Northern Water Snake Northern Water Snake Juvenile snake.
Pattern darkens with age, becoming completely black.
Found throughout the eastern and central U.S., in most aquatic habitats including saltmarshes. Active day and night, and frequently basks along the shore. Eats a variety of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, such as fish, amphibians, mammals, and crustaceans. Bite is bad, and has an anticoagulant in saliva which causes wounds to bleed profusely.