Rat Snake vs Copperhead: Spot The Difference Between These Serpents

Even if copperheads are frightening, there is something fascinating and intimidating about them as they slither around in their habitat.

It is also important to remember that not all snakes are venomous. For farmers, copperhead snakes and rat snakes are valuable pest control tools because they control rodent populations effectively.

Snakes have different colors for different types, and some are poisonous, while others aren't.

Copper-colored heads give copperhead snakes their name. Copperhead snakes are among snakes most commonly encountered in North America.

Despite their biting abilities and potent venom glands, copperhead's venom is relatively non-lethal, so humans are not usually harmed by a copperhead bite. The most vulnerable would be children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. The copperhead's venom damages blood cells as the venom is hemolytic.

Copperheads are ovoviviparous, meaning their eggs are incubated within their mother's body. They deliver live babies.

Like rattlesnakes and water moccasins, copperheads are pit vipers. In copperheads, there are tiny heat-sensitive pits between the eyes and nostrils on both sides of the head, which can sense even minute variations in temperature. Their aim is to hit the source of heat accurately, which is often a potential prey animal.

Snakes that kill by strangulation are rat snakes, which are non-venomous, medium-sized snakes. These snakes are not dangerous to humans. There is a genetic difference between Old World and New World rat snakes (from the eastern and western hemispheres, respectively).

Some snakes, including the copperhead and rat snake, have similar textures and patterns of skin. But how can we tell if one is different from the other?

Scales of the snake should be checked. Rat snakes have scales that are weakly keeled and ridged. Watch the snake's eyes. Snakes with rounded pupils are rat snakes.

Make sure the snake is the right color. Snakes with black bodies and white chins are black rat snakes. The yellow rat snake has black and yellowish stripes that run lengthwise across its body. Light gray is the body color of gray rat snakes, while their spines possess dark gray blotches. Snakes are measured in length.

The eastern rat snake (also identified as the black rat snake) is the most commonly misidentified snake as a copperhead. The eastern rat snake is patterned with gray or brown blotches on a pale gray background at the start of its life.

As the snake ages, the pattern fades and the snake becomes black, though a hint of the juvenile pattern may still be visible.

Rat snakes in eastern North America look for a warm place to wait out the winter from late August to mid-October, depending on the weather. Often, snakes in this species select attics, crawl spaces, or basements to live in.

After reading about the comparison between the copperhead snake and the rat snake, also check out facts on poisonous snakes in Texas and poisonous snakes in Tennessee.

Which snake is more venomous?

Rat snakes (nonvenomous medium-sized snakes) are capable of killing by strangulation. Humans are not at risk from these snakes.

Snakes such as the copperhead are venomous. While they are fully capable of biting, their venom is not usually lethal, so humans are not typically harmed by their bites. A child, an elderly individual, or someone with a compromised immune system is the most vulnerable. Snake venom damages blood cells. The venom is hemolytic.

Copperhead vs Rat Snake: Scales of rat snakes are weakly keeled and ridged. Check out the eye of the snake. Round pupils indicate that it is a rat snake. Make sure the snake is the appropriate color.

Black rat snakes have a black body and a white chin. Yellow rat snakes are marked with stripes that run lengthwise down their bodies. Light gray is the body color of gray rat snakes, while their spines possess dark gray blotches. Snakes are measured in length.

Copperheads are venomous snakes with triangular heads. Venomous snakes also have pits beneath their eyes and nostrils, making them known as pit vipers.

The body color of this snake ranges from tan to gray to copper, with hourglass-shaped stripes. It is found in the southern and eastern part of the United States.

There have been individual records of reptiles reaching a length of over 4 ft (122 cm), although these reptiles are usually between 2-3 ft (61-91 cm) long. Toward the end of their long, thin tails, their stout bodies abruptly curve downward.

They usually feed on rodents such as mice, but will also go after small birds, lizards, and frogs. When they bite their prey, serpents often hold them in their mouths until their venom takes effect.

A copperhead's yellow-tipped tail, which the snake wiggles, acts as a lure for prey. When copperheads reach about three years of age, this coloration fades. These snakes reach sexual maturity at around four years of age but live for 18 years on average.

A pit viper has indentations between its eyes and nostrils that sense heat, giving the viper the ability to sense heat. When these snakes are most active, which is during the night, the ability to sense heat helps them hunt and find mammalian prey. They have triangular heads like other pit vipers.

Where are these snakes found?

Throughout North America, including central America and southern Canada, rat snakes are found. The habitats of these snakes vary depending upon the species.

Throughout North America, you can find New World rat snakes. Among the rat snake species is the corn snake, a docile animal that is popular as a pet.

Rat snakes enjoy eating rats, as their name suggests. Copperhead snakes are among the venomous snake species most commonly encountered in North America. There are copperheads in southern New England and in west Texas and in northern Mexico.

What do these snakes feed on?

Rat snakes enjoy eating rats, as their name suggests. In addition to having a varied diet, the rat snake also consumes a lot of food! Rat snakes usually consume mice, rats, chipmunks, and voles, but they can also eat frogs, lizards, birds, and bird eggs.

Snakes' young will also consume insects, rodents, and other small mammals. Rat snakes are thus often considered natural pest control.

Adult copperhead snakes eat mice as a primary food source, but also birds, lizards, small snakes, amphibians, and insects (particularly cicadas). The majority of the copperhead's diet consists of cicadas. This venomous snake species ambushed its prey by injecting it with venom and swallowing it whole.

Size Difference Between These Two Snakes

The copperhead snake has heat sensors between its eyes and is around 3.28 ft (1 m) in length.

They are adorned with bands that resemble an hourglass, saddlebags, or dumbbells on the backs of their bodies. The lighter regions are towards the center while the darker areas are on the edges.

There are species of rat snakes that can reach a length of 10 ft (3.04 m), though the average length is 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m). Several rat snakes have been measured at lengths of 3.7 m (12 ft)! It is, however, rare for a rat snake to reach more than 8.2 ft (2.5 m) in length.

How do you recognize a rat snake?

Some snakes, including the copperhead and rat snake, have similar textures and patterns of skin. But how can we tell if one is different from the other?

Scales of the snake should be checked. Rat snakes have scales that are weakly keeled and ridged. Watch the snake's eyes. Snakes with rounded pupils are rat snakes.

Make sure the snake is the right color. Snakes with black bodies and white chins are black rat snakes. The yellow rat snake has black and yellowish stripes that run lengthwise across its body.

Light gray is the body color of gray rat snakes, while their spines possess dark gray blotches. Snakes are measured in length. Rat snakes usually grow to a maximum length of 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m), though some larger subspecies can exceed 6 ft (1.8 m).

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