< Back | Name: | Broad-banded Water Snake | | Family: | Water Snakes | | Scientific Name:
| Nerodia fasciata | | Description: | Keeled scales. Body has 11-17 broad, irregularly shaped dark brown, reddish brown or black crossbands, separated by yellow, orange or yellowish gray. Belly is yellow or cream-colored with large dark brown or reddish-brown blotches. Young are patterned like adults, but more brightly colored. Adults average 22-36 inches in length. | | Range: | Mississippi Delta and Coastal Plain; also found in areas of eastern Ozark and Ouachita mountains. | | Habits and Habitat: | A lowland water snake of swamps, oxbow lakes, sloughs, ponds and sluggish streams. Active late March-October. Breeds April-May and gives birth to 7-40 young in July-August. It feeds on fish, frogs and tadpoles. Like other water snakes, it basks on brush or driftwood piles in or near water. |
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Click Photo to Enlarge Suzanne Collins |
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