A heavy-bodied pit viper of the eastern United States, camouflaged by dark hourglass bands on a copper to brown background. Instead of fleeing it often freezes, so people step on it: copperheads cause half of the treated snakebites in the US, though bites are rarely fatal.
Quick answers
What is it?Reptile
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Yes
Venomous but not aggressive; bites are rarely fatal, and many are "dry", with little or no venom.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?Yes
It hibernates through winter in dens or limestone crevices, often alongside timber rattlesnakes and rat snakes.
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inNorth America
HabitatForest, Wetland
ColoursCopper, Brown, Tan
SizeMedium
LengthUsually 50–95 cm
WeightMales about 200 g on average; females about 120 g
LegsNone
Covered inScales
Lives alone
Lives for15–25 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Eastern United States, west to Kansas and Texas, and Chihuahua and Coahuila in northern Mexico.
- What it eats
- A wide range of prey, from cicadas and caterpillars to small vertebrates.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Bites more people in the US than any other venomous snake, and kills almost none.
Newborns have a green or yellow tail tip, which darkens within a year.
In winter it hibernates in dens, often alongside timber rattlesnakes and black rat snakes.
Often confused with
On these lists
Sources
Last reviewed
Play
Could you have guessed it?
A photo, a few hints, one guess. Same 438 animals.
