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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> Are they nocturnal?


Yes.  In the Ozarks all the poisonous snakes you are going to encounter are 
pit vipers.  The pit is a heat detecting organ.  They can't see well night or 
day but detect prey and threats from the heat they give off.  During the time 
of the year that the day is too hot for them, they hunt and are active at 
night.


> When do they stop coming out(temperature)?

There's probably a precise herptologica answer for this, but from experience 
they are not "out" when the temps stay in the low 50's and they are not 
active 
below about 65.  They must regulate their temperature on their own,  on a 
cool morning they are sluggish until they warm up in the sun and on very hot 
days 
they seek out shade and water.


> Do they live underground?


Sometimes but mostly under logs, rocks, brush piles, etc. 

> Do they hibernate?

They do.


> Can you be tested to see how severe a reaction a person might have to a
> bite?


I seriously doubt it.  The range of reaction doesn't seem to be all that 
great.  The venom of various pit vipers varies greatly.  Copperhead venom is 
the 
mildest and some species of rattlesnake is the most toxic.  Bites are very 
rarely fatal and the danger from shock is much greater than the danger from 
toxin. 
 But the toxin causes necrosis and that is not only painful and debilitating, 
but takes a long time to correct itself.  The CDC and AMA no longer recommend 
that anti-venom be given routinely after a snake bite as the anti-venom often 
caused more mayhem than the bite.

Pit vipers produce venom very slowly and are in no great rush to waste it.  
Some estimates say as many as 3/4 of all accidental bites don't involve 
injection of venom.


> Can you really put a rope around your campsite to prevent snakes from
> enterin
> 

Very, very seriously doubt it.  I've watched pit vipers cross every sort of 
obstacle and would trust nothing to keep them out.


Some more bits to consider:  A pit viper's brain seems to be optional 
equipment.  I've cut the head off copperheads and if you pick up the headless 
snake, 
it will writhe trying to get away and failing that it will strike at you as 
if 
it still had a head.  An old saying here abouts says that a snake never dies 
until the sun sets.  I'd have to say there is some basis for that.

Pit vipers are not naturally aggressive.  They want to get away.  But they 
are not very bright either.  Most people who get bitten either accidentally 
step 
on one or have the utter stupidity to try to pick one up.  Something like 85% 
of pit viper bites are on the hands.

A pit viper depends very much on detecing heat.  They don't reckon a stick or 
tool or weapon to be a threat since it doesn't give off any heat.

Pit vipers are very easy to kill, they are a bit delicate.  I find the 
cowboys that pack iron on their hip to shoot at snakes a bit amusing,  A 
pole, 
stick, or long handled tool is much better for dispatching one if need be.

In hot weather in snakey climes, assume that every rock, stump, overturned 
barrel, board, etc. has a snake beneath it and act accordingly.

>From observation:  if you see a lot of blacksnakes, there won't be many pit 
vipers in that area.  If you see few or no blacksnakes, likely there are lots 
of pit vipers.

Understanding snakes and acting accordingly is far better than fearing them.