Northern Water Snake

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Northern Water Snake

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Nerodia
Species:	N. sipedon

Binomial name

Nerodia sipedon
L., 1758

Subspecies

N. s. insularum
N. s. pleuralis
N. s. sipedon
N. s. williamengelsi

1 Introduction
2 Characteristics
3 Mating
4 Defense against Predators
5 Hibernation
6 Habitats
7 Gallery
8 Sources

[edit] Introduction

The Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon, is a large, well-known colubrid of North America. They are active during the day and at night. They are most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. During the day, these snakes hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, young turtles, and small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.

[edit] Characteristics

Northern Water Snakes grow over four feet long. They can be brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. They have dark crossbands on their necks and dark blotches on the rest of their bodies, often leading to misidentification as cottonmouths or copperheads by novices. They tend to darken as they age. Some will become almost completely black. The belly of this snake also varies in color. It can be white, yellow, or gray. Usually it also has reddish or black crescents.

[edit] Mating

Northern Water Snakes mate in April and June. They are live-bearers, which means they do not lay eggs like most snakes. Instead, they carry them inside their bodies and give birth to baby snakes, each one six to twelve inches long. A female may have as many as 30 young at a time. Babies are born between August and October. Mothers do not care for their young; as soon as they are born, they are on their own.

[edit] Defense against Predators

Northern Water Snakes have many predators, including birds, raccoons, opossums, foxes, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and other snakes. These snakes defend themselves vigorously when they are threatened. If they are picked up by an animal, or person, they will bite, as well as release excrement and musk (bad smelling liquid). Their saliva contains an anticoagulant which can cause its wounds caused by biting to bleed profusely.

[edit] Hibernation

Northern Water Snakes often share Winter dens with other snakes, such as Copperheads and Black Rat Snakes.

[edit] Habitats

Muskrat houses and Beaver lodges are good places to find water snakes, which like to hide among the sticks and plant stems. They live near lakes, ponds, marshes, streams, rivers, and canals; just about anywhere there is water.