Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been looking at different web sites on water snake and i must admit i'm a bit confused. I see pictures of Sipedon, fasciata and pictiventris that look quite the same...Is there an easy way to differenciate these three species ?

thx

mizar

Pictiventris and fasciata are subspecies of Nerodia fasciata. Sipedon is its own species with different subspecies. I would think the easiest way to tell them all apart would be their belly pattern. If you have any sort of field guide it will show you the discrepencies in ventral patterns. Kind of hard to describe in words. Andy
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Andy Maddox
The Reptizone

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

Hey there Mizar21, Snakeguy88 has pretty much said it all! You like the rest of us are having the same problem. Water snake ID, at least in North America, requires that the belly of the snake be shown with the dorsal view. This would help us all in more rapid and sure identification of species. I'm also sure that many of the snakes that you mention have also been identified or described incorrectly adding to the confusion. It's not all bad, it's just that "herp culture" is just beginning to recognise these wonderful, hardy and beautiful snakes. Some of us were born with a passion for these semi-aquatics and some are just being introduced. Either way, we'll get it right eventually.
Even here on this forum (I'm guilty of this in particular) we tend to offer profiles and dorsal views without vent shots where we should always, where at all possible, provide ventral photos as well. In fact, when I first began photographing my nerodia I took excellent belly shots ... then I lost them!!! But you can't sue me just because I'm stupid so ... I'm in the process of making sets of dorsal/ventral pictures now.
The people on this forum provide such a variety of unique colour/patterns as well as species/subspecies that many of us (me) cannot be absolute with ID in many cases. You're not alone, but it will get better! It's all in the technique.
Michael

Thx for your help ! Yes thats what i was starting to think , that some of these sites may have incorrectly pictured some snakes and i'm sure its not intentional. I just cant wait to have a digital camera so i can show you my snake ! Maybe then you can help me find the exact species, not that it matter much anyway I wont change anything in his care if he was a fasciata or a pictiventris ! He's my first snake and even if sometimes i have a bit of trouble finding him fresh and live food (he still eat frozen trout piece from time to time). I find him a fascinating little creature

what is funny is that he stir some interest in some of my friends who all have pythons...and find that a water snake is too common...lol !

Mizar

Yeah, I hear what you're saying about inspiring others. Water snakes are so much more active in every way (feeding, moving about their cages, etc) that they tend to be much more rewarding than most of the boid species as well as other herps. Being able to handle a nerodia is quite an accomplishment as well. It suggests good husbandry (when you don't get shredded)!

One thing I noticed, or was made very clear to me by my snakes ... I ran out of trout and did not feed the big guys for quite some time (3-4 weeks). I assumed this to be OK as they had been eating tremendous volumes for a long time. Well anyway, two of the three acted as though they had never seen me before! They did come out and take the food from my hand as usual but, I could tell that they were extremely wary. You could "feel" the tension they were experienceing. It seems that all my efforts to aclimate them to me was lost in the time that I was "absent" from them. These two in particular had not allowed me to pick them up before, however I was able to touch them/move them without a threat response. Now I have to start from scratch. In the future I'll make regular "visits" to maintain that familiarity where they think "OK, no worries, he'll go away in a minute" rather than "holy crap, Im gonna die if I don't do something ...!!!"
Michael