By Chris Montross

The Banded Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata ssp.) are a fascinatingly variable temperate and sub-tropical Colubrid native the lower coastal plains and river lowlands of the southeastern United States. Ranging from northeastern North Carolina, south throughout Florida, then west along the gulf coast to east Texas and north along the Mississippi River basin to the very southern parts of Illinois.

Three subspecies are currently recognized. The Florida Banded Water Snake (N. f. pictiventris) which is restricted to peninsular Florida, north into the very southern portion of GA. The Southern Banded Water Snake (N. f. fasciata) that is found north and west of the Florida Banded from North Carolina to Mississippi following the lowlands of the coastal plain. The Broad-Banded Water Snake (N. f. confluens) makes up the western end of the range in the Mississippi RiverBasin and into east Texas.

Intergrades between the subspecies are noted where they meet in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia, as well as east of Mobile Bay. Nerodia fasciata are also documented to hybridize with both N. clarkii and N. sipedon where they meet. In coastal, central, and southern Florida, N. c. compressicauda and N. f. Pictiventris seem to be the most commonly encountered hybrid across the range but some sections are not as well hunted as that area. I have encountered these hybrids in Southern Florida and in the panhandle. I hope to spend more time in the future trying to observe hybrids with N. sipedon which will be more difficult to differentiate due to such similar phenotypes.

Despite their nasty reputation when encountered in the field, most bandeds calm down quite nicely in captivity if given desirable housing and captive born specimens are usually only as spunky as any other young colubrid. Some are downright friendly, while others can be a bit skittish and shy. But in time, they learn to associate their keepers with being fed and will come right to you in anticipation of receiving a tasty morsel.

Feeding habits in the wild have been documented as consisting of a variety of fish, amphibians, and even crayfish have been documented. In captivity they typically take fish and frogs eagerly and can be switched over to rodents with little effort. I prefer to use hairless mice routinely in my juveniles and adults as it has been noted by hobbyists that species like Thamnophis and Heterodon have trouble digesting hair and can become impacted leading to death.

With neonates, I try to switch them over as soon as possible. Some are more reluctant than others, which usually stems from how shy and flighty a particular litter or even individual is. I have had some litters take thawed, unscented, tease fed extra small pink mice for their first meals. Others can take months to switch over. It just seems to vary on how confident or shy they are. Cut fish from species not containing Thiaminase can be offered on deli lids and just cut to an appropriate size for the banded(s) to be offered.

Vitamin supplements will be necessary anytime non-whole food items are being offered. Freezing fish and frogs prior to feeding for a period of time to kill parasites that they can vector to these snakes is important.

But unfortunately, live fish or frogs are sometimes necessary to initiate feeding in young or freshly wild caught snakes that are being stubborn. Using fresh food items can nearly guarantee parasite transfer, especially nematodes, that can be difficult to eradicate. Safe dewormers like Pancacur will not kill nematodes, Ivermectin must be used but only with very careful dosing. Acute death can and will occur with inappropriate dosing. Fortunately they have an indirect life cycle, so if you discontinue feeding fresh fish and frogs, they cannot continue to infest said snakes and the nematodes present will eventually die off.

For me, switching my bandeds to rodents has many benefits. One, their stool is much less noxious than being fed fish. Second, rodents cannot transfer parasites to reptiles. Parasites of warm blooded mammals cannot survive in reptiles in case fresh killed rodents are needed to be used.

Thirdly, thawing and cutting up fish is nasty! Rodents provide a whole, complete meal and unless you are feeding whole fish and not filets, you will likely be missing out on some nutrients even when supplementing with appropriate liquids and powders. Some hobbyists feel rodents are too fatty for Nerodia however, this just isn’t true. Feeding any snakes should be done based on that animal’s current weight and breeding intentions. Don’t feed just because “you” feed once a week. Feed the animals on a routine necessary to keep that animal healthy, not overweight or obese.

Always be aware of the species of fish you are feeding! If you consistently use fish or just as occasional treats, many species of commonly available fish are unsafe for reptiles like goldfish and rosy reds. Online, partial lists of safe/unsafe fish can be found.

The Thamnophis hobbyists usually keep a decent list floating around. But these lists are never very complete compared to the variety of species one can purchase at a store or collect to feed. So be wary and learn a bit about identifying fish or know someone who can.

VENTILATION, VENTILATION, VENTILATION! I cannot say this enough. Overall Nerodia, absolutely hate and will succumb to enclosures with poor ventilation. Picture in your mind chameleons, as with them, it took some trial and error to learn that cages with stuffy, stagnant air does allow them to thrive.

Decades ago when I first tried to keep bandeds like my other colubrids (typical sweater boxes with a few holes on the sides stacked into homemade closed racks) I failed not knowing exactly why at the time. Working with them a time or two since, taught me that they can be kept successfully when the right effort and housing is employed.

In recent years, when I decided I wanted to put a concerted effort into long term breeding efforts with Nerodia (N. fasciata more specifically) I knew I had to choose my caging appropriately and plan my husbandry wisely. Taking some insight from the suboc crowd with reference to using kiln dried pine shavings, improved ventilation and moving air in the room to reduce air stagnancy, I’ve found a general protocol that seems to yield success.

As with all husbandry, there is always room for improvement and I tweak my husbandry when I feel changes are needed. Although glass aquariums with screened lids provide excellent ventilation for Nerodia keeping in general, I don’t and won’t use them due to their heaviness and potential for breaking.

I prefer locking tubs like Sterilite storage bins. These are not secure enough for species like kings and ratsnakes, but they do quite well for bandeds and the like. Remember, a significant effort into drilling holes into the bins to maximize air flow is important. I will make templates with cardboard to aid me in making patterned holes that will not compromise the integrity of the bin sides.

Adults are maintained in 64 to 106 quart bins as pairs and trios. Younger animals are housed in 7 quart and up tubs depending on the size of the group and individuals. Using these bins makes it easy to carry them out to dump and disinfect due to their light weight.

The decent level of opacity of these bins allows some viewing of animals through the sides. A layer of kiln dried pine shavings for substrate, various hides of appropriate size, a water receptacle big enough for them to soak in, and branches to allow climbing, round out a simple to maintain yet a comforting environment for the occupants.

I utilize ambient room temperature for my collection. A temperature range from 76F-84F is typically where I keep mine. I open the room window as often as possible and keep it open through the warm months. A small fan driven space heater is used to maintain adequate temps during the cool months. Using water receptacles that cannot be tipped over is ideal. Dampened substrate will create an overall damp environment and should be cleaned up promptly.

Adults are maintained in 64 to 106 quart bins as pairs and trios. Younger animals are housed in 7 quart and up tubs depending on the size of the group and individuals. Using these bins makes it easy to carry them out to dump and disinfect due to their light weight.

Breeding bandeds is very similar to other temperate colubrids. A period of cooling/dormancy to stimulate ovulation is typically required. I have had success with brumation times as short as 3 weeks at 58F with N. f. pictiventris. Pairings from more southerly localities likely require shorter brumation times than those from colder climates.

Gestation is around 4 months but can vary based on the temperatures the female is maintained at. Since I cohabitate my Nerodia, I usually don’t see the actual breeding or they do it on and off over a several week period, so nailing down an actual breeding date can be tough.

Body weight and overall health is obviously a factor in successful reproduction. I strive to maintain lean, naturally built animals and choose to slowly raise my offspring into adulthood. Fat babies lead to fat adults and obesity will shorten their lifespans by compromising liver function along with plenty of other complications. It typically takes me 4 years to raise up a neonate to breeding age, especially with females. I am in no rush, I do this for myself, so I don’t need them to grow up and pop out babies ASAP.

I principally retain young to have insurance stock from the various localities I work with to be prepared for when the founder animals die. Although huge litters are recorded in many species of Nerodia, most of my litters are between 8 to 14 young with only one so far having the personal record of 20. Those size litters are ideal to me, enough to keep some, surplus some, but not too many to overwhelm myself.

Mature males and young males, seem to be more often than not programmed to eat less. This is likely due to a smaller maturation size. Even neonates with gluttonous appetites, eventually slow down to eating every 3-4 weeks as most of my breeder males do. They just ignore feeding opportunities and don’t appear to utilize the nutrients the same way as their female litter mates that are programmed to grow quickly so the next generation can be made.

Housing in groups (cohabbing) is commonly practiced with Nerodia fanciers, much like those that keep Thamnophis species. I keep breeding pairs and trios together year round, only downsizing their caging during cooling to small sweater boxes that fit conveniently in my cooling refrigerator. My litters are also kept and raised together and only separate when gluttonous eaters begin out sizing the rest in their group. I then raise my holdback pairs or small groups to adulthood until decisions are made for breeding intentions.

Feeding individually by way of long tweezers, in most cases, is my preferred method. I offer food items on lids or similar flat surfaces for groups of young, especially when feeding chopped fish. But I go back through each animal afterwards to assure who has eaten and how much. This is to ensure everyone is thriving as desired.

One of my big fascinations with this species is the naturally occurring variability across their range and within local populations. Historically, little effort has been given to them in captivity and as a result very little is understood in regards to phenotype inheritance and ontogenetic change into adulthood. Most young will change how they look from their newborn stage to the time they are mature. I find it no different than predicting neonate red rats’ eventual qualities. Since some adults can be so drastically different, knowing lineage phenotype is incredibly helpful in evaluating for their eventual maturation look.

With so little true breeding efforts and for so few duration of generations, we have so much to learn and understand about this process in this group. My main goal with keeping so many locality groups across the range is to simply understand phenotypic variation and inheritance, as well as ontogenetic changes.

Sure there is unnatural selection in captive pairings but I keep back examples of all variances within a litter to observe change as they grow and allow pairings in the future to give insight into this interesting world of breeding Nerodia. They breed true like any other pairing. Some offspring will look like each parent and the others will be a gradual mix between the two. Other than an old amelanistic line from a few decades ago of Florida stock, I have yet to be made aware of any true recessive phenotypic traits within these amazingly variable snakes. I am always testing new color forms with locality stock to try and understand how they can be so variable and unique within the colubrid world.

Seemingly new, one-of-a-kind  animals pop up all the time but few make it to solid breeding programs to continue their token looks, nor are they being bred back to stock from the same habitat or region. Give it time, someone will decide that Nerodia fasciata taxonomy needs to be changed and many captive animals will suddenly be hybrids, mutts or just unknowns because their origins have not been tracked. 

The future is bright with these snakes. There is so much to learn and understand about them with captive breeding efforts that don’t seem to be able to be learned from field research. Thanks to all my fellow Nerodia-philes for the constant experience sharing, it is so valuable…got Nerodia?