Water Snake Care Sheet

[rangers]

Well, I have yet to find a detailed care sheet on any search engine, and the library doesnt have anything either. Can someone help me out?

[StudentoReptile]

Not many people keep them, mostly due to their snippy attitudes and preferred diet of cold-blooded prey (fish and frogs).

As Wayne would likely concur, their care is akin to that of a garter snake: i.e. a semi-aquatic snake that dines on fish/amphibians. The main difference is that they grow larger and bulkier.

[Ourobouros]

just did some searches for you. seems similar to garter snake care. here's some stuff:

Water Snake Care Sheet (http://www.neherp.com/herptile-care-sheets/10-snake-care-sheets/120-water-snake-care-sheet)

http://www.petco.com/assets/caresheets/snakes/garter-and-water%20snakes.pdf

http://www.wnyherpsociety.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Garter.104180100.pdf

[Amadeus]

Simple.
-heat ( depending on where you are a native snake may not even require heat or maybe only in the colder months.)
-water
-food
-hideaways

[GarterGirl]

They have the same basic care as garters- same risks and health issues, same basic diet. I love nerodia, and have had a good success rate with them. I would share the following, however:
Housed individually- I find the females can be highly aggressive towards each other and males of similar size. They are not nearly as cohabitation friendly as thamnophis.
Picky eaters- most of the nero I've dealt with find one food they like (maybe two) and will exclusively eat that. My current female even has a preference on the color of the fish I feed her (lighter colors only), and has almost starved herself in her refusal to eat anything else.
Place to dig- Of the ones I've had, only one wasn't a digger. They really enjoy digging down (usually near the water dish). It doesn't seem to be heat or stress related, just a preference.
Water dish size- It should be large enough that they can curl up in it, but not so large that they'll swim around a lot (unless you get them a HUGE tank). They tend to stay in the water too long and end up with skin problems.

Hope that helps!

[Sophia'sSophia]

All I ever keep is watersnakes and thamnophis. I have about 5 years of experience with all manner of ages and a couple different variants. If you want to talk to someone about anything or have any questions I would love to help.