By using venom, the snake does not have to struggle with the prey and risk injury to itself. A copperhead's venom apparatus, however, also is used for protection. Click to Enlarge The lower jaw of a copperhead is loosely joined to the skull and the upper jaws are moveable, allowing the snake to engulf food three times larger than its head. A copperhead will likely bite a person who steps on it because it is trying to defend itself. This type of bite is not that common.
Most bites occur when someone sees a copperhead and decides to capture or kill the snake.
During such scenarios the copperhead will do its best to defend itself. In Missouri, no person has died as a result of a copperhead bite. In an average year, venomous snakes bite approximately 200 people in this state, with the majority involving copperheads. In over 25 years there are no records of a person dying from the bite of any venomous snake species native to Missouri. A person bitten by a copperhead should be taken to the emergency room of the nearest hospital to prevent infection and reduce pain, not because he or she is going to die.