Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was herping in S. Louisiana near Lake Charles (Cameron County) mainly looking for kingsnakes along a bayou. Suddenly in front of me a "water snake" lunged out of a bush and dove under water and hid in the mud and debris on the bottom; Kinda like a bullfrog would do. It happened so fast that I wanted to see what type of water snake this was. So I returned to the same spot 30 minutes later and sure enough - snake, same bush. A splash, and he was gone again deep under water!!! Missed him again!!! I returned 45 minutes later promising myself that I would catch this "water snake" just so I can look at him to see his markings/color. Well I snuck up on him and dove into the bush (Steve Irwin style, LOL), caught the bugger and was shocked to see what I had: A four foot Texas rat snake!!!!!!! I have NEVER seen a rat snake do this and was just curious if anyone else has. By the way, he's still out there. I released him after a short examination. THANKS for reading. I am primarily a King Snake/Indigo guy, but like ALL rat snakes too. So let me know if this behavior has been seen before. I am really curious, since I do like rat snakes too!
Thanks,
ZEE

Yes Texas rats are great swimmers.I own a leuctistic Texas rat snake and he loves to swim around his large water tub.

Thanks for the reply. I just thought it was kind of unusual that a texas rat snake assumes the life of a water snake. You know, basking in a bush overhanging the water and then falling in the water to disappear from predators, only to do it again and again. Keep in mind though that everytime he was doing this, he would stay UNDER the water on the BOTTOM for almost 10 MINUTES!!! (kind of like a bullfrog or leopard frog would do).

Thanks,

ZEE

More than happy to reply. Staying under the water that long is not uncommon either. Snakes can hold their breathe for a lot longer than 10-15 min.

I think its very strange.
How long was this snake? YOu sound so sure it was a TX rat that I have to believe you, but it certainly sounds like the behavior of a natricine.
I imagine it possible, but just about every TX rat I've seen tries the sitting still art of camouflage rather than darting away. Even the ones that do slither away usually do it slowly.
Neat find, in any case.
-----
...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

Thanks for the reply. I did catch the snake and examined it. Been an avid fan of North American colubrids for well over 30 years. I know a lot of folks would think that it WAS a water snake, I did too. But after catching this snake , (by the way - it wasn't easy) IT WAS to my surprise a 3.5 - 4 foot Texas rat snake!!!!! I am only sharing this because I have collected many, many rat snakes in Texas and NEVER seen a behavior that could only be associated with water snakes.