There at least 105 species of snake in Texas, the most of any U.S. state and 15 species are significantly venomous and four more are mildly venomous. The most venomous is the Texas coral snake, which has enough venom in one bite to kill six adult men. However, the milk snake and the king snake are harmless snakes that look very similar to the coral snake. The way to tell the difference is to use the rhyme “Red touches yellow, kill a fellow; red touches black, friend to Jack” or alternatively “Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow”.
Look at the two pictures below. One is my daughter with the critter man, and she is holding a milk snake. The other picture is of the deadly coral snake. Can you tell them apart by using the rhyme?
The Green Mamba
When our kids were young, we frequently visited Dinosaur State Park near Glen Rose, Texas. On one occasion I was carrying my four-year-old son on my shoulders. Suddenly he shouted, “Dad you almost stepped on that Green Mamba”. I looked down and between my feet crawled a green snake. It was a harmless green grass snake, but I did not even know there were green snakes in Texas.
On another occasion I was showing a whipsnake to my daughter. It was at a girl scout camp, and I had taken the snake out from its glass jar located in a room where they stored nonvenomous snakes. I was holding it in my hands. The whipsnake was pretty strong and decided to crawl under my shirt sleeve. I had to fight it to get it out from underneath my shirt sleeve and back into its glass jar. I probably looked like a clown juggling a snake. Whipsnakes are thin but very strong, long and stubborn.
We’ve also seen all kinds of water snakes as well as the dangerous water moccasin or cottonmouth as it is also called. We’ve seen rat snakes and snakes in our yard. I’ve seen a lot of snakes in the wild here in Texas and I typically don’t know what kind they are. That’s why I needed The Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant.
Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant
The goal of this blog is to create a list of what I call super facts. Important facts that we know to be true and yet they are shocking or disputed among non-experts. Super facts are important facts that people get wrong.
However, I sometimes create posts that are not super facts but contain other interesting information, such as this book review and book recommendation of the Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes. This book features 105 snakes and includes hundreds of photos, information on prey and reproduction, habitat information, geographical distribution, and more. I bought the paperback version of the book.
- Paperback – Publisher : Taylor Trade Publishing; Third edition (December 28, 2005), ISBN-10 : 1589792092, ISBN-13 : 978-1589792098, 352 pages, item weight : 1.15 pounds, dimensions : 7.1 x 0.81 x 8.46 inches, it costs $43.46 new on Amazon, but you can buy used copies much cheaper. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
- Kindle – Published : Taylor Trade Publishing; 3rd edition (January 27, 2006), ASIN : B00IUFI1K8, 352 pages, it costs $10.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Amazon’s description of the book
The State of Texas not only boasts the largest snakes in North America, but also the largest number of species—105. This guide describes in detail each and every one of them, from the benign Texas long-nosed snake, to the venomous Western Cottonmouth. Facts on the biology and behavior are given, plus the latest findings on abundance, reproduction, prey, sizes, and habitat.
In addition, introductory chapters describe the physiology and diet of snakes, and an all-important section on “Venom and Evenomation” debunks the many myths surrounding what to do when bit by a venomous snake. 128 color plates of species and subspecies aid in identification.
This is my five-star review for Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes
The review I posted below is a copy from Amazon, but I’ve improved it a bit. For example, in my original review of 2008 I called snakes poisonous. Snakes are not poisonous, they are venomous.
You almost stepped on that green mamba
“Dad, you almost stepped on that Green Mamba”. That is what my 4-year old (sitting on my shoulders) told me when we were walking in Dinosaur Valley state park. Using the second edition of this book I was able to identify the snake as the “Rough Green Snake” when I got home.
I am glad there are no Green Mambas in Texas (in the wild), but there are still some very poisonous snakes to watch out for. Seven species of rattle snake, two species of Massasauga, and a pigmy rattle snake, cottonmouth (water moccasin), three species of copperhead, and the Texas Coral snake. The Texas Coral snake is the most venomous of the snakes in Texas (but it is not aggressive) and the poison from the Mojave Rattle Snake can kill six adults (lives only in West Texas). There are 105 species of snakes in Texas.
This edition (third edition) has essentially the same pictures and information as the second edition, but the third edition is organized better, is a little bit bigger, and more updated. What I really like about this book is that for each of the snakes it has a map of Texas showing the distribution of the snake.
The book is also well organized, and the photos are good. It is also an interesting book to read, it contains a lot of facts about the various snakes. Once you start reading about the various snakes, and looking at the pictures and the distribution maps, you just can’t put it down. The book tickles your curiosity. Compared to other Texas snake books that I have seen this one is the most interesting and the most well-organized of them all. If you quickly need to identify a snake this is the right book.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotalus Atrox
One of the most common venomous snakes in Texas is the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is fairly big, 3 to 7 feet long. Nearly all of the most serious cases of snakebite treated in Texas hospitals are inflicted by Crotalus Atrox, the Western Diamond-back. Deaths are uncommon but the loss of limbs is more common. There are 10 species of rattlesnake in Texas.
To see the Super Facts click here
Newstrade
Good one. I’d forgotten that amorphism (if I can call it that). It’s a good one.
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Yes I agree with you. You may want to run away in both cases but if you need to it is an easy way to remember the difference.
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I don’t think I could tell the difference at a glance at that coral snake/milk snake. Actually I’d be running away no matter. I’ve only ever seen a couple and I’ve lived here all my life practically, and they were harmless ones. Have you heard of the Rattlesnake round-up held in Sweetwater TX each spring? I’ve never been, but it’s a big deal with lots of exhibits and demonstrations. 🙂
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I have actually never seen either a coral snake or milksnake in the wild. I’ve read that coral snakes, even though very deadly, that they are not very aggressive. I did not know about the Rattlesnake round-up. Sweetwater is more than three hours away so it is a bit to drive, but it sounds like a fun thing to do. I took a look at a youtube video about it. The thing is that it might coincide with our ski trip to Colorado. But thanks for the suggestion. We’ll see.
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Java Bean (inspecting snakes closely): “Close, but that’s not the one that got me.”
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Oh I sure hope it was not a coral snake or a diamond back that got you. What was it? You can maybe look it up in this book.
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Java Bean: “Dada says it was probably a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake! After I yelped and came running over to him and he backtracked to where I had come from and saw the snake rattling, he didn’t think to take a picture of it, he just hustled us all into the car and me off to the emergency vet. They gave me the Southern Pacific antivenin and I recovered, so seems like a match!”
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That sounds terrible Java Bean. That is very dangerous, but I am happy your recovered with antivenom. Since you recovered so well it must have been a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake like you say. We don’t have the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake here but we have several other kinds.
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Yes, I’ve heard that rattlesnakes get huge in Texas (like everything else!) I think I would die of a heart attack if I saw one seven feet long. I admire how you teach your kids so much! We have the Mohave Greens here, which are highly venomous, and coral snakes. We rarely see them, even in the summer, since we live on a busy road.
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Thank you so much Dawn. Yes we tried to teach them things when they were little. We also have the Mojave rattlesnake in Texas but it is only in West Texas far from Dallas. As I understand it is the most venomous rattle snake in the US.
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