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Reptiles & Amphibians

Did I see a mocassin?

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Wish I had a photo but you know how snake sightings go. Anyway, we just got a pop-up thunderstorm and my son and I were standing in the doorway, trying to convince our cat to come in from under the truck and watching the rain when a very large black snake emerged from the flowerbed right in front of our porch. It was pretty fat in the middle, tapering sharply to the tail. I did not see the head. It traveled quickly, with that sidewinding motion. I am asking because we have two fish ponds right in the vicinity and our garage is right there, too. We have lots of flowerbeds that we work in quite a bit, in front of the house. Do I need to be worried about this snake? I have heard that they prefer larger bodies of water over small garden ponds, but it was here for a reason. I am freaked out, thinking of the hours we spent in that very flower bed, just yesterday and we are in the garage quite a bit. My husband always has a project going and his gym equipment is in there. too. We live in the Houston area.

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Comments (3)

Sharon McKenzie
9 years ago
Sounds more like a Water Snake from the description, especially with the description of it traveling quickly. Cottonmouths don't typically do that. Without a photo it is impossible to make a definitive ID, though. You don't need to worry about ANY snake as long as you don't try to kill it or pick it up(78% of venomous bites occur when a person is either trying to kill or handle a venomous snake), and watch where you step or put your hands. No snake is going to be the aggressor in a human-snake encounter.
Ann Fraley thanked Sharon McKenzie
Ann Fraley
Original Author
9 years ago
My usual response is to ignore it or relocate it. My reluctance to be so zen about this one is that if it is a cottonmouth, they are reported to be much more likely to stand their ground and have a generally feisty demeanor. I had a black water snake before and this one looked different. I looked up water moccasins and the pics online looked like this one. I am usually reluctant to pronounce a snake to be a moccasin, but I've never seen one like this. I think the rapidly moving weather front and electrical storm goaded him into running. Not sure if that is how they react but everything was a panic.
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User
9 years ago
It would be impossible to tell from your description but a Cottonmouth is less likely that a harmless watersnake in most of Houston (I lived and looked for snakes there for ~10 years in total).

But even if it was a Cottonmouth, most of what you hear about cottonmouths is simply urban legend and completely untrue. They are not "feisty" in any way. They are fat, slow and lazy but are very unlikely to bite anyone, even if disturbed. They are shy and will always try to get away if they can. If they can't they will "stand their ground" and open their mouths, but very rarely strike or bite. They are actually less likely to strike at you than harmless watersnakes! It is worth adding that they are venomous and if they did bite the consequences would be painful and a medical emergency, but generally cottonmouth bites are very rare.

Not fleeing because they are slow is misinterpreted as aggression in some people. Most of what you read and hear from your neighbors are simply old wive's tales.

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