Shannon Dean’s husband said he had never heard her scream as loudly as she did the Friday night before Mother’s Day. “It was late. I went out to feed the dog. I opened the kennel. When I was bringing the food back out, it hit,“ said Dean, who lives in King William County. “I looked at my hand and saw these huge fang marks.“ She was bitten by what was later determined to be a copperhead snake.

Copperheads came out of hibernation just a few weeks ago, and they are on the move, looking for food and mates. Copperheads are far less dangerous than Virginia’s two other venomous serpents, the rattlesnake and the eastern cottonmouth. That’s because copperheads are typically smaller and create a weaker venom, experts say. Named for its rusty color, the copperhead can be found across Virginia. It is the only venomous snake in the immediate Richmond area.