The Australian Copperhead

Despite the fact that bites are incredibly rare, the Australian Copperheads are 50 times more venomous then their American namesakes and are not actually closely related at all!
Australian copperheads are in the elapid family, making them closer to things like cobras, the black mamba, and all the famous Australian venomous snakes like the tiger snake and brown snake. American copperheads on the other hand are members of the viper family, along with rattlesnakes, bushmasters and adders.
Here in Australia we have three species of copperheads, the lowlands copperhead, the alpine copperhead and the Pygmy copperhead, who between them occupy the cooler climates of eastern NSW, coastal Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania
Being cold climate snakes copperheads give birth to live young rather then laying eggs, due to the fact the climate in which they are found often isn’t suitable for incubation of eggs
While being more then 50 times as venomous as the American copperhead, and roughly equivalent in toxicity to the Indian cobra, which kills more then 10,000 people a year, bites from Australian copperheads are incredibly rare, and deaths are almost unheard of. Interestingly, there’s actually no such thing as copperhead antivenin, with copperhead bites in Australia being treated with tiger snake anti venom

[troyjralph]

I got bitten by a copperhead this year. We were just coming out of winter, it was about 5C, I was walking around on the farm just after dusk without my boots on and I stepped on it. Fortunetly it was just a dry bite. Spent overnight in hospital with multiple blood tests.

[cutekinoko_]

I’m Aussie so I’ve been watching mostly American snake youtubers. It’s great I’ve found you! Now I can learn about local wildlife

[paulwilson]

I was driving along a secluded road in tassie once and jumped and for a pee on the side of the road… scared the daylights out of me when I saw the ground that I was peeing on start moving and one of these girls shot straight between my legs and back across the road behind me! An experience I’ll never forget!

[shuragroy]

This channel is something different... Dude u deserve more subscription and views!
I Love how your videos r species specific... Totally amazed...
Free Handling these species proves how much good and informative you are in herpetology... I love how u touch toxicology related to these species ....

[justinmyslive]

That is the most chill venomous snake I've ever seen. She's like "whatever" and just letting that guy just handling her and not strike at him or anything

[BadBoybBubby]

I removed a beautiful red and black one out of my backyeard yesterday, i have a metre long snake hook and didnt tail it at all he rode the hook like a champ, i just picked him up and walked him about 10 metres near some water and let hime go. Didnt want him too get run over by the lawnmower.

[emmabluecaboose]

These beauties are on my small block in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Very shy and polite towards me. Beautiful markings too. I’ve seen one get an electric blue strip down it’s side when excited. They love to get out and about at night.

[nighthawk]

Great episode. It's a beautiful snake. I always learn something new when you upload a video. Thank you

[robbiefishing]

Highland copperheads are my favourite snakes. Absolutely beautiful.

[georgepalmer]

I knew a man who had been bitten by an American copperhead twice. He said it felt like his leg was stuck in hot coals. He was stove up for six to nine months. It takes people a long time to recover from copperhead bites, but I think much of that depends on how the person's body reacts to the venom. They have a lot of American copperheads where I live. Sometimes we see them squashed in the road by cars in the night. That's why it makes me nervous to walk on some of our roads by night.

[Lulusnotreadyforthis]

What a beautiful snake. I hope you continue making these types of videos. It's been said by others and it's true, you really deserve far more subscribers.

[BradGryphonn]

The Copperhead is the first snake I remember learning of. I don't know why though. We were living in the Northern SA desert country. Or maybe it was when we moved to Beachport...Oh, and once again, thanks for producing another 'un-overhyped' video. I avoid channels that try to sensationalise reptiles as being more dangerous than reality proves. Your Funnel Web spider video was a great example of an educational, informative, and entertaining way to learn about the importance of these creatures in our ecosystem.

[maxweidenbach]

Had one of these guys at my backdoor today here in Tassie and can vouch they are a super relaxed snake. Quite happy to do their own thing (like most snakes) and even when disturbed just cruise off without any fuss. They certainly don't display like a tiger snake does

[Spacey]

That's a new one for me. What a beautiful amazing snake. Thank you Nick I love learning about different reptiles, especially the Australian one's. ☺️

[tosgem]

Came across one of these riding dirtbikes around Kinglake in Victoria. We pulled over, stopped our engines, and waited for it to get off the track. Didn't seem aggressive or agitated at all

[platypups]

Watching those belly scales move back and forth as it slinks forward is super cool

[TheWildlifeBrothers]

This is my favorite style of video from you Nick, every time you cover a species in this much detail I always learn a ton! You did a fantastic job covering the Copperhead, and I think another great snake to cover would be a Collett’s Snake, though I’m not sure how many people have them around. Also, I’ve seen some pretty awesome clips in your new intro, when will we see some of those episodes? That stingray is huge! Cheers Nick
- Harrison and Evan

[michaeledwards]

Barring a couple of very pretty coastal tigers the copper head is the the most striking (visually speaking) snake I've come across. Very common in my area but generally placid.

[pfh]

This was the first video iv seen subbed straight away. Much respect for saying its captive bred and being honest unlike others. Very informative and done with great energy but not over the top. 2 thumbs up

[haydenposnansky]

What a beautiful snakes I really like the colours on this copperhead. Another good & informative video👍👍