Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey.

I saw this snake in Fishing Creek Lake in South Carolina.
Any thoughts on what kind it is? From my own research,
I think it may be a Banded Water Snake, but I'm not sure.
To help with scale, the head was approximately 2 inches wide
and 3 inches long. I've seen many snakes like this in the lake,
but this one was the largest.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Northern Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon). Completely harmless.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thanks for the reply, that seems to be correct. I was thinking it was a Southern Water Snake a.k.a. Banded Water Snake (nerodia fasciata) like the one shown here, and they both seem to look very similar, although there is a range of colors and patterns for both species. Thanks again.