The South of the United States is the home of many kinds of snakes and lizards that pose very little threat to human health. The majority of Texas snakes are nonvenomous or very slightly poisonous for their prey, but in case of a human injury there would basically be no problems. Two exceptions need specification: pit vipers and coral snakes with their subspecies. Over the last few years the number of bites has decreased not only in Texas but everywhere in the United States because of a higher awareness of the fact that snakes are sharing their habitat with us. Thus, people have to understand that the snake attacks when it senses danger and the resulting envenomation represents the outcome of a pure defensive act.
Pit vipers are the most numerous poisonous Texas snakes: they have further sub-groups like the rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths. Each group has individual traits that render the specimens not so difficult to identify and thus to avoid. One will recognize Texas snakes like the copperheads by the red-brown cross lines in their body patterns, while cottonmouths will stand out by the shades of green, solid black and olive. When threatened the latter will open their mouths and hiss menacingly. The white tissue inside of their mouths is the features that gave the name of cottonmouth to the species.
Last but not least, the rattlesnake is the noisiest of Texas snakes; as the name suggests, this snake will rattle its tail as a warning to potential aggressors to stay away. If you mind your business and avoid them, rattlesnakes will never strike you out of the blue. The only pit viper that sends threatening signal before biting is the copperhead that reacts violently whenever it senses danger. Hence from all the Texas snakes, the copperhead remains the trickiest and most unpredictable. Then, Corals are other Texas snakes asking for one's attention because of the potential harm they can inflict when upset.
Corals belong to the same snake family as the Asian and African cobra, and though the majority of venomous snakes have elliptical pupils, corals stand out by their roundness. These Texas snakes are slender usually less than two feet long with an intricate back design that includes a combination of yellow, red and black rings. Even if there are other harmless Texas snakes with similar coloring, they have almost never red in the marking. In case one chooses South Texas woodlands as a travel destination, one should keep in mind that snake encounters are possible in canyons as well as on plains.
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