saw 3 water snakes yesterday but they were had to catch because of where they were. Caught one and he was very docile, didnt try to bite at all, it was weird, and when i put him back in the water i was gonna touch his tail so he would go to the other side of the creek he was at. Even then he was docile, it was a nice day, a friend of mine also caught a nice pickeral
water snakes
- Thread starter snakehunter7
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ya i know i want to get a cheap one, how much is a cheap one that works good, my moms got one, but its so small that you can't even see what your taking pics of, i really want to start putting pics up here
My friend Andrew and I went out Sunday looking for a Kingsnake...no luck with them, but found 9 Nerodia. One was a nice big one out basking after eating a frog, andrew was about to grab it but missed and i jumped in the water after him, was a pretty heroic catch! I'll post pics later.
I applaud your enthusiasm, but getting pooped on and bit by a water snake seems like too small a reward 
!
I use a Kodak easyshare 5.0 megapixel. Not too many bells and whistles but good enough for me. Has digital zoom but you loose quality. I like the macro feature the best for close ups.
!I use a Kodak easyshare 5.0 megapixel. Not too many bells and whistles but good enough for me. Has digital zoom but you loose quality. I like the macro feature the best for close ups.
i was just out fishing and saw another water snake, it was one of the ones from the other day, he had a small scar on his back, it didnt impare his movement or anything, especially since he got away from me and my friend, pretty snake though. bout 1 1/2 feet
Some of the water snakes we found, and also a painted turtle decided to throw in there..in one of the pics you can see how wet i got catching the water snake. I can see getting soaked for something like a kingsnake or something, but a water snake? what was i thinking?
its a nice find, i know how you feel though, i wouldnt normally jump in for water snakes, but when its hard to find herps, those guys are always around, so there cool, cause for me there just about a sure thing
I admit to being a little hesitant to handle a water snake. They are nasty buggers. When I was a kid in Presidential Lakes my they were very numerous in the swamp the lakes empty into. We used to pin them down with a stick and they fought back aggressively.
So, my hats off to you.
So, my hats off to you.
When I was going to Stockton there used to be tons of water snakes in the bogs at the north east side of Lake Fred. I used to catch them to impress my girlfriend (now my wife). In retrospect I don't think it mattered that much to her. Anyway, they are generally very agressive, even more than the rat snakes in my opinion and experience
Jeff
Jeff
snakehunter7 said:
A docile watersnake? Back in the day when they were good 'ol Natrix sipedon they were very feisty, nasty, snappy bastards! I used to collect them in Fairfield Co. Connecticut and Westchester Co. New York and two or three times each summer I'd take a bunch in to the Bronx Zoo where they were prized as cobra food. I used to trade them for a few interesting newly hatched / born snakes from the zoo's collection. The head reptile keeper, Steve Spencook, used to tell me that handling the common watersnake was good practice for skills and hand-eye coordination useful in handling pit vipers. Indeed, I have to admit that few of the crotalids I've handled have ever been quite as full of piss and vinegar as is your average common watersnake!
Now a few years back it was a slow year in herpetology so the herpetological nomenclaturial powers-that-be (powers-that-were?) passed their otherwise boring afternoons re-naming herps ... and the well-known and long beloved genus Natrix became ...Nerodia. Come t'think of it, maybe thru pride in that fancy new name the ornery ol' watersnake started puttin' on airs and became ... you guessed it... docile? Too bad if so. They used to be a good challenge to bare-hand behind the head when they were in a coil. I used to impress any friend who was along on the snake hunt that it kept me "...sharp for rattlers..." Of course, when I finally did start catching and handling the pit vipers, I never was foolhardy enough to try such a stunt.
Best t'y'all,
Dave
Interesting...I still catch them in Fairfield County, CT (where I live). Because of the anti-coagulant saliva, a bite from these snakes bleeds...a lot. I remember about 11 years ago, I caught a full grown Northern who had recently swallowed a turtle. By the shape of it, it was most likely a Musk Turtle (Snernotherus odoratus).
just about every one of them i catch is very nasty, they dont really stand there ground at all, its just when you pick them up, the first thing they do is try to get a piece of you
snakehunter7 said:
Now that you mention it. I recall the black rat snakes as "standing their ground" more than the water snakes, but once caught, well, we've established their disposition. I remember a long time ago, my brother, who is 7 years my senior, caught a water snake when canoeing in the pine barrens. He brought it home and we kept in for quite a while. Over time I recall that it became docile and accustom to human handling (not like a captive bred python though). I remember catching a huge black rat snake and keeping him for a while and he became pretty tame. By tame I mean they didn't try to immeditely get away or bite us when we let them go.
I don't condone the captivity of wild animals at all. When I was a kid, my brother and I didn't know any better. We always let them go eventually.
Jeff
Jeff, I think every little kid who is interested in the outdoors collects a few reptiles. Its the guys who continue to do it when they get older and think that they can somehow make a living that way that piss me off. As for the water snakes saw two on tuesday I never try to pick up snakes because of a lack of expierience in handling them, at some point i'm going to give it a shot though.
It's not so much the bite, it's the stuff coming out the other end I don't like. Either way Natrix sipedon( how I knew them also) is still fun. As for rat snakes, I have a pair of black rats. One given to me as a wild caught baby from upper Bucks co, PA and a female captive born het for something. Both now around 5 ft. The male from upper bucks is as tame as any corn snake while the female captive born is as mean as ever! I use the male in my talks at the local elementary school.
As a kid, I would catch and keep water snakes for the summer then let them go before school started again. Not one became docile unless it was cold!
As a kid, I would catch and keep water snakes for the summer then let them go before school started again. Not one became docile unless it was cold!
Mike_Future said:
Mike,
Whereabouts in Fairfield County be ye? I used to live between Springdale and New Cannan on Woodway Rd. Near the Woodway Golf course - in and around the water hazards of which I had my first childhood interactions with N.sipedon back in the 40's.
Dave