Snake ID??? Nerodia ???

[KITKAT]

Is this a nerodia??? It was captured in Ohio. We will release it later, if it is a native species... but want to make sure of that first...

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/nerodia_002c.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/nerodia_004c.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/nerodia_003bc.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/nerodia_001c.jpg

[GarterGuy]

Yep, looks like a big old Northern watersnake...Nerodia sipedon sipedon. Wow....looks like he's had a rather rough life.

Roy

[adamanteus]

I concur. Nerodia sipedon.

[KITKAT]

Yep, looks like a big old Northern watersnake...Nerodia sipedon sipedon. Wow....looks like he's had a rather rough life.

Roy

She was taken from a barn. She is missing nearly ALL of her tail... the tail is gone quite near her vent.

Apparently the barn owner did not share our fondness for her!:eek: :rolleyes:

She is also in shed, and quite muddy!

[GarterGirl]

Yea
It probably has had a rough life.
It looks big!
Is it big?

[Lee]

You should keep her, I'm sure she would appreciate a nice easy rest of her life as retirement from her ordeals. ;*O

[KITKAT]

Well, she is not mine to keep. But I did suggest to my neighbor that we hold onto her and treat her for parasites, plus treat her stump... and when we release her, it will be into a prime habitat, well away from residential areas.

He and I are hoping that while she visits us and heals up, she might reward us with a litter... she is awful fat!:D

And... yes, she is huge... about 3 1/2 to 4 foot long, if you guess her length with the missing tail added back...

[Ameivaboy]

looks gravid

[KITKAT]

looks gravid

Oh! I do hope so!:D

[enigma200316]

poor thing.......I think what your doing is great, you'll give an excellent start back into the wild for her......well done!!!!

[Josh]

it will be like a vacation to a spa good descion.

[Pinky]

That's a pretty good size water snake...did he/she musk you?the ones i caught gave me a good stinking!!!:eek:

[KITKAT]

That's a pretty good size water snake...did he/she musk you?the ones i caught gave me a good stinking!!!:eek:

Actually, she has been quite placid and easy to handle. But I suspect the poor thing is not feeling well.:( After all, she is missing several inches of tail.

[flakgunner]

hey,
That is one rough looking Watersnake,but at that size they all look rough,and in my "early" snake keeping days,(OH! gosh now Iam feeling old.LOL),found watersnakes quite difficult to keep in captivity ,their not a very good handling snake,and have been know to turn on you,without a moments notice,and THEY! have a set of teeth!!long,to grab and hold on to slimmy fish.You'll need a large water dish ,which it'll always be climbing into,creating a waterfall,soaking everything in your setup,it's been along time since I've kept one,but those that I did,always developed water blisters,and it'll require alot! of food,and I'am not talking about fishing minnows ether.you'll need those hugh muskie bait ,Chubs,Perch and Bullfrogs.Their also quite dirty,always pooping in their water dish,and have a odor that never does go away.Personaly,I'd care for it's injuries,and then release it,in a nice quiet back pond.

Joe

[KITKAT]

hey,
That is one rough looking Watersnake,but at that size they all look rough,and in my "early" snake keeping days,(OH! gosh now Iam feeling old.LOL),found watersnakes quite difficult to keep in captivity ,their not a very good handling snake,and have been know to turn on you,without a moments notice,and THEY! have a set of teeth!!long,to grab and hold on to slimmy fish.You'll need a large water dish ,which it'll always be climbing into,creating a waterfall,soaking everything in your setup,it's been along time since I've kept one,but those that I did,always developed water blisters,and it'll require alot! of food,and I'am not talking about fishing minnows ether.you'll need those hugh muskie bait ,Chubs,Perch and Bullfrogs.Their also quite dirty,always pooping in their water dish,and have a odor that never does go away.Personaly,I'd care for it's injuries,and then release it,in a nice quiet back pond.

Joe

Yes... well... I do enjoy snakes that I don't handle. I am hoping that while we are cleaning up her stump, she gifts us with some young. If so, I will try to keep a couple of the young, but yes, mom will be released in 30 days from capture, and will not be exposed to any other reptile while in our keeping. ;)

She did shed after the pics, and although the shed was in pieces, we did manage to handle her the next day and peel off a couple of stuck places. We are treating her stump with betadine.:eek:

She has not eaten yet, but is basking and soaking, finished her shed, and looks alot better than when we caught her. I have access to bullfrog tadpoles, and plan to get about four of them and put them in her dish tomorrow.

[GarterGuy]

You'll have to post a pic of her now that she's all shedded out.

Roy

[enigma200316]

yes I would like to see an updated pic as well please!!!!

[KITKAT]

Here she is right after we captured her and before we started treating her.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/nerodia_001c.jpg

Here is a pic after her first shed, but before we worked on the unshed portion of her head.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/nerodia072807_1c.jpg

[Lulu Bennett]

wow what a difference. she is beautiful.

[enigma200316]

yes very nice!!!...and she is a very nice sized snake!!!!

[Snaky]

Looked like she did go through a lot, although in the last pic she looks very nice. Hopefully for you she'll give birth and she'll recuperate good. It's a very good thing that you found her ;).

[KITKAT]

Yes, I hope so.

We could not get her to take anything frozen and thawed.:(

So... she is eating bullfrog tadpoles. She has had one a day for the past four days... two are left in her bowl as of this afternoon.

I hate the fact that they might have parasites, but I figure it is no worse than she would have in the wild.

I will try minnows on Monday, and if she takes them, I will try frozen thawed again later in the week. We also plan to flagyl her, but won't do it until we get her on frozen/thawed, as feeding her tadpoles kinda misses the point of the flagyl...