Scientific name: Agkistron contortrix
Common name: Copperhead Snake
(Information in this Species Page was compiled by Rebecca Young in Biology 220W, Spring
2003, at Penn State New Kensington)
Appearance
Copperheads (Agkistron contortrix) get their names, quite logically, from
their un-marked, copper-red colored heads. Copperheads have light-brown, or
orange, or pink bodies that are highlighted by dark, chestnut brown cross bands
which form a series of hourglass shapes across their backs. The thickness and
continuity of these cross bands are important characteristics in identifying the
five sub-species of A. contortrix. Belly markings of these snakes consist
of gray to black blotches that are blended together to make a cloudy or marbled
pattern. Copperheads are typically 2 to 3 feet in length although individuals up
to 4 ½ feet long have been reported. Females are longer than males, but males
have proportionally longer tails. The bodies of A. contortrix are stout
and taper abruptly to form the much smaller diameter tail. Immature copperheads
have tails that are bright yellow, and they may use these colored tails to
attract prey.
Range
Copperheads are found throughout the eastern and central United States from
Connecticut to Kansas and Florida to western Texas. The five sub-species are
roughly distributed in a northern, northwestern, southern, and two southwestern
sub-regions of their broad geographic range.

Habitat
Copperheads can thrive in a variety of habitats including rocky, wooded areas,
wood and sawdust piles, mountains, brushy zones along streams and creeks,
abandoned farm buildings and old foundations, junk yards, swamps, brush piles,
and desert oases and canyons. Copperheads are usually solitary except during
their mating season. They do hibernate in communal dens, though, not only with
other copperheads but also with snakes of a variety of species (including rat
snakes and rattlesnakes). In the spring and fall copperheads can be frequently
seen during the day, but in the warm summer months they are primarily nocturnal.
Humid, warm nights, especially nights after a rain, are ideal times to see
active copperheads.
Mating and Reproduction
Males fight for the right to mate with females. Males who lose a mating contest
are not likely to ever challenge another male again. Females also may fight
prospective mates and will not mate with an individual who backs down from an
initial encounter. The outcomes, then, of these mating fights are extremely
important selective pressures that determine the surviving or succeeding genes
and behaviors in the A. contortrix population. 
Copperheads mate in the late spring or early fall. Females are able to store
sperm (often from a variety of different males) and defer the fertilization of
their eggs for extended periods of time. Ovulation and fertilization usually
occur in the spring. In the fall, a female will give birth to 1 to 14 young
usually near her established hibernation den. Larger females give birth to
greater numbers of young. The young are born live, encased in a thin membrane
from which they quickly emerge. The development of this type of “live” births
(termed “ovoviviparous” reproduction) reduces the exposure of the egg encased
embryos to both predation and environmental damage. The young copperheads are 8
to 10 inches long and are born with both fangs and venom. The young snakes may
even take prey in the weeks remaining before they must enter the hibernation den
for the winter.
Prey
Copperheads are pit vipers (Family Viperidae). Their facial pits are heat
sensory structures located between their eyes and nostrils. These pits are used
to detect and accurately strike their warm-blooded prey. Copperheads eat many
species of rodents (mice, chipmunks etc), frogs, lizards, other snakes, small
birds, and even insects (especially large caterpillars and cicadas). An
individual snake may eat only 10 or 12 meals a year (depending on the size of
the prey taken). After locating its prey by both olfaction and heat sensation,
the snake strikes and injects the animal with venom. The venom breaks down blood
cells and leads quickly to circulatory collapse. The snake then swallows its
prey whole (a task facilitated by its loosely hinged jaws) and relies on its
powerful digestive secretions to break down all parts of the swallowed organism
(including bones and fur).

Bite of a Copperhead
The bite of a copperhead is extremely painful but is not, usually, life
threatening for a healthy adult. Children and pets and individuals with
compromised immune systems, though, may have serious reactions to the venom.
Copperheads bite more people in the United States than any other venomous snake,
so it is fortunate that their venom is so mild. Copperheads, unlike most other
venomous snakes, strike almost immediately when they feel cornered or
threatened. Rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, for example, go through obvious
auditory and visual warning displays prior to striking. The rapid strike of the
copperhead is actually thought to be a consequence of a lunging, warning display
that, unfortunately for the victim, too often occurs when the snake and the
disturbing individual are close to each other. The lunging snake, then, makes
contact with the victim, pierces the skin with its fangs, and only incidentally
injects a very tiny amount of venom into the bite. A bite from a copperhead is a
serious medical event! Medical attention is required by anyone bitten by a
copperhead!
Venom
The venom of the southern sub-species of copperhead contains the chemical called
“contortrostatin.” It has the potential to be used to control blood vessel
formation in cancerous tumors. Breast cancers in mice, for example, treated with
contortrostatin grow at a rate that is but 1/3 of the growth rate of tumors that
have not been treated with the drug. This is another example of the application
of the chemical diversity of nature to the needs and uses of human beings.
Myths
There are many myths about copperheads. One that has come up for me in a variety
of conversations and emails concerns the interbreeding of copperheads and black
rat snakes to form a new, very active, venomous hybrid snake. The good news is
that this cross-species breeding is not biologically possible. These two snake
species are, in fact, in different taxonomic families! The chance of these two
species successfully interbreeding is as likely as a human being producing
viable offspring after mating with a lemur, or a dog being able to hybridize
with a house cat! This myth possibly came about because of the previously
mentioned observation that black rat snakes and copperheads often den together
during hibernation. There is a big difference, though, between communal denning
and reproducing!
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