Ballard Illinois. Search for:. Venomous Snakes. Eastern Foxsnake. Prairie Kingsnake. Eastern Kingsnake. Midland Ratsnake. North American Racer. Flat-headed Snake. Rough Green Snake. Smooth Green Snake. Common Wormsnake. Smooth Earth Snake. Ring-necked Snake. Red-bellied Mudsnake. During the middle of summer, Eastern Copperheads are often nocturnal. Eastern Copperhead Range Map.
Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society. This species is an ambush hunter, meaning that it selects a suitable site and waits to surprise its prey. This adaptation helps these venomous snakes locate and judge the size of their prey by being able to sense infrared!
The venom they produce has relatively low potency. In addition, copperheads also frequently employ false strikes, dry bites, and warning bites. Dry bites contain no venom, and warning bites have a relatively small amount of venom. These snakes primarily feed on small rodents, frogs, birds, and large insects, such as cicadas.
After the initial bite, they will wait for the venom to take effect before consuming their prey whole. Their excellent camouflage coloration allows them to blend into the leaf litter and soil. However, they may also vibrate their tails in the leaves when approached to produce a buzzing sound. Be on the lookout for them near bodies of water, including swamps, marshes, ponds, and slow-moving streams and rivers, as well as semi-permanent water sources like flooded fields and drainage ditches.
Northern Cottonmouth Range Map. Since they are typically near water, the bulk of their diet is made up of fish and frogs. But they are opportunistic and will also eat small mammals, birds, turtles, small alligators, and other snakes. These venomous snakes, which are also commonly called Water Moccasins, Black Moccasins, or Gapers, have several defensive tactics.
They often vibrate their tail in the leaf litter, pull their heads up and back, and then open their mouth to hiss and expose a white interior. Luckily, receiving a bite from a Northern Cottonmouth is rare. But when it does happen, it is very serious. Their venom destroys tissue and is more toxic than a copperhead but not as severe as a rattlesnake. It is rare to die from their bite, but it does cause swelling and bruising and can leave scars. Water snakes, however, lack venom not to mention rattles.
Several varieties of water snake inhabit North Illinois: the widely distributed northern water snake and the more restricted plainbelly and diamondback water snakes of the Mississippi Valley. The broad-banded and Mississippi green water snakes, meanwhile, call southern Illinois home.
According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois hosts four venomous snake species: the cottonmouth, copperhead, timber rattlesnake and eastern massasauga. Of these, only the two rattlesnakes — the timber rattler and massasauga — may inhabit North Illinois, though they're extremely rare in this part of the state. The massasauga, which resides along rivers and in marshes and swamps, is listed as endangered in Illinois; the timber rattlesnake is threatened.
Venomous snakes kill their prey by biting them with their fangs, which contain paralyzing venom. The eastern hognose snake roams a much larger range in North Illinois. Certain snake species have a higher degree of cold tolerance than other snakes.
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