Can you see enough of this snake to identify it? I do not know much about water snakes. This location was at a cottage in a lake near Wolcott NY. (Upstate NY). Could this be a water snake like a Water Moccasin, or could it be something like a Black Rat snake? Would a Black Rat snake go into the lake like this?
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What kind of snake is this?
Skyfire_1
Jul 10, 2011 06:09 PM
Replies (2)
DMong
Jul 10, 2011 07:38 PM
Definitely not a Moccasin whatsoever. It looks to be a Northern Water Snake(Nerodia sipedon). I blew the photo up a bit on a program, and the small stout body, forward high-set eyes, and the head shape, all point to it being a very typical and harmless Northern Watersnake.
~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing" 
chrish
Jul 11, 2011 02:35 PM
This location was at a cottage in a lake near Wolcott NY. (Upstate NY). Could this be a water snake like a Water Moccasin, or could it be something like a Black Rat snake?
This looks like a harmless Northern Watersnake.
It couldn't be a "Water Moccasin" because Water Moccasins (or more correctly, Eastern Cottonmouths) do not occur north of Virginia. There are no venomous "watersnakes" in the NE US.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas
