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well i took the dogs for a walk around a pong just down the street, and i saw a black snake in the water. i was about 4 feet long. it look like it had some red around the side of it and i dont knwo what th eblly looked like. it had a very blunt pointy head. i tossed a frog in the water and to my supprise he went for it and took it underwater and im assuming he ate it. when i tried to grab him (around his middle) he was so thick that my fngers did not touch around on the other side of him. unfortunatly he tried to bite me to i dropped him and he swam away...... anyone know what kind he was?

.

north eastern connecticut

Sounds like water snake, maybe, but be careful as cottonmouths greatly resemble water snakes! If you aren't 100% certain of what a snake is don't mess with it!
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~redmom~
My Email
1.0 corn snake "Ed"

the description is pretty ambiguous..."blunt pointy head"? Normally something is either blunt OR pointy, but not both...

Anyway, a solid black snake with some red on the side sounds to me more like a Mud Snake than anything else (especially considering the proximity to water), although they aren't encountered during the day that often. But, we still have to know what part of the country to make even an educated guess.

I never said I was edumicated (lol). It was just a guess. I'm fairly new to the snake scene but I like trying to figure these out and didn't want to wait for a locale so I prematurely guessed. My biggest point was not to messed with a snake you are not familair with, esp. bigguns.

I bet my guess was wrong again, so far, I've only gotten one id right...lol...but i'm learning, thanks to y'all!
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~redmom~
My Email
1.0 corn snake "Ed"

It is really hard to make a reasonable guess w/o a location and take redmom's advice: If you do happen to live in the south the last thing you wanna be doing is grabbin at large snakes, esp. ones in the water. I will venture to guess that you may have seen a mud snake based on the info you have provided (non-venomous, relatively heavy-bodied semi-aquatic snake). It would however be a very good idea to familiarize yourself w/ dangerous snakes in your area esp. if you plan to capture them.

Location is the big problem here (as stated). My experience with amateurs has shown me that color discriptions is not that reliable...Dark brown can be called "Black", orange-"Red". Especially when dealing with a wet snake. I once had some one bring me a corn snake she swore was a coral snake because it was "coral colored". the quick strike at a frog indicates a more likely encounter with a watersnake (Nerodia). The question I would ask would be did it feel rough or smooth when you grabbed it?
Frank

it was black. no question about it. it had a weird head, what i mean was that it looks like is had a flat face except w/ a point nose area part thing (lol) i was thinking it might have been an eastern hognose. but i dont know...

It is possible. You are in the hognose range...But it would have to be a very old snake as the record size (Conant)is about 45". The quick strike on the frog and aquatic nature though doesn't sound like one to me. One thing is for sure. It is not a Mud snake. Your way out of it's range. You might want to pull up Hognoses on the net and see if that looks like it.
Frank

Hognose wouldnt have tried to bite either most likely. Nor would they probably eat under water. My guess is Nerodia sipedon. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Yep, considering the location, I'd have to go with Water Snake...

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible to identify a snake on here without a picture, location, etc. Sometimes it's tough even then. The descriptions you get on here sometimes are cryptic to say the least.

Haha cryptic is an understatement. I know what you mean buddy. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

it wasnt a northern water snake it didnt have a pattern like one... maybe black rat? or black racer? i have no idea but it wasnt northern water

You dead sure? Patterns can vary...Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

Some older water snakes, including Northern Water snakes, lose their pattern entirely - resulting in a plain black or dark brown snake. Given the length and girth, I would lean toward a big old Northern Water snake. It seems too big to be a melanistic Eastern Hognose, and too "fat" to be a 4-foot Black Rat or N. Black Racer. In northeastern Connecticut, there aren't a whole lot of other choices.
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MichaelB

You really don't have a lot of choices there. The "frog" makes a black rat very unlikely...and the girth...it's been said. Hogs will generally hiss and spread a hood if molested and have a sharp upturned snout...you really can't mistake them for anything...Have you looked at a picture of one? That leaves a watersnake.
Frank