Water Snake

The common water snake (Nerodia sipedon) is a big, nonvenomous snake belonging to the Colubridae family. The species can only be found in North America.

Nerodia sipedon is a species of snake that lives in water and has various common names that include-

• spotted water snake

• streaked snake, water pilot

• banded water snake

• North American water snake etc.

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Common Water Snake Classification

• Kingdom:  Animalia

• Phylum:  Chordata

• Class:  Reptilia

• Order:  Squamata

• Suborder:  Serpentes

• Family:  Colubridae

• Genus:  Nerodia

• Species:  N. sipedon

Types of Water Snakes

Other sub-species of snakes that live in water include:

• N. s. Insularum (lake Erie watersnake)

• N. s. pleuralis (midland watersnake)

• N. s. sipedon (northern watersnake)

• N. s. williamengelsi (Carolina watersnake)

Physical Description

A water snake can reach a total length of 135 cm (including tail). Females had an average overall length of 81.4 cm, while males had an average total length of 69.6 cm, according to one study. Adult females normally weigh between 159 and 408 g, while the smaller male weighs between 80.8 and 151 g, according to known investigations of this species in the wild. Females can weigh up to 560 grammes, while males can reach up to 370 grammes.

The snake waters have a variety of markings and colours, but they are generally brown, grey, olive green, or reddish in hue with dark splotches or bands on their backs. When wet, they can seem solid brown or black. The scales of a water snake are keeled, with a high ridge running down the centre, making them harsh to the touch. Their pupils are large and spherical.

Brown, grey, reddish, or brownish-black are all possible colours for N. sipedon. It features dark crossbands on its neck and dark blotches on the rest of its body, which causes novices to mistake it for a cottonmouth or copperhead. The hue of N. sipedon darkens with age, and the pattern fades. Some people turn almost entirely black. The hue of the tummy differs as well. It can be white, yellow, or grey in colour, with reddish or black crescents in most cases.

Although the common watersnake is nonvenomous and harmless to humans, it looks similar to the deadly cottonmouth. Humans frequently kill snakes out of fear; yet, killing snakes dramatically increases the risk of being bitten. The watersnake has a longer, more slender body, a flattened head the same width as the neck, round pupils, and no heat-sensing pits, while the rattlesnake has a longer, more slender body and a flattened head the same width as the neck, round pupils, and no heat-sensing pits. Cottonmouths have a bigger body, a wedge-shaped head with conspicuous venom glands that are wider than the neck, cat-like pupils, and heat-sensing pits between the eyes and nostrils, and a wedge-shaped head with conspicuous venom glands that are broader than the neck.

Habitat

According to watersnake, water snakes abound throughout the southern and eastern United States. In places like Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi, they are some of the most commonly encountered snakes. Water snakes can also be found in the Midwest and the Western United States, in states such as Illinois, Iowa, and California. For these snakes water bodies and areas around them are the preferred environments. Water snakes can be found near any large body of water, including rivers, lakes, ponds, and marshes, however, they prefer quieter environments. They enjoy sunbathing and seek out locations that aren't too shady. Water snakes seek shelter under flat rocks and logs when they've had their fill of the sun.

Behaviour

Climbing trees and resting on the branches above the water, water snakes are common. They will dive into the water if startled. They are mostly diurnal and solitary animals, however, they do occasionally hunt at night. They hibernate in the winter and are gregarious in the days leading up to and following hibernation.

Water snakes create a musky substance from glands near their tails that can be ejected if they feel threatened. When threatened or irritated, water snakes have been known to defecate and vomit.

N. sipedon is active at all times of the day and night. It can be found basking on rocks, stumps, or bush most of the time. It searches for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, tiny birds, and animals among the plants at the water's edge during the day. It focuses on minnows and other small fish resting in shallow water at night. It hunts by using its senses of smell and sight. The Lake Erie watersnake subspecies, N. s. insularum, was once threatened, but with to the arrival of the round goby, an invasive species that makes up to 90% of its food, it is now thriving.

Hunting and Diet

Fish and amphibians are common prey for water snakes, which feed in or near water (frogs, toads and salamanders). Slow-moving fish are their favourites. When water snakes reach around 1.5 feet (45 cm) in length, they switch from eating fish to eating frogs and larger creatures like salamanders and toads. Smaller water snakes will continue to eat mostly fish. Water snakes eat their prey while it is still alive. They wait for prey to pass by in shallow waters with their mouths out wide, then snap their jaws around it. They also look for prey on the lake or river bottom, looking for it behind rocks, branches, and crevices.

Reproduction

Water snakes achieve sexual maturity at roughly 21 months for males and 3 years for females. Every year, females reproduce and give birth to a litter of roughly 20 live snakes. Water snakes are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs are incubated within the mother's body. Large snakes have been known to have litters of up to 100. Water snakes have a mating season in the spring. Males are attracted to females. Before bringing their cloacal apertures together, the male approaches the female and brushes his chin along her back with periodic spasms. In most seasons, only one male mates with a female, yet two males may mate at the same time. Females have a three- to five-month gestation period.

Other Species

1. Northern Water Snake (Nerodia Sipedon)

Northern water snakes are one of the most frequent species of snake found in the United States. They dwell in the Northeastern United States and southern Ontario, while their range also extends south to Mississippi and Georgia, as well as west to Kansas. Females can grow to be nearly 5 feet long, making them one of the largest water snakes (1.5 meters).

According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, northern water snakes are the most likely to be misidentified with water moccasins. They are brown, tan, or grey in colour, similar to water moccasins. Northern water snakes have dark spots that can blend to seem like bands, while water moccasins have dark bands. Northern water snakes are known for herding fish or tadpoles to the water's edge, where they eat a large number of them at once.

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2. Banded (or Southern) Water Snake (Nerodia Fasciata)

The Southeastern coastal United States, from Alabama to North Carolina, is home to these medium-sized snakes. According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, they range in colour from reddish to light brown to black and feature dark crossbands (SREL). The crossbands on their backs are wide in the middle and thinner on the sides. As the snakes grow older, the crossbands become more difficult to see. Square patterns on the sides of their bellies and a dark stripe from their eyes to their mouths distinguish banded water snakes.

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3. Brown Water Snake (Nerodia Taxispilota)

Brown water snakes, like banded water snakes, can be found along the coastal plain of the Southeastern United States, from the Carolinas to Alabama. They can grow to be huge snakes, with females exceeding 5 feet in length (1.5 m). Males can grow to be as short as 2.5 feet (76 centimeters). Brown water snakes have a characteristic wide head that resembles a diamond when viewed from above, according to the ADW. Because of this, as well as their high-set eyes, they are frequently misidentified with water moccasins and rattlesnakes.

Brown water snakes are brown in colour, as their name suggests. They are usually light to medium brown in colour, with dark brown square splotches running down their backs and flanks. Some of the splotches are hardly visible since the base colour is so dark. They have square and black crescent marks on their bellies, which are yellow or brown in colour. Brown water snakes are known for spending a lot of time in trees.

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4. Yellow-Bellied Water Snake (nerodia Erythrogaster Flavigaster)

These snakes are a subspecies of the plain-bellied water snake and are named for their lack of patterns on their bellies. The yellow-bellied water snake has a yellow underbelly and a dark, poorly patterned back with grey, greenish, or black colouring. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, yellow-bellied water snakes have distinct patterns while they are young, despite their lack of markings as adults.

Yellow-bellied water snakes are medium-sized snakes, with females reaching a length of around 4 feet (1.2 m).

Yellow-bellied water snakes are mostly found along the Gulf Coast, with a range that stretches from Georgia to Texas and southern Iowa.

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5. Red-Bellied Water Snake (Nerodia Erythrogaster Erythrogaster)

This is another plain-bellied water snake subspecies. Their undersides are red-hued, ranging from brilliant orange to yellow-red, as their name suggests. The copper-bellied water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta), a cousin of the red-bellied, has a deeper red underbelly. According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, red-bellied water snakes have brown or grey backs that are mostly unmarked. Juveniles, on the other hand, exhibit different patterns. According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, red-bellied water snakes spend more time on land than most other water snake species. They are frequently spotted crossing roadways and, unlike other water snakes, would normally run to land if attacked.

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6. Lake Erie Water Snake (nerodia Sipedon Insularum)

This once-threatened subspecies of the Northern water snake is again prospering in its environment on the rocky beaches and islands of Lake Erie, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A gentle grey tint with incomplete band patterns distinguishes the Lake Erie water snake. It's a medium-sized snake, with females reaching a length of roughly 3.5 feet (1 m).

Since the introduction of the round goby fish in the 1990s, its diet has changed. The Lake Erie water snake's diet now consists of 90% invasive goby fish and 10% native fish.

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Conservation

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, most varieties of water snakes are not endangered (IUCN). Two species, however, are listed on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

Because their ranges are limited to around 1,900 square miles (5,000 square kilometres) in north-central Texas, the Brazos River water snake (Nerodia harteri) and the Concho water snake (Nerodia paucimaculata) are designated as Near Threatened. Their populations, on the other hand, are regarded to be steady. The Concho water snake was delisted from the Endangered Species List by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 2011 because its population had reached "viable" levels.