Where do SC copperhead snakes go when it gets cold? It’s closer than you may think
Some folks may say one good thing about the cold weather is no copperheads.
That’s right, across much of South Carolina copperheads and other snakes have entered what’s called brumation. It’s when they crawl into holes and under rocks, sometimes even leaves and go into something similar to hibernation like mammals.
They become lethargic, but aren’t totally asleep. They don’t eat, although they do need water. Generally, this occurs when the temperature drops below 60 degrees (that’s also the temperature that rouses them to come out).
Sometimes, they will come out on a warm sunny winter day to sun themselves. They are cold-blooded.
Scott Parker, biology department chair at Coastal Carolina University, said coastal snakes don’t truly brumate.
They do become much less active.
“On warm winter days snakes may leave their underground retreats and bask or move short distances between one burrow/stump to another,” he said. “They probably feed less than during warmer times of year, but do they stop feeding entirely? The answer is we really don’t know.”
He said he has seen field camera images of snakes out-and-about every month of the year.
“We even have pictures of juvenile water moccasins leaving and returning to their burrow in February, during light rain, and at air temperatures in the low 50s (degrees F),” he said. “If I hadn’t seen the picture with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
But in higher elevations or in northern parts of the country, snakes gather in den sites that they may return to year after year.
“In these environments, winters are very cold, so snakes remain underground until spring when they emerge, leave the den, and move to their summer range,” he said.
If a snake does brumate, where do they go?
Your attic. Or car engines. Sheds. Outside, they burrow underground or crawl into leaf piles or tree stumps. Any place that is warm and enclosed.
They get into your house through vents, cracks. And can even come up into your house through your toilet. But before you freak, it is not common, according to the website How Stuff Works. They actually use the term extraordinarily unlikely.
Parker said one thing to be aware of is even if the snake is in brumation, there’s a good chance if you step on it, the critter could try to defend itself and bite.
“The likelihood of an effective bite would partly depend on temperature,” he said. “If the snake was stepped on at a mild temperature, say in the 60s it would be able to respond to being stepped on fairly quickly. If the snake was caught out in very cold temperatures, say in the upper 30’, it would probably be pretty slow and not very coordinated.”
They also could probably not bite through shoes.
“The most important thing for people to keep in mind is that snakes do not want to bite, or attack people,” he said.
They have to be threatened, grabbed, or otherwise molested before they will bite.
“In the case of copperheads in South Carolina, most of us probably walk right by them much of the time, and we don’t even realize that they are present because they are very shy,” he said.
Mallory Maher, Natural Resources Extension Associate at Clemson University, says on the university’s Home and Garden website, the best thing to do to keep snakes away is not make it easy on them. Don’t pile up brush. Snakes like firewood stacks. Keep them away from your house. Rodents like that stuff, too, and guess who eats rodents?
“You cannot blame a snake for moving into a perfect habitat where all its needs are met,” she said.
Remember you probably walk by snakes more often than you see them. And herpetologists resoundingly say leave them alone. They want to see you less than you want to see them.
Copperhead snakes are the most populous venomous snake in South Carolina and are responsible for more bites in the U.S. than any other snake species, but bites are rarely fatal.
They average between 2 and 3 feet, but have been measured at 4 feet. They also don’t give a warning that they are nearby like rattlers and they can strike without being in a coiled posture.
Herpetologist Jeff Beane at North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences advocates not only for live and let live philosophy about snakes but also thinks it’s to your benefit to let them live in your backyard.
“They eat a lot of species that we don’t like, like mice and rats, that can cause diseases and problems,” he told Blue Ridge Public Radio. “And [by] eating a lot of rodents, snakes are swallowing a lot of ticks. And ticks cause things like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Where do SC copperhead snakes go when it gets cold? It’s closer than you may think."