Trey of Diamonds
Well-Known Member
Oh, I'm very sure the aggresiveness of the cottonmouth is exaggerated, we southerners like to exaggerate things. But when you compare the Moccasin to other snakes there is a distinct difference in the level of aggresiveness. I think it's mostly based on them being ultra territorial.
If by Nerodia you mean the common water snake that looks a lot like a Moccasin I don't recall them being very aggressive. As kids we would catch them and play with them from time to time. The way we would tell if they were Moccasins or not was by poking them with a stick. It took a lot more effort to get the water snake to open its mouth so we could see if it had fangs. Yeah, yeah, kids do the stupidest things.
Another aggressive snake we have is the King Snake (sometimes called a Speckled King Snake). Sometimes they're kept as pets but lots of people get bit because they think they're all docile. One time it took us forever to run one off when it decided our car was his. He would come out and strike at anyone who came close to it. My grandfather didn't want to kill him because they are good to have around a farm. So he used a stick to kind of guide him on. Took awhile because the snake just kept turning around and heading back under the car.
Growing up in rural south Louisiana, I got lots of snake stories.
