Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)


Group	Snakes
Code	ARADB22060
Order	Squamata
Family	Colubridae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
USESA	(PS) (definitions)
Occurrence	P (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	Menominee, Marquette, Delta
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      (Marsh 2 or Bog or Sedge Meadow)
   containing:
      (Dead Down Woody Debris or Rock)

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Lake, Pond, River, Marsh 2 (MARSH), Sedge Meadow, Bog or Muskeg
Special Features	Dead Down Woody Debris, Rock, Riparian

view size class definitions

Literature:

Holman, J. A., J. H. Harding, M. M. Hensley, and G. R. Dudderar. 1999. Michigan snakes a field guide and pocket reference. Co-operative Extension Service, Michigan State University. 72 pp.

This species is usually found in or near ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. They are often seen sunning alongside the water on logs, overhanging branches, rockpiles, and old bridge abutments.

Northern water snakes feed on frogs and fish.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Aquatic and semiaquatic habitats. Common around spillways and bridges where rocks provide cover, uncommon in deeply shaded woodland swamps and ponds, probably due to lack of basking sites. Found in the vicinity of rivers, brooks, wet meadows, ponds, swamps, bogs, old quarries. Inhabits salt or fresh water, absent from heavily polluted waters. Prefers still or slow-moving water. Hibernates in crevices of rocky ledges, or in banks adjacent to water habitat.

Special Habitat Requirements: Branches or logs overhanging the water, or boulders of dams and causeways in reservoirs.

Hunter, M. L., J. Albright, and J. Arbuckle (editors). 1992. The amphibians and reptiles of Maine. Maine Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 838. 188p.

Habitat: As the name suggests, the water snake is dependent on aquatic and semiaquatic habitats. In a Wisconsin study, open water was used only sparingly by water snakes. Instead, cattail habitat, only 5% of the total available area, was used 74% of the time. Flooded meadow habitat was also heavily preferred by radio-collared specimens.

Water snakes prefer slow-moving water to fast-running areas, and are intolerant of badly polluted areas. Almost any type of semiaquatic environment is used: streams, ponds, the backwaters of spillways, meadows, bogs, swamps, and even salt marsh habitats. It is less common in forested wetland areas that are deeply shaded, most likely because of a lack of sunny sites for basking. Common basking places are branches overhanging the water, logs, dead vegetation, and boulders.

Although water snakes seldom use open water they are rarely far from water. In Wisconsin, Tiebout and Cary reported that water snakes were never located more than 20' from water, even during dispersal from their hibernacula. These researchers felt that this reptile should be considered an edge species. Dry areas are used for basking, copulation, and temperature regulation. Water is necessary for thermoregulation, escape from enemies, and foraging.