The ecosystems of Florida include a huge variety of reptile species from alligators and turtles to snakes and lizards. Florida snakes are surely many: there are actually forty four species living in incredibly varied habitats, Florida snakes make their abode in salt and fresh water wetlands, coastal mangroves and dry lands but they are equally present in residential areas. Only six Florida snakes are poisonous, and they are coexisting with the non-venomous varieties, venturing in urban settings too. Knowledge about the morphology of the Florida snakes allows one to identify specimens and see which are dangerous and which harmless. Avoid snakes and they will avoid you!
The poisonous Florida snakes count corals and pit vipers, they can be identified by a wide range of characteristics. The cottonmouth, the rattlesnake and the copperhead are pit vipers, they all have vertical eye pupils, facial pits between the nostrils and the eyes as well as on the lateral of the V-shaped head. These Florida snakes fall in the haemotoxic category as the toxin in the venom attacks the red blood cells, destroying the wall of the blood vessel and causing uncontrolled hemorrhage. Coral snakes on the other hand are neurotoxic, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body nerves and inducing paralysis.
Most of the snakebites reported in the United States every year are caused by Florida snakes, by rattlesnakes to be more precise. As their venom spreads quickly in the body system, without immediate medical intervention, the victim will die within less than thirty minutes. A major difference in the group of Florida snakes comes from copperheads, which have a weaker venom that doesn't always require the use of antidotes. These gentler Florida snakes have less potent toxins and thus do not cause the same amount of harm as the rest of the pit vipers.
Even if poisonous snakes raise the biggest concern by the threat they pose, the most widespread of Florida snakes is the black racer, a non-venomous variety that relies on very sharp fangs to hunt its prey. It is common practice for home owners to try and get rid of snakes from their properties, yet, specialists insist on the fact that in the absence of snakes, rodents would breed out of control pestering us even more. Snakes should be left alone, particularly if we are talking about the non-venomous species, as you will hardly ever see them around the house.
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