My first hot!!!!!

Starbuck · 03-30-14, 07:58 AM

This is the beast!! Pretty sure this is a water moccasin/cottonmouth, we couldn't get too close to the head to see, but it was significantly larger than the other two nerodia fasciata (banded water snakes) we saw, and right in the middle of the pic you should be able to make out the head, with a really classic white line running from the eye.

Im so excited to have finally seen my first wild venomous snake!!! Now i just need to knock off the corals, rattlers,and copperheads

This one was hidden under some brush and i couldn't ID 100 percent so i wasn't gonna mess with it, but I'm presuming nerodia

The first nerodia we saw, very heavy girthed, and swam into the water before i could grab her, i was so excited that i forgot to take pictures before i bothered her :P

sharthun · 03-30-14, 08:00 AM

Nice find!!! Congrats!

Jim Smith · 03-30-14, 08:16 AM

What?? You mean you didn't grab it by the tail and take a good look? What kind of a Southern boy are you? Just kidding of course. I've yet to see my first wild snake of the season and this spring has been a roller coaster of temperatures. I live on a lake where I see loads of banded water snakes and the occasional brown water snake, but I've yet to see a water moccasin. Other folks around the lake claim they see moccasins all the time, but I STRONGLY suspect that every snake they see near the water looks like a water moccasin to them. Be careful out there. A venomous snake bite, even if it's treated quickly can be serious.

Starbuck · 03-30-14, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

You mean you didn't grab it by the tail and take a good look? What kind of a Southern boy are you?

Hopefully a pretty crummy southern boy, because I'm a southern gal

I know what you mean though, several other hikers told us to 'be careful, there are some bog black moccasins up on the trail there!!!!!!' I strongly suspect that any snake that is dark and near water is labelled as a moccasin around here. I showed another hiker the picture of the nerodia in the water and he said
'Yep!! That pale blotch behind the eye is a dead giveaway!! Thats a moccasin! Hope you didn't try and touch it!!"
When i asked him about the pupil (because it is ROUND, hmmmmmm) he said my picture quality was too low to tell for sure, but he was convinced it was venomous.

Ok, sir >.>

Next time i will be bringing my snake hook so i can investigate any snakes in brush piles

Primal Rage · 03-31-14, 05:32 PM

Definitely not HOT.. Nice looking water snake all the same. It's pupils are round and it's head is not triangular. Looks like an intergrade or some northern species that I am not familiar with. Very nice pics though! I was able to zoom in on my iPad and see the pupils and shape of the head perfectly!

Starbuck · 04-01-14, 04:49 AM

There were three individual snakes that we found. The first photo is the water mocassin. I know that the other two are nerodia fasciata. The first photo was as close as I could get, and I didnt have any snake hooks or suitable branches to try and visualize the head better, but there is a distinct white band behind the eye, and the size of the snake and light to dark coloration over that tail lead me to beleive that it was a mocassin.

Primal Rage · 04-01-14, 05:00 AM

They all look like Nerodia to me. The snake in the first pic looks way too skinny to be a cottonmouth. Most adults have the build of a ball python.(even right out of brumation)Also the colors don't look right.

Looks like your in the right place for them! I see more of them in swampy, temperate forest areas versus lakes and creeks.

knox · 04-01-14, 06:50 AM

Yep, definitely not a hot. Looks to be a water snake

Starbuck · 04-01-14, 07:48 AM

It looked very similar to the cotton mouth at our local zoo, which is also not as heavy bodied add some of the cotton mouths I have seen online. I think without a clear shot of the head and full body it can't be certain either way. From being there and setting the snake in person, though I couldn't get better pictures, I'm pretty confident thatit wasn't a nerodia. It was significantly larger than the other two nerodia, coloration was very different, and that distinct white line behind the eye isn't something I've seen on nerodia (you can see party odd the head in the middle of the picture).
additionally all these snakes were seen within 100 yards of one another, and it doesn't make sense to me that the coloration of the nerodia in this 100 yard radius would be this variable in color?

Do you both think it is a banded water snake? It seems way to light colored to be the same species. ..?

Primal Rage · 04-01-14, 01:51 PM

Now that you mention it, you CAN kinda see a white stripe above the eye in the first pic. It's head appears more triangular than most Nerodia as well. The tail just looks too thin and whispy to be a cottonmouth. Good thing you didn't grab it!! And yes, you can see huge variations in patterns in Nerodia when you have multiple sub species sharing the same habitat. Bring a hook or a good stick next time and be CAREFUL!

pdomensis · 04-01-14, 01:54 PM

you guys are better than me. I don't even see a head in the first pic!

wareagleA5 · 04-02-14, 09:03 PM

Have you ever caught a water snake before? Those have to be the meanest snakes ever.

Derek Roddy · 04-03-14, 06:48 AM

That first one is a moccasin. Fairly standard condition at that.

D

MDT · 04-03-14, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek Roddy

That first one is a moccasin. Fairly standard condition at that.

D

Yep...I agree. Cool pics!