Species

Common watersnake

Nerodia sipedon

A thick-bodied, harmless water snake of north Georgia's streams and ponds, often mistaken for a cottonmouth.

Photo Ashwin Srinivasan (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Misconceptions

At a glance

Size: Usually 60 to 110 cm long
Habitat: Streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and marshes
Diet: Fish, frogs, salamanders and crayfish
In Georgia: The mountains and Piedmont
Venomous: No
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Brown to grey with dark crossbands near the head breaking into blotches along the body; belly with half-moon marks; round pupils; darkens with age
Told apart from: Northern cottonmouth, which is heavier, has a broad head with a dark eye stripe, vertical pupils and floats high in the water
Where to look: Basking on rocks, logs and branches over water

Behaviour

Watersnakes hunt fish and frogs in the water and bask on branches above it, dropping in when disturbed. Cornered, they flatten their bodies, bite readily and smear musk, but they are not venomous.

Why they matter

They are important predators in streams and ponds and are prey for herons, hawks and larger snakes. Watersnakes are killed in great numbers by people who mistake them for cottonmouths.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Young — Born live, often 10 to 40
Size at birth — About 16 to 27 cm
Maturity — In about three years
Breeding — Every year
Lifespan — About 10 years
Diet shift — Young eat small fish and tadpoles

Living around people

Watersnakes are harmless if left alone; they bite only when grabbed.
A snake basking over a pond is almost certainly a watersnake; it will drop into the water if you step back.

Misconceptions

Every thick snake in water is a cottonmouth. In north Georgia, most are watersnakes.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Sheltering	Sheltering	Emerging	Mating	Active	Active	Active	Young born	Young born	Active	Sheltering	Sheltering

Where it lives

Recorded in 36 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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