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A few of the watersnake

MegF.

MegF.

That's for sale???
Took a few of my Northern watersnake after moving him into the bigger cage that used to have my cottonmouth in it. He likes the space, the cotton is stressed by it...so he got moved to the smaller cage. We'll see how THAT goes! The pictures aren't the best as they were taken through the side of the glass. He's too squirrely to open the lid and expect him to stay perched on his "sunning" spot. He does like to lay out on his new bigger branch and I even got him a plant. These snakes are a lot of fun and have interesting personalities. Very nervous, but this guy has not tried to bite or musk...however there are times when he throws himself around the cage if he thinks there's danger! Highly underrated snakes!
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too neat! I have never seen one of these before, :)

he looks soo happy in his new home.
thanks for sharing! :eek:
 
That's a pretty good sized one. Does it eat mice or do you feed it fish. Bad thing about fish is that it goes right through them (ewww).
 
I say dye him green and put him in a Maxwell-style cage. :p

I miss the 2 I had as a kid in Myrtle Beach.
 
HeavenHell said:
That's a pretty good sized one. Does it eat mice or do you feed it fish. Bad thing about fish is that it goes right through them (ewww).
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Yes- something I didn't know for awhile but you can change their diets. But I don't like watersnakes ESPECIALLY COTTONMOUTHS! - It takes a very special person to deal with them. To me it's like playing with skunks. Nothing against them as a whole- but not my cup of tea.

I have tried to tame a watersnake or two and saw it was possible, but they are just too quirky for me- know what I mean?

My hat is off to you- because I think these are the hardest snakes to deal with.

JMHO.
 
Yeah they are one of my least favorite wild snakes to handle. It seems if they're not musking or biting they are doing that annoying death roll. I always enjoy seeing them though.
 
HeavenHell said:
Yeah they are one of my least favorite wild snakes to handle. It seems if they're not musking or biting they are doing that annoying death roll. I always enjoy seeing them though.
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I don't remember which of the 2 are worse and/or bite faster....Nerodia or Nasty-cophis.
 
HeavenHell said:
Yeah they are one of my least favorite wild snakes to handle. It seems if they're not musking or biting they are doing that annoying death roll. I always enjoy seeing them though.
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Well the only snakes I don't enjoy seeing have politically paid for ads on TV.
 
Well to answer questions...he is taking scented mice. I bought a bunch of catfish to feed him but found out that they too contain thiaminase...which sucks...because I could have gotten perch or bass instead and those would have been fine. He did eat a few fish and I didn't notice a real problem as far as stinky poops or anything, but he readily takes fish scented mice and I imagine after a while, he'll take unscented....might throw him a fish now and then to get rid of them just for fun.
As far as dying him green and putting him in a maxwell cage, I've got a room full of green snakes in maxwell cages...don't need another :)
Just for the record...watersnakes are NOT cottonmouths...watersnakes are non venomous snakes and cottonmouths of course are venomous. Switching their cages though has made a difference. My cottonmouth was not eating in the other cage and he took a meal this evening in his new, smaller cage. Once he's out of quarantine, he'll be in one of my smaller custom cages and I think that will suit him beautifully. He is otherwise and easy snake. Works well on the hook and takes a lot to get him striking at something.
My watersnake has not tried to bite and is actually pretty good when handling him. He's a bit squirmy to be sure, but no musking and no biting. I found one in my backyard a few months ago and it tried to bite me once when I first caught it, but after that it just hung out. I find they do calm down with gentle handling and mine is starting to figure out that nothing happens to him when I open cages and often there is food...he's an eating machine!
When I first got him I fed him a live goldfish to see if he'd eat at all and then try to tempt him to take a mouse (didn't work by the way) but it was fun to watch him hunt the fish and change his hunting technique to suit the water bowl size. They are pretty smart!
Now that I've figured out how to scent his food (just put the thawed rat in the bag with a catfish) he's chomping down like a champ. Today was the first time he took it by the head...they tend to grab mid body first and they are super fast eaters. Good fun! I like em!
 
Nice snake!
How many species do you have now Meg? and if it's not cheeky, any chance of seeing your snail-eaters eating?
 
I have 11 species of snake I think if my count is right. I only have one picture of a snail eater eating a snail. They generally eat f/t slugs or canned snails but here is the picture.
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No, they are non venomous. Their jaws are fixed as they don't have a quadrate bone to give them better leverage while prying the snail out. They leave the shell after they're done. They are pretty cool little snakes.....this particular genus is not much to look at but there are some beautiful mimics out there that look like the pink and green eyelash vipers in coloration. Sadly, you never see those in the pet trade and even these are rare.
 
wow Meg!!

you have an amazing collection!
I would love too see all your animals, its like you have your own mini herp zoo! ;) :eek:

..too flippen neat!
 
If you're ever in South Carolina, look me up! Best to come in the spring and we can do a little field herping and catch a few racers and ratsnakes....maybe find a cottonmouth or two! Still looking for a copperhead...own one but haven't found one out in the field yet. plenty of canebrake's too.....we have every species of snake found in South Carolina but one or two here in Aiken County. I do enjoy showing off my snake room and my collection. You can come hold Tempest and fall in love :)
 
MegF. said:
If you're ever in South Carolina, look me up! Best to come in the spring and we can do a little field herping and catch a few racers and ratsnakes....maybe find a cottonmouth or two! Still looking for a copperhead...own one but haven't found one out in the field yet. plenty of canebrake's too.....we have every species of snake found in South Carolina but one or two here in Aiken County. I do enjoy showing off my snake room and my collection. You can come hold Tempest and fall in love :)
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jekxirnsajksligff!! **drools**.. :(:(

why, WHY? could I not be raised in Texas?! or any part of the states for that matter..:(
lol I'm seriously considering giving up free health care to go see wild snakes everyday in my backyard.. :( ;)

you guys are too lucky,
 
Justine66 said:
jekxirnsajksligff!! **drools**.. :(:(

why, WHY? could I not be raised in Texas?! or any part of the states for that matter..:(
lol I'm seriously considering giving up free health care to go see wild snakes everyday in my backyard.. :( ;)

you guys are too lucky,
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We have a little city in Texas called South Padre Island. Not a very large population by Texas standards. .. (normally).It's only a few miles from Mexico and on the Gulf.During spring break the population swells to capacity as college kids from all over the country come to party. Then as winter sets in we get all the "Winter Texans". Mainly retired folks with RV's that enjoy waking up to 70°f temps on February mornings. How's that saying go..." it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. .." They all have the good sense to head north before summer.

While it's true every state in the Union has snakes in it's backyards, a lot have two legs and spend most of their time in Washington D.C.:dancer:

I might just trade with you - snakes are cheaper than healthcare! But if you came to Texas in summer from Canada- you might need more than healthcare. Maybe final expense life insurance? :laugh:

That's like me going there in the middle of winter with my collection of pocket T-shirts.:laugh:
 
Oscarsdad said:
We have a little city in Texas called South Padre Island. Not a very large population by Texas standards. .. (normally).It's only a few miles from Mexico and on the Gulf.During spring break the population swells to capacity as college kids from all over the country come to party. Then as winter sets in we get all the "Winter Texans". Mainly retired folks with RV's that enjoy waking up to 70°f temps on February mornings. How's that saying go..." it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. .." They all have the good sense to head north before summer.

While it's true every state in the Union has snakes in it's backyards, a lot have two legs and spend most of their time in Washington D.C.:dancer:

I might just trade with you - snakes are cheaper than healthcare! But if you came to Texas in summer from Canada- you might need more than healthcare. Maybe final expense life insurance? :laugh:

That's like me going there in the middle of winter with my collection of pocket T-shirts.:laugh:
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:laugh::laugh: you just about made me die! I actually just experienced something similar this past August I went to Jamaica for my grandmothers 85th birthday, and yeah us Canadians arnt cut out for that kind of heat! 3 of us had heat stroke and the rest all blistered! and that was with spf 100 sunblock!

neadless to say were not designed to handle that sort of heat!! :p :laugh:
 
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