Today the herpetology class traveled to the Ion Swamp in the Francis Marion National Forest. It was a warm 88 degrees when we got off the vans so we had hopes to sneak up on some herps basking in the sun.
I was lucky enough to stumble across a Redbelly Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster).
I had taken a step towards a small body of water and saw movement, when I looked down in the water I saw the snake. It had only moved slightly into the water. I kept an eye on it and called for Keith Hanson, our TA, because his specialty is snakes. 
I knew if I tried to grab it, it would have gotten away. Keith miraculously pulled off a ninja move and pounced into the water, successfully grabbing the snake. It instantly musked him and tried to bite him several times, succeeding once. The snake was very agitated and was flattening its head so much, it appeared to have the triangular head shape that is associated with the pit vipers. It was obviously trying to imitate a cottonmouth in hopes that we would be afraid and put it back. We knew it was not a cottonmouth because it had round pupils, no pit, a pink mouth, and a very bright orangish-red belly. We concluded it was probably a female. 
These snakes are between 30-48 inches long and lose their dorsal patterns as they age. This snakes had a pretty dark, un-patterned back.
(Deena Russell, SC)
1 comment:
How did you reach the conclusion that she was probably a she? (Again, awesome find!) -A. Welch
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