Lake Martin Topics: Some answers

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	Name:	BAJ -
	Subject:	Some answers
	Date:	7/29/2004 2:00:40 PM

First, if you still have any of those skins, hang onto them; sometimes it is possible to tell what kind of snake they came from. (But you have to look closely, and know what you're looking for; shed skins is NOT the way to learn to ID snakes.)

Second, all snakes can and do swim, and there are several non-venomous, completely harmless water snakes in the lake area. The Midland Water Snake is the most common; others include the Yellow-bellied Water Snake and Red-Bellied Water Snake (very similar, and often interbreed; I've seen only the Yellow-bellies on the lake) and the Diamondback Water Snake (rare on the lake, but more common not far past the dam.)

I've spent 40+ years actively looking for snakes on the lake, and I've probably seen hundreds of non-venomous water snakes for every Water Moccasin. Yes, we have Moccasins, and more than a few, but they are so greatly outnumbered by non-venomous snakes that the odds are good that any snake you see in Lake Martin will be one of the harmless variety. ("Odds are" should not be confused with "always." Like I said, we've got Moccasins, and in some places the population is large!)

And as a post below stated, Moccasins are territorial; so are most of our water snakes. Having a non-venomous water snake living in an area is a good-- not great-- indicator that you won't see any Moccasins moving in.

If you want to know more, email me; I'll be driving past Turner Road in the next couple of days, and might be able to help you out, or look at those skins (if you still have them.)