PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – When there is plentiful rain, our local zoologist says the risk of curious puppies having a run-in with a cottonmouth or water moccasin increases in South Florida.
The venomous snakes live in wet areas, so when retention ponds and roadside ditches flood the reptile can end up in backyards. Ron Magill said the snakes become more mobile.
“They basically get drowned out of some of these subterranean places that they stay — they have, again, more access to different areas, so you’re going to see more of these snakes,” Magill said.
The cottonmouth snake bites when molested and feeds on insects, fish, frogs, turtles, other snakes, lizards, baby alligators, and birds — not on dogs or humans. Magill said the snakes aren’t aggressive.
“These snakes are not going to attack anybody; they’re going to defend themselves,” Magill said.
It’s best to leave that snake alone. The hemotoxin bite destroys red blood cells, disrupts blood clotting, causes organ degeneration, and damages tissue.
“People mistakenly step on one, or you corner one, and that’s the problem with pets. We can’t tell pets, ‘Don’t worry, the snake is not going to hurt you, leave it alone!’ They are naturally going to try to bark, go after it, try to bite it,” Magill said adding the snake isn’t stalking or hunting humans
Omar Rodriguez said the puppies Harley and Mula in Pembroke Pines’s Silver Lakes community survived and a veterinarian in Davie is treating the tissue damage.
Here is what to do during an outdoor encounter:
- Let it be and keep children and pets away
- From a safe distance, identify the snake
- The snakes will likely look for cover, so don’t get in their way
- Do not corner the snake. Give it space.
- Don’t try to handle the snake yourself. Contact a professional. Contact a professional licensed wildlife removal specialist.
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