Baby Cottonmouth Photo / Picture

06.21.2007 - This is an important snake to be able to identify in the state of Florida.  This is a juvenile cottonmouth snake.  As with many snakes, its appearance is different from that of the adult snake.  The young cottonmouth has angular brown and tan bands in a pattern.  As the snake ages, these bands fade, and the snake becomes almost entirely black.  The only real identifying coloration marking on the adult is the black band that extends back from the eye.   The cottonmouth. or water moccasin as it's also called, also has an elliptical pupil (see the above eye, how it's cat-like), as do all venomous pit vipers. Regardless, both the adult and the baby water moccasin have the same body shape, and that's the easiest way to identify this snake.  It's a fat aquatic snake, probably the fattest native snake in Florida.  An adult Eastern Diamondback might be fatter, but if you see a large, fat, black snake in the water, it's likely a moccasin.  If you see a small fat snake with a brown/tan pattern, it could be a juvenile water moccasin.  Of course, it also might be a harmless snake, such as the banded water snake or Brown Water Snake.  The baby cottonmouth snake has a very painful bite - it's too small to kill a person, but the bite is extremely painful and will dissolve and permanently destroy tissue.  The young snakes will not hesitate to strike if threatened, so if you see the above snake, please leave it alone!

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