Characteristics:
    A large, up to 4ft, thick bodied snake. The back is usually light brown to tan with dark or reddish brown bands or blotches. Back scales are heavily keeled. Coloration varies a bit from location to location. Juveniles have a much more prominent pattern.

*Note there are 2 subspecies; the northern watersnake (N. s. sipedon) and the midland watersnake (N. s. pleuralis). They can be distinguished by counting the number of colored bands.


Habitat:
    Found in swamps, lakes, rivers, creeks, really anywhere with water. Often observed basking in trees or on logs over hanging the water.


Behavior:
    The most common watersnake in IL and MO. These guys can be found almost anywhere with a water source. They mate in the early summer and give birth to live young in July or August. Their diet consists, almost entirely, of fish and amphibians. The northern watersnake, being so common, is often encountered by humans who kill them, thinking it is a venmous snake. While the northern watersnake will readily bite and musk, they are otherwise completely harmless.


Personal Remarks:
    This snake is an easy find around here. We can seriously go to any location that has a permanent water source and find them. We usually avoid handling them because they are such a hassle. It is pretty much guaranteed that you are going to get bit, pooped on, and musked if you handle one of these. They are still a pretty cool snake to see. The juveniles have a very nice pattern that reminds me of a copperhead.
    This is the snake that, in my experience, gets misidentified the most around here. I can't count how many times I have had people tell me they have "cottonmouths all over their lake" only to find a northern watersnake when I go to investigate. Seems no matter how many times I tell people that the cottonmouths only live in a few counties in IL, they still tell me they see them. Even when they are hundreds of miles north of where the cottonmouths live.