Northern Water Snake

Northern Water Snake by Brian*MC

The Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sometimes also known as Natrix sipedon) is a large, non-venomous, well-known snake in the Colubridae family that is native to North America. They are active during the day and at night. They are most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush.

During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water. It was once an endangered species but now benefits from the introduction of round goby, an invasive species.

Western Green Mamba

Western Green Mamba by Laura Bertola

The western green mamba or West African green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis) is a long, thin venomous arboreal snake native to West Africa, including Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. It has large green scales outlined in black, and grows up to two meters in length. The scales on its long tail are yellow and edged in black.

It is mostly diurnal, but may be active at night as well. Its habitat is the rainforest. Its natural prey includes birds, lizards, and mammals. Two very close relatives of the Western green mamba are the Eastern green mamba, and the Black mamba.

King Cobra

King Cobra by bossejonsson59

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length that can be as large as 6.7 m (22 ft). This species is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India, but found mostly in forested areas. Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means "snake-eater", and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. The mortality rate from a bite can be as high as 75%.

The King Cobra is a large and powerful snake, averaging 3.6–4 m (12–13 feet) in length and typically weighing about 6 kg (13.2 lb). A particularly large specimen was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 5.7 m (18.8 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II. The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. The belly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth.

The head of a mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. The male is larger and thicker than the female. The average lifespan of a King Cobra is about 20 years.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake by williewonker

Crotalus adamanteus is a venomous pitviper species found in the southeastern United States. It is the heaviest (though not longest) venomous snake in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, eastern diamondback, diamond rattlesnake, diamond-back rattlesnake, common rattlesnake, diamond-back, diamond(-patch) rattler, eastern diamond-back (rattlesnake), eastern diamond rattlesnake, Florida diamond-back (rattlesnake), Florida rattlesnake, lozenge-spotted rattlesnake, rattler, rattlesnake, southeastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, southeastern diamond-backed rattler, southern woodland rattler, timber rattlesnake, water rattle, water rattlesnake, diamondback rattlesnake.

Found in the southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina, south along the coastal plain through peninsular Florida to the Florida Keys, and west along the Gulf Coast though southern Mississippi to southeastern Louisiana. The original description for the species does not include a type locality, although Schmidt (1953) proposed that it be restricted to "Charleston, South Carolina" (USA).