Northern Water Snake

Northern Water Snakes engaged in a mating ball. Appears to be three males and one female. A fourth male joined later (see spotting http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/23360085).

Northern water snakes mate from April through June. They are ovoviviparous (live-bearers), which means they do not lay eggs like many other snakes. Instead, the mother carries the eggs inside her body and gives birth to free living young, each one 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long. A female may have as many as thirty young at a time. They are born between August and October. Mothers do not care for their young; as soon as they are born, they are on their own.

The northern water snake can grow up to 135 cm (4.4 ft) in total length. They can be brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. They have dark crossbands on their necks and dark stripes and blotches on the rest of their bodies, often leading to misidentification as cottonmouths or copperheads by novices. They darken as they age. Some will become almost completely black. The belly of this snake also varies in color. It can be white, yellow, or gray. Usually it also has reddish or black crescents.