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Comment by currymj | Hacker News Reader

most snakes are small and harmless. it’s not any worse than seeing a rat or a lizard.

in the US the main snake everyone gets warned about is the coral snake, which has a distinctive pattern and is very poisonous.

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The thing about venomous snakes (at least in the US) is that most people think they are WAY more common and have a greater range than they do, largely because so many harmless snakes look like venomous snakes.

I know a lot of people in Kansas/Iowa/Missouri/Nebraska that are sure they've been in cottonmouth/water moccasin-infested areas, but the truth is neither snake actually occurs in those area.

Similarly with Copperheads, although those do occur in a sliver of eastern Kansas and most of Missouri.

Coral snakes only occur in the extreme south and east reaches of the US, but people worry about them everywhere. Probably because the harmless milk snake occurs in most of the US and people don't know the difference.

How about rattlesnakes? I thought there are plenty of them, especially in the Western US.

Kraits can be deadly in India. I've read that sometimes you cannot even feel their bite, but their venom can kill you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_krait

The article reminded me of Romulus Whitaker:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Whitaker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_Snake_Park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Crocodile_Bank_Trust

There are rattlesnakes everywhere in areas I've lived all my life. I've never seen a live one. They do not seek human interaction. About the only way you'll get bitten by one is if you reach into a hole one is trying to sleep in such that it can't get away and thinks you're threatening it.

Interesting, thought differently earlier. Good to know.

Copperheads are bad, especially since many other species look like them. They can put you in the hospital. Avoid the triangle head.

A triangular head is a poor indicator of a venomous snake. Many nonvenomous snakes can flatten their heads into a somewhat triangular shape.

The danger of copperheads is greatly overstated. Yes, they are venomous and will bite, but they are very rarely fatal to humans.

I wish that I could remember where I read this, but I recall that a majority of venemous snake bites in the U.S. were on the hand or lower arm, and/or involved alcohol. The implication was that a lot of the time people try to handle the things, especially while drunk.

This seems to reference a similar stat: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-News/2008/07/07/Veno...

True. A copperhead bite definitely requires a hospital visit, but as pit vipers go a copperhead bite is generally on the less dangerous side.

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