Diamondback Water Snake photographs

These are some photographs of a Diamondback Water Snake I caught in Fredericksburg Texas.  These snakes are non-venomous but very aggressive.  They get about 5-6 feet in length and prefer to eat frogs and fish.

Video of a Diamondback Watersnake.

This is a video I took in June of 2015 of a medium sized Diamondback Watersnake.  I caught this snake on the Pedernales River just below one of the dams.  This is a very common snake throughout Texas and is one that is commonly misidentified as a Water Moccasin.  The Diamondback Watersnake is non venomous and looks nothing like a Water Moccasin.  Some of the most distinguished features of a Diamondback Watersnake are the gray color of the scales with a pattern of weaving black stripes down the back.  The stripes cross each other giving a diamond like pattern from which the snake gets it's name.  They have orange eyes and a round pupil which is a dead giveaway that they are not Water Moccasins which will have a cat shaped eye.

These snakes are aggressive and will bite when captured or cornered.  I have been bitten hundreds of times catching this species.  I have heard rumors that they possess a mild toxin in their saliva that can make you sick.  I personally do not believe this as I have been bit numerous times within minutes of each other and never felt any sickness.

Diamondback Watersnake eat frogs, fish and other aquatic animals.  I have had large adult snakes regurgitate perch that were 4-6 inches in length.  I have also seen Diamondback Watersnakes attempt to eat fish on a stringer that were 6+ inches.