by: Rachel McGuire
Alabama is home to 49 species of snakes, 12 of which are considered aquatic. Snakes are legless, carnivorous reptiles covered in overlapping scales. While most snakes lay eggs, the aquatic snakes of Alabama are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young. Snakes also shed their outer layer of skin periodically as they grow. Sometimes you can find the snake shed off a trail, near a creek, or simply on the forest floor.
Snakes may instill fear in many people; however, it is important to remember they are important members of our native wildlife community and serve a function to our precious ecosystems. When encountering a wild snake, be sure to give space, respect, and appreciation.
There are several ways to help identify snakes. Oftentimes, folks will use the predominant color to narrow down their options. It’s also important to consider size, habitat in which it was found (in addition to what physiographic region of Alabama you are in), and morphological characteristics of the snake such as scale type (smooth vs. keeled). The vast majority of aquatic snakes in Alabama have keeled (contain a ridge running down the center) scales.
The Water Snakes (Nerodia spp.)
The water snakes belong to the genus Nerodia. They are heavy-bodied, nonvenomous snakes with flattened heads, small eyes, and an appetite for fish and amphibians. Although they lack venom, water snakes have a vicious bite and will become quite defensive if challenged or cornered. All members of this group have keeled scales and are highly aquatic. The Nerodias found in Alabama include the Gulf saltmarsh snake, Mississippi green water snake, Florida green water snake, plain-bellied water snake, southern water snake, diamond-backed water snake, midland water snake, and brown water snake.
The brown water snake is commonly found in the Coastal Plain of Alabama, more specifically, in the southeastern portion. These large snakes can grow up to 55 inches long and are light tan with dark square-shaped markings down the back, sides, and belly. This is the water snake most commonly mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth (more details on how to distinguish a water snake from a cottonmouth later). You can find the brown water snake in the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont in slow moving waters and occasionally lakes. They often bask on logs, branches, and vegetation overlying the water, which is why they sometimes fall into a boat passing by the shoreline when they are startled. New fear unlocked, right? In all seriousness, these nonvenomous snakes are simply trying to take cover and protect themselves with a quick escape into the water.
The Gulf saltmarsh snake is, as the name suggests, found in specialized salt marsh and brackish estuaries in Baldwin and Mobile Counties. Because of their limited habitat, this species is considered to be of moderate to high conservation concern. This is the only species of Nerodia that is striped. Because they live in saltwater habitat, the Gulf saltmarsh snake obtains freshwater from its prey and occasionally rainwater. They prey on small fish and invertebrates, primarily at night, that are caught in tidal pools and puddles.
Cottonmouth
The cottonmouth is one of five venomous snakes found in Alabama, and the only venomous aquatic snake. Many snakes found near water are mistaken for cottonmouths due to the fear and alarm they invoke. Contrary to popular belief, cottonmouths are not particularly aggressive, but will stand their ground and take a defensive posture when they feel threatened. Cottonmouth venom is a hemotoxin that destroys blood cells and reduces the blood’s ability to coagulate or clot. Cottonmouths are a type of pit viper (as are copperheads and rattlesnakes) that has a noticeable pit organ on either side of their face between the eye and nostril that resembles a small hole. Pit vipers are infrared detectors that can detect heat energy (i.e. prey). Most cottonmouth strikes on humans are “dry bites” in which no venom is administered through their hollow fangs, which is a way these predators conserve their hunting resources.
Cottonmouths are large-bodied snakes, growing up to 74 inches. Juveniles are more brightly colored than adults and have sulfur-colored, or yellow tail. This species is found throughout the state in essentially any type of aquatic habitat. Cottonmouths consume fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and small mammals – swallowing the animal headfirst.
It’s important to be able to distinguish between the cottonmouth and water snakes, because they are often misidentified by the average person. Keep in mind water snakes are nonvenomous, but cottonmouths are venomous and their bite is potentially fatal to humans.
North Florida Swamp Snake
The North Florida swamp snake is a rare snake found in the extreme southern Coastal Plain. Alabama’s Covington County and Escambia County are considered the northwesternmost portion of this species’ range. They are small (only 10-15 inches long), with a shiny black back and bright red bellies with black splotches. Swamp snakes have smooth scales with a patch of yellowish or pink scales underneath the head. They inhabit canals, ditches, lakes, swamps, and cypress ponds, and are oftentimes found within the vegetation. They hunt, primarily at night, for small fish, small amphibians, earthworms, leeches, and other arthropods.
Queen Snake
The queen snake, also known as the leather snake or willow snake, is a small snake (15-24 inches) with a slender body found throughout most of Alabama. They are brownish in color with three dark stripes that run along their upper body and a yellowish stripes that run along the lower body. This species is typically found near moving water of small streams or rivers, but sometimes found in lakes and ponds. You will find queen snakes where you find crayfish – as this is their specialized prey. Queens primarily eat soft-shelled crayfish. This species is a livebearer, with mating occurring in spring, and birth during the summertime.
Glossy Crayfish Snake
The glossy crayfish snake is a somewhat small species (14-24 inches) found in the Coastal Plain region. This highly aquatic and extremely secretive snake is found in wetland habitats such as cypress domes, roadside ditches, lakes, and heavily-vegetated ponds. They have a shiny brown to olive green back, a yellowish belly with two rows of dark spots, a short head, and huge eyes.
Unsurprisingly, this species’ main prey is crayfish that it eats with specialized chisel-like teeth to break hard shells. Glossy crayfish snakes are so secretive that it is difficult to find them, with many encounters being accidental road crossing during rainy nights. When handled, they act out by hissing and fake striking; however, they rarely lay a real bite. Similar to its relative, the queen snake, this species gives live birth.
American Alligator
The American alligator is the largest reptile in North America, growing up to 19 feet long and weighing up to 900 pounds! They have bodies armored in horny plates, short legs with webbed toes, tails that are typically the same length (or longer) than their bodies, and a broad head with large jaws for killing their prey. Alligator eyes and ears are positioned on the top of their head so they can see and hear while almost completely submerged in water.
Gators are carnivorous (bet you didn’t see that one coming) and eat small to medium-sized mammals, turtles, snakes, birds, and fish. American alligators have the second strongest bite force in the animal kingdom at nearly 3,000 pounds per square inch (PSI). Only the saltwater crocodiles have stronger bites. P.S. A lion’s bite force is barely past 600 PSI, so no touchy the gators, ok?
Gators are found in swamps, marshes, rivers, streams, and lakes. While Florida is typically the first state that comes to mind when you think of gators, they can be found readily in the southern half of Alabama and some individuals persist in the Tennessee River Basin. In the late 1970’s, after alligator populations had been pushed to the brink of extinction from overhunting and trapping for hides, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reintroduced several into Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge after listing the American alligator as federally endangered. Alligators recovered so well in Alabama, that an official hunting season (by permit only) was started in 2006.
Mating season is April and May with breeding occurring on open water. To attract mates, males will bellow (starting at subsonic levels) that cause them to vibrate their scaly backs in the water creating what some call a “water dance”. Alligators lay 30-70 eggs in a self-constructed, vegetative nest that is covered with additional vegetation for incubation. Like sea turtles, gator eggs undergo temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Higher temperatures produce more males.
Hatchlings are approximately nine inches long, growing around a foot per year for the first four years of life. Juvenile gators make an endearing Star Wars laser gun noise. Despite their inherent cuteness, if you find an juvenile Alligator in the wild, DO NOT interfere or touch them because their mother is likely nearby as they stay with their mother the first 18 months.
Pro tip: NEVER feed wild gators. This habituates them to humans and increases the likelihood of a dangerous human-gator interaction. If you want to see gators (safely) in Alabama, we suggest Lake Eufaula, Alligator Alley in Summerdale, and Gator Alley Boardwalk in Daphne.
Do you have photos or videos of aquatic snakes or alligators? If so, share them with us using the AWW Photo/Video Submission form.