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what water snake can give bad bites? how big does it get? how big an enclosure will it need? what is its temperment like? if agressive will it remain so for its entire life? if none will give bad bites and remain aggressive for its life what water snake will remain aggressive for its entire life? and could a begginer keep it?

Why on earth would you want a snake that will bite people? I think you need to examine your motives for keeping a snake.

To answer your questions, most Nerodia bite savagely when first caught and quickly calm down (sometimes within minutes of capture). Obviously larger snakes can cause more damage than smaller snakes. I'm not sure about the Asian or Neotropical species.

Ah, and I wouldn't recommend a water snake as a first snake. They can be difficult to switch to mice, and fish and amphibians are often unavailable or carry parasites. They are also finicky about humidity and prone to skin infections and shed problems if conditions are not just right.

A garter, king, or corn is probably a better first snake. And in my experience, kings are often feistier.

agreed. for a first snake, do NOT get a water snake.

get a great plains ratsnake. It's the only snake I've ever seen that's easier to take care of than a corn.

and to answer your question about which water snake bites the worst, in my experience it would be the diamond back water snake. Those things are huge and they bite like a chainsaw.
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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

i want a bad biter with a nasty temperment because i want learn hook handeling and how not to get bit in worst case senarios like a snake wanting to bite you whenever you open the cage, because eventually i would like to own venomous snakes and i figured water snakes because they can be mean and give bad bites, plus alot of them don't get to big. humidity disen't seem like a big deal, if i pay attention it shouldn't be a problem. but switching fish to mice would be the hard part becaus i don't know how to do that. how is switching from fish to mice done? thank you for the info.

switching water snakes to mice can be tricky and depends greatly on the individual snake. I have 4 water snakes and one took mice instantly. two only eat fish and one only eats frogs. to switch them, you rub fish or frogs on their mice to get the scent and then try to feed them. this works sometimes. you basically have to keep trying over and over again until they take it.

If you want to eventually own hots (venomous snakes) I don't think that a water snake is the way to go. Here's why: All 4 of mine tamed down within 3 days of capture with no handling. The only time they tried to bite was during capture.

You can practice hooking and handling biters without owning them. Try capturing a few water snakes or racers and handling them. After a few minutes of practice, release the snake and find another. Or buy a wild caught Texas Ratsnake. They usually have a bad temper and will keep it unless handled frequently (I have scars to prove it).

If you get a good biter, practice cleaning his cage weekly and do NOT handle him. You want him to stay mean. remove the snake and place him in another container. Every time he bites you, write "I could be dead" on a post-it not and stick it to the cage. After a year, look at all the notes and decide if you still want a hot.

But you should get some corns or ratsnakes first and learn what it's like to raise a snake BEFORE you decide to get something that can inflict $16,000 worth of medical bills in a fraction of a second.

That's why I don't have any hots.
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1.0.0 Great Plains Ratsnake
1.0.0 Corn, Lavender Aztec het for Amel
0.1.0 Black Ratsnake
0.0.1 Texas Rat (tame)
1.0.0 Broad Banded Water Snake, Hypo
1.0.0 Black Bassador Retriever
2.1.0 Godchildren, 1 Evil, 2 possible hets

That's why I avoid hots as well. I'd gladly ante up for a cobra, but if it escaped custidy

My children, dog, cats, ETC... worth too much.

Even the most seasoned handler can face the most unexpected scenario.

If mr. viper should break free of his prison, and wind up in the laundry basket just as Mrs. Herper does the wash. NOT GOOD

Peace,
Wayne A. Harvey

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1.2.9 Storeria dekayi Casper, Xena, Athena, & Kids
0.0.2 Thamnophis marcianus - Checkered Garter Snakes
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - common Garter - Princess
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua"
0.1.10 Storeria occipitomaculata - Red Belly snakes
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Juvinile CB
0.1.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" CB
0.1.0. Green Anole "Crystal" WC
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
1.2.0. Feline"Felix" "Kaja" & "Silver"
0.1.0. calico RAT
2.4.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

If you want to learn hook handling, go into the field and look for snakes. You should be able to find plenty of docile snakes to learn the proper handling method (i.e. rat snakes). After perfecting your methods with the docile snakes, then you can move onto the more aggressive species. I wouldn't spend money on a snake you have difficulty handling if you don't have the experience. You'd just be wasting money.

The nastiest non venomous critter we have here in Va.(in my opinion)would be a black racer and they are plentiful! lol! Jeff

A black racer is the only nonvenomous snake I will consider wearing gloves for. LOL

how big does it get? how big an enclosure does an adult need? and would it be a begginer snake?

Again, I will reiterate what I (and others) said in earlier posts: go out in the field and work with wild snakes. They are most likely to give you an aggressive response than an animal that is used to your presence.

I have never owned a black racer, but I've encountered plenty of them in the wild. Most of these were between 4 and 5 feet and were pretty nasty. I don't know how much they relax (if at all) in captivity.

Have you ever owned a snake before?

if you are new to the hobby and not familiar with waters and racers, then why on earth would you consider a venomous snake?

i wasn't considering keeping a venomous snake for a long time i merely wanted to find an aggressive snake that may hekp me prepare for venomous ones.

ok, dude, if u want an aggresive snake, u first gotta know that most are nervous and finiky and dont settle down well[cept waters] black racers drop like flies in the hands of even highly experienced keepers, it takes alot of knowledge and experience to keep snakes like that. the best thing i can tell you is get a corn snake, king snake, a book on how to care for it, work with it, get use to caring for one, then get something a little harder, like a captive raised water[if u can find one], after u gat the hang of it, which takes around two years, then go after an aggresive snake as a "pet", the best i know of is a coachwip. get a BIG one, clean its cage once a week, new water everyday, hook handle it every two weeks. do this for a year. eveytime it bites you, put a note on its cage saying"i could be dead right now, and if i live, ill owe the hospitol 16,000 " then deside if you wana keep venomous. all the while, handle wild snakes, theyll give you a run for your money, read up on ALL snakes, venomous or non. and when u think ur ready, if u have to ask "whats a good beginner venomous?" then your NOT ready. good luck