particularly compared to the people wrecking in cars every day. I certainly understand if you have a poisonous snake hanging around your porch multiple times, but wanting to kill a snake on sight seems wrong to me, but some people do (I work with one).

Gary

I'd MUCH rather deal with a venomous snake, than an idiot on a cell phone!

When I was a little gal, I used to go fishing, little sister in tow. We would be gone nearly all day, catching Brim and Catfish in a local canal. I was always looking for snakes and frogs to "collect." One day I found a lovely, thick, dark brown/black snake under the old wooden dock. I put him in the bait bucket and brought him home to be my newest pet. My dad made me bring him back to the canal and release him. It was a Moccasin. He did not bite me, and I was not happy about having to part with him.(G)

Lisa