Cottonmouth
The cottonmouth snake (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is also known under the name water moccasin, or a combination of names such as cottonmouth moccasin, highland water moccasin or North American water moccasin.Water snakes are difficult to discriminate from cottonmouth snakes, and often water snakes are killed on suspicion alone of being cottonmouth snakes. Three tips will help you see whether a snake is a cottonmouth or a water snake.Cottonmouth snakes lives close to water.Often, Northern water snakes inhabit the same habitats as cottonmouth snakes in a relationship called sympatry, where both species inhabits the same area, and do not split the habitat between them.Cottonmouth snakes are good swimmers and are often found in or close to water where most of their prey is found. The Latin name piscivorus literally translates into fish eater. However, they do eat other food items as well. A study by Himes (2004)3 showed that cottonmouth snakes also had a varied diet of non-fish food sources.
Eastern coral Snake
The eastern coral snake comes in at least three distinct color phases in south Florida. Besides the phase clad in red, yellow and black rings and the red-and-black upper Keys morph, there is the one that I call "the broad-red-banded morph."This latter type seems restricted to the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and is quite distinctive. Rather than having the red-and-black bands of about the same width (the yellow rings are always narrow), this snake has red bands about twice the width of the black. It also lacks most or all of the black scales that occur in the red fields of the normal morph. This beautiful snake is rarely encountered. I've yet to find one afield. In fact, the only examples I've ever seen were at The Shed (a Miami pet store that's been out of business for years).I've never been able to go into the field with a feeling of certainty that I'll find a coral snake of any species. Rather, I have always considered them fortuitous finds, completely incidental to whatever my main purpose afield is. I've gone out looking for crowned snakes (a favorite coral snake food) and managed to stir up one or two corals while puttering around. On another occasion, I went looking for peninsula mole skinks and found a big eastern coral beneath a board I turned.
The Sidewinder
The sidewinder is a small rattlesnake from the southwest range of the United States and the northwest of Mexico. Hallowell was the first to describe the species in 1854 as Crotalus cerastes (58.7 cm). L. Klauber described the subspecies C.c.laterorepens(62.8 cm) in 1953.The habitats of Crotalus cerastes are the sandy deserts with little or no vegetation (creosote bushes) and sometimes-rocky hills. The difference between the three subspecies (aside from geographical variations) is primarily their size, with C.c.laterorepens being the largest. Furthermore, the first segment of the rattle of C.cerastes cerastes is brown, and black in C.c.cercobombus andC.c.laterorepens..All three sidewinders have the characteristic elevated scales (horns) above their eyes. It is thought that these "horns" protect the eyes when digging in the sand. The color of the three species varies from yellow, light brown to grey.The belly of Crotalus cerastes cercobombus is normally of a creamy white color. All three sidewinders have 28-45 red-brown spots along the length of their back. Along the length of the back are from 141-146 scales.The diet of Crotalus cerastes consists primarily of mice, kangaroo rats and lizards. Funk (1965) also mentioned birds (sparrow) and small snakes (Arizona, Chionactis, Crotalus cerastes and Sonora).