![]() It is an excellent swimmer and can be found up to 3 m below the surface of the water and several km from shore. The Northern Watersnake eats fish and amphibians, hunting for its prey along the water’s edge or underwater. Females typically reproduce each year and this species can live for over 10 years. ![]() Male Northern Watersnakes reach sexual maturity in two years and females in three. ![]() The size of the hatchlings is related to the mother’s size but averages about 18 cm. This species breeds in May and June and females give birth to 13–46 (average of 27) live young in late summer or early fall. Northern Watersnakes hibernate underground in mammal burrows and rock crevices or in beaver and muskrat lodges. This species can often be seen conspicuously basking on shoreline embankments, vegetation mats, logs and branches and other sites that offer quick retreat to the safety of water. Rocks, logs and other debris are important microhabitats that are used for thermoregulation and retreat sites. Northern Watersnakes inhabit the shorelines of permanent bodies of fresh water, including lakes, rivers and wetlands. ![]() Four subspecies of Common Watersnake occur throughout the northeastern and central United States as far south as the Florida Panhandle and as far west as Colorado. It is one of the most common snakes found around lakes and rivers within its range in Canada. In Canada, the range of the Northern Watersnake extends from extreme southwestern Quebec across southern Ontario and into central Ontario, north to the North Bay area and west to the eastern shore of Lake Superior. Distinguishing Northern Watersnakes from Lake Erie Watersnakes can be difficult, but their ranges do not overlap. The Massasauga usually has a rattle on a blunt tail, a vertical pupil and a triangular head, though Northern Watersnakes will sometimes flatten out their body and head, giving the appearance of a more triangular shape. The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake has a distinct upturned snout. The Eastern Milksnake has red or reddish brown blotches along its back and sides with a distinct black outline around each blotch. Adult Eastern Foxsnakes have a yellow to light brown body with brown blotches down the back and two alternating rows of smaller blotches along the sides. Adult Gray Ratsnakes are black with faint blotches, whereas Northern Watersnakes are dark brown with faint banding. The Northern Watersnake may be confused with the Gray Ratsnake, Eastern Foxsnake, Eastern Milksnake, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, Massasauga and Lake Erie Watersnake. Females are larger than males and can grow to over a metre in length, but most are smaller than that. The scales of this species are keeled (ridged down the centre), which gives the snake a rough, rather than a shiny, appearance. The belly is lighter in colour, often white or tan with dark red, tan or brown crescent-shaped spots. Young snakes are greyish with pronounced banding, and they become darker as they age until the patterning can often barely be seen and the snake takes on an almost black appearance. Northern Watersnakes are grey, brown or dark brown with faint alternating darker (sometimes reddish-particularly after shedding) horizontal banding on the back and sides. The Northern Watersnake is a subspecies of the Common Watersnake ( Nerodia sipedon). Click for more images Northern Watersnake Nerodia sipedon sipedon Family: Colubridae
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