Northern Water Snake

Nerodia sipedon

The Northern watersnake is a species of large, nonvenomous, common snake in the family Colubridae native to North America. It is frequently mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth.

Common watersnake
Midland water snake, Missouri. Photo shared on Wikipedia by Peter Paplanus.
Midland water snake, Missouri. Photo shared on Wikipedia by Peter Paplanus.
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Care guides for Northern Water Snake will appear here once they're added

Community Sightings

Recent observations from the iNaturalist community

Northern Watersnake observed by augien
Jan 14, 2026
Marlton
byaugien
Research Grade
· 3 IDs
Common Watersnake observed by adfloyd
Jan 10, 2026
Mississippi, US
byadfloyd
Research Grade
· 1 ID
Common Watersnake observed by markusterhorst
Jan 9, 2026
James River, Richmond, VA, US
bymarkusterhorst
Research Grade
· 4 IDs
Northern Watersnake observed by navabumble
Jan 8, 2026
East, Guelph, ON, CA
byNava Brimble
Research Grade
· 2 IDs
View all 79,711 observations on iNaturalist
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