colors of a cottonmouth
Juvenile cottonmouth with yellow tail tip. Eastern cottonmouths are born alive with a bright yellowish to yellowish green tail tip. The yellow tail tip is used as a lure for frogs, lizards and other prey items. This brightly colored tail tip fades to black as the snake ages. The color of cottonmouths is a yellowish olive to black with about 13 black crossbands that are wide on the sides and narrow as they approach the backbone. Some of the crossbands may be broken, not meeting at the backbone.