ok you snake guys

[rgw]

i was scouting not looking for snakes  but i hate them so i always look when i am in their territory

[gobblergetter]

That can really got around today

[rgw]

lol

[LPJR]

I heard of a bunch of kids picking up nightcrawlers with flashlights after a rainstorm several years ago, forgot what state..Apparently two of the kids never made it out of the field because they were stuffing their pockets with baby Copperheads (similar in size to the snake pictured in this post)....... I read at that time that the venom is more potent from the smaller copperheads. Not sure if this is true or not. Little M or Rusty?  

[rgw]

^ i herd the same thing

[Buck154]

i was scouting not looking for snakes  but i hate them so i always look when i am in their territory

Pull up your skirt

[Rusty]

I heard of a bunch of kids picking up nightcrawlers with flashlights after a rainstorm several years ago, forgot what state..Apparently two of the kids never made it out of the field because they were stuffing their pockets with baby Copperheads (similar in size to the snake pictured in this post)....... I read at that time that the venom is more potent from the smaller copperheads. Not sure if this is true or not. Little M or Rusty?  

 

I'll take a stab at it and then Little M can give you the right answer.  

 

It's not that the venom is more potent in younger snakes, the legend goes that an older snake can control the amount of venom released while young ones release all of their venom.  So you get a larger dose from a younger snake.  

 

This may or may not be true, after a quick search it seems that no concrete study has shown wether this is true or not.  Venomous snakes are able to give a dry bite, which doesn't release venom.  So if younger snakes are not yet able to give a dry bite then maybe there is some truth to younger ones being more dangerous.  

 

Overall, copperhead venom is relatively mild and almost never fatal for humans.  

Edited October 30, 2016 by Rusty

[LittleM]

What Rusty said.  It's not a legend.  Older snakes can meter the dose and/or dry-bite as a warning.  "Baby" snakes give you the whole dose.