MOVABLE-FANGED 
POISONOUS SNAKES 
COPPERHEADS 
Copperheads are the most common poisonous snakes to be found near the 
great thickly settled regions of the eastern United States, and consequently 
most cases of snake-bite in these regions can be attributed to them. 
Fortunately the bite of these snakes, though dangerous, is fatal to man 
in less than one per cent of cases; they cannot, as a general rule, kill a 
healthy adult, but too much reliance should not be placed in this fact. 
A record specimen, four and one-half feet long, was found near White 
Plains, New York, only a few miles from New York City. The usual adult 
length is three feet. 
The copperhead’s body is rather thick for its length; the color may 
be tan, pinkish, or reddish-brown. The sides are adorned with blotches of 
a darker brown, which seem to unite and form a continuous saddle-like 
pattern. 
A quiet snake, the copperhead will show fight only when stepped on 
or otherwise disturbed. Generally it will lie perfectly still in the presence 
of an intruder, relying on its protective coloring, which blends with the 
dead leaves. When afraid, it vibrates its tail in such a way as to produce 
a buzzing among the leaves. It will fight if necessary, but it prefers to take 
refuge in a crevice among the rocks. Wooded hills and marshes are its usual 
habitat, and here it spends its time searching for rodents, frogs and birds. 
In winter it goes into a crevice to hibernate. 
Soon after emerging from their winter torpor, the snakes mate. Then 
the females congregate in protected hiding places until August or September 
when the young are born. The period of gestation is about twenty weeks. 
In birth the young are expelled at almost hourly intervals. For about forty- 
five minutes the newborn snakelet remains quietly within its embryonic 
membrane, which it then pierces. The little snakes possess an egg-tooth on 
the forehead, but make no use of it for this purpose. One hour after birth 
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