Not much I can add, as Doug has done his usual stellar job. One thing..while the young watersnakes might be confused with a young cottonmouth, if you pay attention to the girth, i.d. should not be hard. A neonate cottonmouth is thicker than a yearling Nerodia. Also, while the patterns of the two are similar (though not alike), the colors are definitely different. The young cottonmouth can easily be mistaken for a copperhead, & rightfully so, as they are very closely related.

~~Greg~~
Venomous Snakes of Florida

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