Water Snakes vs. Water Mocasins

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For this post I decided not to give dates and times because if you live in southern Louisiana its pretty apparent that you'll see a water snake everyday if you know where to look. Water Snakes are a very diverse species, you can find several different patterns and sizes among them. My top two favorite kinds of water snakes are the banded and diamond backed species. If your not sure where to look for one, try any sunny area near or in a creek, canal, ditch, or river. Another promising start is anywhere near slow moving water. Mistaking the water snake for the water mocasin, aka cottonmouth, is one of the most common and apparent errors made when identifying Louisiana snakes . I've provided several pictures of water snakes and one of a water moccasin along with a quiz to test whether or not you can distinguish between the two. Here are some pointers. First check the pupoles, water snakes have circular pupoles while water mocasins have eliptical or cat like eyes. Next check for pits, water snakes are non-venomous, so you won't find any on them, but the water mocasin is a member of the pit-viper family, which has pits for sensing prey. Finally, the last, but not suggested method of determing whether the snake is a water snake or water mocasin is checking its scales. If you flip a venomous snake in Louisiana over you will find that its scales are single, undivided all the way past its anal plate while a non-venomous snake is not. Besides all the anatomical differences, you'll find that a Cottonmouth or Water Mocasin will not run away from you as quickly as a water snake. But I wouldn't count on this either, the water snake on the rock in the picture above actually came on land next to me while I was fishing took my bait and went back in the water. That was pretty much an exception to what I've found elsewhere. All other water snakes I've encountered quicky drop into the water before I have any shot at catching them. One last note here, which is why water mocasins are called cottonmouths, is because when agitated they open there mouth real wide and show off the inside of there mouth which is as white as cotton.

Mud Snake Capture

Species: Farancia abacura

Date: 5/23/08

Time: 2:05 p.m

Temp: 83 F

UV Index: 5 moderate

Humidity: 76%

Sky: mostly cloudy

I found this snake in Mandeville, Louisiana. This was the first mud snake I've ever seen and it was an exciting capture. It had rained hard on and off all day, and I was searching on the side of a canal. I just caught a glimpse of his tail and me and my buddy Ryan couldn't find him after that. Out of no where he swam into the canal and I jumped in after him. Just at 3 1/2 ft he was a beautiful snake. The black of his back glisened and he had a bright red pattern on his belly. Three things struck me about this snake one was that mud snakes have a little point to the end of there tail and they like to try and dig into you with it, but don't worry it can't brake the skin, second they put off a very nasty smell when handled at first, and third they really don't like to bite, they'll mimic like their going to but never actually do it. Hope you like the picture these are of me, my brother and his friend.

Copperhead

Date: May 21, 2008

Species: Agkistrodon contortix linnaeus

Time: 7:20 p.m

Temp: 80 F

UV Index: 0 low

Humidity: 73%

Sky: Fair

This was a very close encounter for my little brother and I. We were hiking through a marshy area in St. Tammany along a string of powerlines. On our way out, this 3ft copperhead was sprawled out on the trail, waiting for his next meal. We stepped within a few feet of him before noticing he was there. Although venomous, this particular snake is not the most deadly in Louisiana. This particular snake was not a very-aggresive specimen, it didn't even move when I tapped his tail to get him off of the trail. Personally, I find the copperhead to have one of the most beautiful patterns of snake species in Louisiana.