The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra sets another record in terms of size: it can get to nearly twenty feet long, which makes it the largest venomous snake in the world. The most recent discovery of a new cobra species was made in 2003, when a specimen was identified at a London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

DNA studies revealed that this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but has different genes. It seems to originate from an area between Sudan and Egypt and it has been called the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it is threatened cobras will not attack if you leave them alone, although the spit is very accurate for about two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is fairly slow in its attack and furthermore, many bites prove to be blank, that is without venom.

A study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims indicates that only 55% of the wounds involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey devastate the nerves (neurotoxin) inducing respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to seek an antidote.

The colouration is variable from light green-grey to black, while juveniles are yellow and black banded. This snake can find a habitat all over south-eastern Asia.

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Only six Florida snakes are venomous, and they happily coexist with their non-poisonous cousins, even venturing into towns and cities too. The best way to stay out of trouble with snakes is to care enough to learn about their morphology and therefore become able to distinguish between these Florida snakes. Avoidance is the best approach a human being can adopt in relation to snakes.

The Coral snake and pit vipers are the most dangerous Florida snakes. They can be identified by a wide range of characteristics. Pit vipers include the Rattlesnake, the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead. They all have vertical eye pupils, a v-shaped head and facial pits: one between the eyes and nostrils and the others on each side of the head.

The poison of these Florida snakes is haemotoxic, which means that their venom attacks the red blood cells, destroying the wall of the blood vessel and causing uncontrolled hemorrhage. Coral snakes on the other hand use neurotoxic venom, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body nerves and inducing paralysis.

Most of the snake bites reported every year in the United States are attacks by Florida snakes or by rattlesnakes to be precise. Because their venom spreads rapidly through the body, the victim will almost certainly die within thirty minutes without the immediate injection of anti-venom.

A big exception in this group of Florida snakes is the copperheads, the venom of which rarely requires an antidote. Their toxins are the least potent and so they are considered t be the least dangerous of the poisonous Florida snakes.

Because of the threat they pose. poisonous snakes are the first kind to attract attention, however the most widespread of Florida snakes is the black racer, a non-toxic species that relies on very sharp fangs to capture its prey.

Despite the fact that home owners usually try to eradicate snakes from their gardens, specialists point out that, without them, rodents would soon be so numerous as to be an even greater cause for alarm.

Therefore, unless there are any special reasons for worry, like snakes nesting in large numbers in your garden or outhouses, there is no reason to interfere with the lives of these usually shy, useful animals.

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Copperhead snakes have pale bellies, which makes it look very similar to its background, but their colourisation also be whitish sometimes. There are obvious spots or pits on the heads of these animals that appear like tiny dark specks. There is also a rather vague stripe on its head behind its eyes; less prominent on the top, the stripe gets a lot darker towards the sides of the snake’s head.

Copperheads live in a wide variety of habitats. They can be found under rocks, in woods and on river banks or in pond areas. Their choice of abode is dictated by the presence of prey, as they like to live on frogs, small rodents, cicadas, lizards, caterpillars and anything else that is no match for their size.

The most usual hidey-holes for the copperhead, wood piles, stone slabs, walls, debris and abandoned or ruined buildings are the most common, which explains why people come across copperheads so often in such areas. The active months of the year for these snakes are in the spring and summer for as long as the weather stays warm. After that they go into hibernation.

Copperhead snakes use the dens in which they spend the winter year after year and usually there are large numbers of other individuals in hibernation together. In summer time when it is too hot outside, the copperhead will stay in the shade during the day and hunt at night. On lovely warm days, this snake will lie in the sun on rocks or wood debris. The young of copperheads are born live and are not hatched; their number ranges between one and fourteen, with the mating period extending ’till mid autumn.

The bites of copperhead snakes must have immediate medical care since they are not only very painful but they may also lead to permanent scarring and tissue loss. Avoid copperhead snakes when you come across them, since many people get bitten when trying to kill or handle them.

Snakes will not harm you unless they feel threatened, then, you will become the victim of a fierce attack by a creature that is just as afraid of us as we are of them. Statistics reveal that these snakes have the highest incidence in bite frequency in the United States, because Copperhead snakes attack quite out of the blue without giving threatening warnings like other species.

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You will need to be very alert and train your eyes to spot even the slightest movement. Wear clothing of dull, drab colours and move very slowly, stopping often to listen out for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false hopes, until you learn to differentiate between the sounds of the various animals that live or hunt in the grass.

Snakes are not easy to locate, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but good advice is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, on the other hand, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For instance, near water for toads and frogs. Watch for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for their lives. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predator.

If you have to disturb anything, at least don’t damage it and make sure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools while out looking for snakes are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are more or less essential, depending on how seriously you treat your interest in herpetology.

You could also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing so. Do not kill anything and do not take anything home with you either! Besides it not being right to wander into their territory and cause mayhem, it is frequently against the law too. Be very wary of picking up any snake that you cannot 100% positively identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would probably die.

So, to summarize, go looking for snakes by all means. However, make your search calmly and wear inconspicuous clothing. Moreover, wear strong, hiking boots to afford you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not move anything unnecessarily. Use a snake-hook to move things if you need to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a couple of clear plastic receptacles just in case you feel the need to pick something up.

I hope you enjoy your search for snakes and other reptiles, but remember that they are not friendly and they are definitely not pets and be wary of bites especially when your search is not taking place in the gardens of a hospital!

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The spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species of snake as it not only has a deadly bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of prey and aggressors alike. Contact with the eyes can be very painful and even blinding, therefore, if you accidentally get cobra snake venom in your eyes, wash them out immediately so as to prevent permanent damage to the tissue.

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.

The King Cobra is also unique because of its size – it can reach 5.85m (almost 20 feet) in length, which makes it the longest poisonous snake in the world. The latest discovery of a new species of cobra was made in 2003 when it was identified by London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.

According to DNA studies this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but different in terms of genes. It appears to have originated in an area between Sudan and Egypt, and it was given the name of the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.

Though highly dangerous when it senses a threat, a cobra will not attack if you leave it in peace, although the venomous spit can travel very accurately for two meters. If compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is pretty slow in attack, and many bites prove blank, that is without envenomation.

According to a study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims only 55% of the bites involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey destroy the nerves (neurotoxin) , which induces respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to get help.

The colouration of this snake is variable from light green-grey to black, whereas juveniles have alternate yellow and black bands.This snake is to be found all over south-eastern Asia.