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]