Snakes have been hunkered down for the winter, but the warmer weather is bringing them out to feed and mate. Texas Parks and Wildlife herpetologist, Paul Crump, formerly with the Houston Zoo, says Texas has 75 species of snakes.
“Rat snakes, water snakes and a number of other small, harmless snakes are being carried in the Houston area, this time of year. The two venomous snakes that could be encountered in the Houston area are cottonmouth and copperhead,” said Crump.
Texas has four kinds of poisonous snakes: rattlers, copperheads, coral snakes and water moccasins, also known as cottonmouths.
Crump said if you cross paths with a snake, the best course of action is to give it plenty of room and leave it alone. Most likely, it will be gone in 30 minutes. Make sure your pets leave them alone, too.
Crump said the snakes you see in your yard are usually harmless.
“Little things that are basically the size of a drinking straw those could be earth snakes. Green snakes occur in our area, brown snakes. There are also bigger, more robust snakes that will hang out in people’s yards, rat snakes are one of them,” said Crump.
He said different snakes are found in Montgomery County because of the pines, as well as Galveston because of all the water.
It’s reported that UTMB treats more rattlesnake bites than anywhere else in the state. The treatment can be costly—up to $50,000 for venomous snakes.