Northern Water Snake - Nerodia sipedon

I love these snakes!

Habitat: Reeds on the edge of a pond

comments (2)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Even from the top you can see their red bands, is that how you recognize it? Posted 5 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, that helps. But, older snakes don't always show as much red and can be pretty dark in color. Northern water snakes are the largest snakes that I usually see (up to 140 cm long) and they have strongly keeled scales, so it's hard to confuse them with other snakes. Plus, they are almost always near water unlike other snakes that could be confused with this species. For example, many people confuse this species with water moccasins, but they don't live in the northeast. Another species often confused with northern water snakes is the northern copperhead, but that species has a triangular head and different coloration. Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago