"They are highly adapted for feeding on slugs," Vandeventer said. Sometimes they can be found while they hunt for their prey - yucky, slimy slugs. Vandeventer said Dekay's brown snakes are generally found by people in their lawns, in gardens or under objects like pavers and landscape timbers. "That's a snake that on the internet is a baby copperhead," Vandeventer said. It is also a snake that is often misidentified as a venomous snake. One snake that often appears on social media is the Dekay's brown snake, a small, slender snake that averages around 13 inches in length and is found statewide. "They're a very cosmopolitan snake." Slug-eater "They're found in all habitats," Vandeventer said. They also aren't picky about where they live. Vandeventer said snakes, rodents and insects are all on the menu of a black racer. Racers generally reach lengths of 3 to 4 feet and aren't picky about what they eat. "In the Delta they're blue runners and elsewhere they're black runners." "Really, in the south, they're runners," said Vandeventer. And like the gray rat snake, they are often called other names. When they see a threat such as a human, they use their speed to get away.Īs the name implies, they are black. But in areas of the Delta, they are more of a blue color. Vandeventer said they are known to raise their heads like a periscope to observe what is around them. "They can crawl 4 to 5 miles an hour."Īnd they are also very observant. "They're one of the fastest snakes in Mississippi, certainly," Vandeventer said. If you find yourself near a copperhead, or any other venomous snake, Vandeventer always gives the same advice: "Take two steps back and walk away." Grandma's chicken snakeĪnother snake you're likely to see is the black racer, but you won't see it for very long. "When those emerge from the ground, they gorge themselves."
"One of their favorite foods is cicadas," Vandeventer said. However, one of their favorite meals consists of something you may be hearing outside this time of year. They mainly consume rodents but will eat other snakes and lizards. "Everything out there seems to be a copperhead."Ĭopperheads can grow to lengths of about 2 to 4 feet and are found throughout the state except for the barrier islands and the southern portions of the coastal counties. "More snakes are misidentified as copperheads than any other," Vandeventer said. Others say copperheads appear to have Hershey's Kisses on their sides.Įven though their pattern is distinct, Vandeventer said it is often confused, and not in the way you might think. Vandeventer describes their banding as looking like a dark hour glass or saddlebags. RELATED NEWS: Learn more about deer at Deer University Everybody reading this has walked by scores of them and never saw them." "Copperheads are not only one of the most common venomous snakes, they're one of the most common snakes, period," Vandeventer said.
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