Hello,

      Yes you are correct that it is more than likely a Northern
Watersnake you saw. Cottonmouth's (aka water-moccassins, etc) are not
found in Ohio, no matter what people tell you. Still I guess there is
the very very low possibility that it is some escaped or released snake
but yeah. Many snakes have a whitish mouth lining, so that isn't a very
good character to go by. It is simply that The cottonmouth will gape at
any threats it perceives and thus gets its common name, also hissing
loudly (which watersnakes don't do to the same extent, hardly
noticeable usually). Watersnakes have many bands (not really stripes)
but so do cottonmouths. The best thing is to know the body shape and
look of a viper. Watersnakes can be very convincing at times flairing
their body's to look bigger and wider as well as flexing their jaws
back to make their head look bigger and more "diamond shaped" but it is
still remarkably smaller and flatter than a viper's head. Watersnakes
swim both on the surface and below the water to capture fish and
amphibians, their chief food source. And they are mean when you grab
them (not unprovoked), but hey their bite heals up real fast so I don't
mind them. But still if you are unsure of a snake's identity try and
get a photo, and give it the space and respect it deserves. What you
saw is unusual behavior for a watersnake but I have seen it once or so,
but what you saw may also have simply been the under side of its head
and not actually inside its mouth, the ventral/throat scales of these
snakes are bright white.
      Hope that helps and happy herping/birding,
         - Ben Warner
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free
from AOL at AOL.com.

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]