Pit viper venom contains hemotoxins, that is, enzymes which break down blood and blood vessels. This allows for easier digestion because the snake has a partially predigested meal prior to swallowing. The venom works so well that it may be only a few seconds or minutes before their prey collapses and dies. In the case of humans, first symptoms of a bite are severe pain and swelling in the bite area, which may be followed by dizziness, nausea, headache and shock. Usually sharp, throbbing pain results immediately in the area bitten by a pit viper and indicates envenomation. In non-fatal human bites, tissue loss and discoloration often occur at the area bitten. Death resulting from fatal bites is caused by loss of blood pressure and volume. The majority of pit viper bites occur mainly to people catching and handling them. Snake bite deaths are rare. If you don't handle venomous snakes, you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than by bitten by a venomous snake.
Most vipers have live birth, delivering their young in July, August and September. These dangerous baby snakes are born complete with venom. Juvenile water moccasins and hatchling copperheads closely resemble each other at birth and are sometimes difficult to tell apart.
Not all members of the Viperidae family have rattles at the tip of their tail. All members of the viper family, as well as many non-venomous snakes, will shake their tails when agitated. Copperheads and cottonmouths do not have rattles, but their tails will often shake against leaves and twigs, making a rattling sound. Rattles, dried scales at the tail tip, are found only on rattlesnakes. When these segments are shaken, the classic rattlesnake buzzing noise is heard. It is often believed that the number of segments on a rattlesnake's tail equals the rattlesnake's age. This is not always true. Usually rattlesnakes shed several times a year, depending on age, health and availability of food. With each shed a new segment of rattle is added. However, these rattles are often broken off when moving through rough terrain. Therefore, the number of segments in the rattle cannot accurately predict a snake's age.
