Revised June 2003
Download a free PDF of this guide.
Use our feedback form to ask questions or make comments about G9450.
Contents
Poisonous snakes of Missouri
Related pages
Publication search
Snakes: Information for Missouri Homeowners
Poisonous snakes of Missouri
Osage copperhead photo by Tom R. Johnson, herpetologist, Missouri Department of Conservation.
Copperheads are the most abundant poisonous snake found in Missouri. They prefer to live on rocky hillsides and along forest edges. Copperheads also can be found along wooded stream borders, old fields and meadows, where they search for rodents. They normally are active from April to November. Two subspecies are found in Missouri. The Osage copperhead is found in the northern two-thirds of the state, and the southern copperhead is found in the southern third of the state
Young copperheads have a sulfur-yellow tail. The snake loses this color as it matures. The young are born in August or September, with two to 10 in a litter. Although copperheads are not usually aggressive, they cause most of the poisonous snake bites in Missouri. Their bites are not normally fatal to adults. Elderly people, those in poor health or small children are in more danger from copperhead bites.
G9450, revised June 2003
