Comparison · Two venomous pit vipers

Copperhead vs cottonmouth

Quick answer

Both are venomous pit vipers. Copperheads have crisp hourglass bands on a copper, tan or pinkish body and live mostly in woodland. Cottonmouths are darker and heavier, often with faded bands and a wide dark stripe through the eye, and live in and around water.

Eastern copperhead lying in dry leaf litter, its dark hourglass bands breaking up its outline
Eastern copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
Dark, heavy-bodied cottonmouth coiled on reddish sandy ground
Northern cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus

Side by side

FeatureCopperheadCottonmouth
BANDSHourglass: wide on the sides, narrow at the spineWide and dark; often faded or hard to see in older adults
COLORGray, copper, tan or pinkish tanOlive, brown or nearly black
HEADPlain copper, no bold stripeWide dark stripe from the snout through the eye to the neck
BUILDStout, medium lengthHeavier and thicker-bodied
SIZEUsually 24–36 in (61–91 cm); record about 53 in (135 cm)Usually 30–48 in (76–122 cm); record 74 in (188 cm)
HABITATRocky, wooded hillsides, brushy creek edges, leaf litter, old buildingsSwamps, marshes, sloughs, streams, ponds and drainage ditches
DEFENSEUsually freezes and relies on camouflageThrows the head back and gapes to show the white mouth lining; may vibrate the tail
YOUNGBanded, with a yellow tail tipBrighter reddish-brown bands, with a yellow tail tip
RANGEEastern and central USSoutheastern US, from southeastern Virginia to Florida, west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma, and north to southern Illinois
VENOMVenomousVenomous

Juveniles of both species look alike: banded, with bright yellow tail tips they use to lure frogs. With a young snake, the habitat and the eye stripe are better clues than color.

Where you’ll find them

Copperhead's head showing at the mouth of a gap between gray rocks
Copperhead · rocks & woodland
Cypress trees standing in still, reflective swamp water
Cottonmouth · swamps & slow water

Copperheads favor rocky, wooded hillsides, brushy creek banks and swamp edges with plenty of ground cover, plus woodpiles and old farm buildings. Cottonmouths are the only venomous water snake in North America and stay close to swamps, sloughs, streams, ponds and ditches, even brackish water. The two overlap across much of the Southeast, so a snake near water could still be a copperhead.

State guides: Texas · Florida · Oklahoma

Also confused with

Eastern hognose snake with its upturned snoutEastern hognose snake
Upturned snout; spreads its neck and hissesHARMLESS Corn snake with red-orange, black-edged blotchesCorn snake
Square blotches, round pupils, checkered bellyHARMLESS
Banded snake swimming in shallow water beside a rockWatersnakes (Nerodia)
Round pupils and no facial pit; often lighter in colorHARMLESS
Broad-banded copperhead with wide reddish-brown crossbandsBroad-banded copperhead
Western relative with wider bandsVenomous

Telling them apart from a distance is hard. Treat any thick-bodied snake near water in the Southeast as a possible cottonmouth and give it room.

Bite safety

If someone is bitten by either snake

Both bites need emergency medical care. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. For guidance, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. If a pet is bitten, take it to a veterinarian right away.

This page does not give first-aid or treatment instructions. Read our safety disclaimer.