Texas Water Snakes

It bothers me like crazy how people assume all water snakes that are nearby in or around lakes are 

Cotton Mouths.  I have personally captured well over 300 water snakes in the time I have been 

hunting reptiles.  Of those 300 I have only found 4 Cotton Mouths.  The three most common Texas 

Water Snakes I have seen are the Diamond Back Water Snakes, the Blotched Water Snake and the Cotton 

Mouth.

Diamond Back Water Snake

The Diamond Back Water Snake is the biggest of the 3 species I am going to discuss.  The Diamond 

Back Water Snake can reach close to 7 feet in length and specimens between 4 and five feet are 

pretty common.  These water snakes are found around any type of water in Texas.  I have seen them in 

lakes, ponds, rivers and even in my koi pond in the back yard.  They eat fish, frogs, crayfish and 

anything else around the water.  The Diamond Back Water Snake is normally light grey with broken 

black stripes going across the body.  These snakes are aggressive when cornered or disturbed.  They 

will attempt to attack you if you hold them.  They do not really hurt when they bite but it will 

bleed some.  After handling one for a few minutes it will usually calm down and stop biting. 

Blotched Water Snake

The Blotched Water Snake reaches nearly the same size as the Diamond Back Water Snake.  These types 

of snake are a tan color with dark brown stripes going across their backs.  Specimens reach 4 to six 

feet.  I regularly catch this species of snake around three feet in length.  These snakes co-exist 

along side with the Diamond Back Water Snake.  Both species eat the same food sources of fish, frogs 

and crayfish.  These snakes will strike when cornered but will not do any real harm.  This species 

will relax after holding and can become gentle once they have had time to calm down.

Water Moccasin – Cottonmouth

The Water Moccasin is the only venomous water snake in the United States.  Water Moccasins are also 

known as Cottonmouths.  They have acquired this name because when threatened they coil up and open 

their mouths.  The mouth is a white color and looks like cotton.  The Cottonmouth is poisonous and 

will require a trip to the emergency room if bitten.  Water Moccasins have a large amount of 

variation range of color patterns.  Some Cottonmouths are almost completely black in color while 

others are a light brown or tan.  Cottonmouths have solid black color stripes running across there 

backs.  Cottonmouths also have a oval shaped pupil.  All non-venomous snakes in the United States 

have round eyes.  The Coral snake which is poisonous also has circular shaped eyes.  The Water 

Moccasin feeds on the same food that the Diamond Back Water Snake and the Blotched Water snake feed 

on.  Aquatic creatures, frogs and insects.