A very common aquatic snake with a short, stout body, this Water Snake may be either reddish, black and white banded, or mostly black in color. When threatened, this snake will flatten its body causing the head to assume a triangular shape much like a poisonous Pit Viper. Upon capture the Water Snake will release musk and occasionally defecate. Sometimes confused with the poisonous Cottonmouth, the Water Snake is unjustly killed.

Latin Name: Nerodia Fasciata Pictiventris

Habitat: Swamp, Marsh, River

Diet: Fish, Frogs