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RE: venomous snakes that play dead
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by nicholas23 on June 25, 2011
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I came across this thread while trying to confirm that the snake we encountered today was a copperhead. I'm pretty sure it is a copperhead (photo is my profile picture) and I am fairly certain it was playing dead.
My son (15 years old) was outside and saw a snake slithering under some long wooden boards. He used a longer board that was laying off to the side to lift the board he saw the snake go under and move the board out of the way.
The snake was coiled up when he moved the board. He watched it for a minute and then came and got me.
I noticed the snake had a triangular head and I was pretty scared of it. It didn't move at all. We thought perhaps it had been impaled, as the board it was moving under was riddled with nails.
I went in for my camera and took three pictures, then we attempted to see if it was dead.
Standing a good distance in front of the snake, my son took a long bamboo pole and gently lifted its chin up away from its body. He moved its head a little to the side and the head flopped down against the snake's body.
At this time I believed it was dead, but wondered how it could be, because my son had just recently seen it moving. I didn't see any nails near it.
My son walked around behind the snake and nudged it with the pole and the snake came to life and quietly slithered away.
This snake never made a move at all until it left. It never attempted to flick its tongue or strike or anything.
I don't know for sure that it's a copperhead. I don't know much about snakes except for the triangular head supposedly meaning they are poisonous. I just wanted to share the experience, in case it is a copperhead.
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RE: venomous snakes that play dead
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by LarryDFishel on June 25, 2011
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The picture in your profiles IS a copperhead. It's not likely to bother you....unless you start poking it with a stick or something... :)
What you saw could be described as "playing dead", but is pretty normal for many snakes to do at times.
The debate/furor in this thread was about a report of a copperhead (possibly) actually rolling over onto it's back to appear "really dead". This has only been verified in a small number of snake species and would be pretty interesting if verified in copperheads...
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RE: venomous snakes that play dead
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by nicholas23 on June 25, 2011
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"The picture in your profiles IS a copperhead. It's not likely to bother you....unless you start poking it with a stick or something... :)"
Okay, no more poking then... :(
Thank you for confirming it was a copperhead. It definitely didn't roll over, but that head flop was amazingly convincing. Take care.
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RE: venomous snakes that play dead
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by Kingetula on July 12, 2011
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Ethiopian Cobra (Naje legionis)
When I first purchased my pair as babies I was moving them from deli cups to plastic tubs. After working with them for a bit both (At diffrent times) played dead. I thought I did something wrong, maybe I put them in shock? I don'tknow. I picked one up with a hook and he did not move and just hung there. I went to the sink, put him under running water and still he did not move. I put him in his tub and watched him for a few minutes and noticed he moved his head just enough to see if I was still there. Long story short, they are thriving and growing like weeds and never had this issue again.
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RE: venomous snakes that play dead
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by peterzio on July 19, 2015
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I lived in Houston Texas from 1989-1991 and was often in the woods near my house where I saw numerous copperheads. I was just a kid then but loved animals and read all I could about them, needless to say I could easily tell the difference between a copperhead and other snakes. I came across a copperhead with a couple of friends and my brothers in a clearing by a path in the woods. Knowing there was no coverage the copperhead flipped on its back opened its mouth and played dead! So I totally believe it when your sister says she saw this happen because I saw it with my own two eyes and remember it to this day! Maybe all you so called experts should go down to Texas and see for yourself that this happens. Maybe the copperheads down there act differently due to the environment. Between me and her that's two people saying they have seen this happen. Hope this helps
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