Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not knocking on water snakes in any way...
but I know it couldn't have been their angelic personalities :-P
and except for juvies, most of the watersnakes I've encountered around here have been pretty muddy-looking

which makes me wonder...why are they prettier on the belly than the back?

So what do you like about your watersnakes? What got you into them? This kind of stuff interests me...

thanks people
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.Owen.:.

"Wound opens; reveal this broken man and soon, there's notions of blood on his hands."

"That Owen kid...man...he really loves that snake of his." ~Owen

Yes, it is true that a lot of watersnakes can be drab in color and be extremely defensive when caught in the wild. However, they almost always become tractable in captivity and can become ouright tame with a patient handling regime.

As for coloration, some species and subspecies of Nerodia can be brilliantly patterned and rival the kingsnakes and ratsnakes in beauty. Plus Nerodia have personalities that cannot be matched among captive snakes. They are very curious and alert snakes and make for wonderful observation when in a naturalistic setup. I love watching my Mangroves emerge in the morning to bask in the branches below their heat lamp.

In my opinion their most drawing attribute is that Nerodia retain a wildness to them that is lost in other popular 'sweaterbox' colubrids. Most of my kingsnakes and ratsnakes (yes, I keep those too) spend most of their time in their hide boxes and I only see them when I'm handing them a mouse.

Finally, there is a lot of unexplored territory in keeping watersnakes. Selective breeding could easily produce some amazing animals and morphs are starting to pop up with some regularity. Look what has happened to Thamnophis in the past several years.

Does that explain it?

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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

I'm sure for me it has a lot to do with the thrill of seeing Northern watersnakes in the wild when I was a kid. For someone who had only seen a few snakes in his life, and all of them smallish garter snakes, the norttherns were amazing beasts. Their size, rugged scalation and sheer mass - especially of the big pregnant females, was exciting. They were particularly exciting once you got your hands on them as they shot down the grassy banks of the levee trying to escape into the marsh. At 14 we wore our bloody bites like badges of honor.

Since then Nerodia have been a favorite. I associate them with my favorite habitat - the marshes and swamps of the south east. In fact, living in Phoenix for 5 years was a drag in part because, in my opinion, herping was just no fun there. You could walk for hours with out seeing hardly a living thing. In the east and south east the same time spent walking along the woods or water ways you would encounter hundreds, if not thousands of critters.

Let me tell you, my whole life I've kept many of the big names in herps- pythons, boas, kings, rats, cribos, etc (as well as a plethora of non-snake herps), but I have always had a soft spot for the smaller, or less-common snakes, not because they are not as common but because they each have an immensely interesting way of doing things. I also (as someone has already mentioned) remember catching them as a kid, and those are some of the best memories I have. I have kept and loved rough green snakes, ringnecks, garters, ribbons, Northern browns, African house, and just recently I have acquired a baby CB Florida banded water snake. Something about handling it, the strongly keeled scales, the way they move in your hands (different from other snakes), the way thier head is shaped (and the way the eyes are positioned on the top of the head)...there are so many attibutes to them that I like. So I will continue to keep at least one representation of one of the "softcore" snakes among the "big honchos" in the room because, I truly am fascinated by them.

Joe
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2.2 Solomen Island ground boas
0.1 Solomen Island tree boa
1.0 green tree python
1.0 jungle carpet python
1.0 coastal carpet python
1.0 Boa constrictor imperator
0.1 Borneo short-tailed (blood) python
0.0.1 CB Florida banded water snake

It's evident that we share a mutual passion and fascination with so many commonalities. Indeed there is no place that I'd rather be than in a quiet, sunlit backwater swamp with shallow ponds and gnarly trees watching heavily-keeled, robust water snakes go about their lives.
As to the attraction of individual nerodia, they offer outstanding as well as subtle beauty in shape, form, colour, pattern and habit. Examples just for a start; the prehensile tailed, ratsnake like Mangroves, anaconda like Greens and cottonmouth like Bandeds. Clearly, I "like" them a lot!

And another, showing larger female, same age snakes.

A Northern (Pierson is familiar with all of these snakes though the pics he sent me where much sharper)

Again, the full intensity of pattern and crispness of colour is not evident in this Florida banded, Pictiventris female.

Finally, this Mangrove picture does'nt do justice (or hold a candle to "someone elses below" but it does represent some variety with regard to the previous photos.
Michael

The babies are growin up! How have you set up your mangroves?
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

The terrarium for the Swampers is a "basic" snake cage. Substrate is Repti-bark, stainless steel (easy to clean) water dish, climbing branch and synthetic plant cover. Overhead, 60 watt light c/w reflector. I went to a craft shop (wife recommended) and found some wicker balls ranging from 3" to 12" diameter. These are wide-spaced woven branch types which are perfect for climbing, shedding and sunning. They look good and are cheap too. There are other shapes to choose from as well. Hide boxes are cardboard or black styrofoam (recycled food) containers.
The big snakes have similar housing save for larger cages and 1-3 gallon "pools".
I do NOT have: running hot/cold water or a drain in the "snake room", nor do I have (yet), water dishes or pools with a plug or tap which would allow flushing and re-filling in seconds. Of course this would require smashing out or drilling holes in the tank bottoms ... perhaps tomorrow?
Michael

Very very awesome snake!
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

I know what you mean, it's the fangs that really threw me off!
I did not understand for the longest time, how could someone mistake a simple, harmless water snake for a venomous moccasin? Well, I got educated! So, look before you grab!!
Michael

He had a broken back and was paralizyed, but now has nearly full mobility, and ate for the first time since I got him a few weeks ago!

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0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
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