Snakes and Frogs and Their Relatives [ 209 



king snakes, and they are found throughout most of the United 

 States. 



WATER SNAKES HARMLESS AND DANGEROUS KINDS 



Children who go fishing are very likely to encounter this 

 dingy brown reptile, which haunts dams, wharves, rocks and 

 bushes near water. Because of its protective color plan it may 

 escape notice until it moves suddenly. Like the hognose snake, 

 it puts on a great show when cornered, flattening out its body 

 and striking fiercely. 



However, the water snake has no venom and its teeth can 

 inflict only harmless wounds. It makes a good pet. While it will 

 eat almost anything, it particularly likes fish. Its usual size is 

 from thirty inches to three feet. Water snakes are found over 

 almost all of eastern North America. 



From southern Virginia to Florida and the Gulf states, you 

 must be extremely cautious about water snakes; for this section 

 is the home of the deadly water moccasin, which has a superficial 

 resemblance to the harmless water snake. 



How to Recognize a Poisonous Snake 



A child who is determined to be not only an observer of snakes 

 but also a collector of them, should be well coached in safety 

 rules. Of first importance is knowing the character of all snakes 

 in your locality. If there are poisonous species among them, it 

 is essential to distinguish them from the harmless ones. Collecting 

 poisonous species should be left to the experts! 



The poisonous snakes of the United States fall into four groups: 

 rattlesnakes, which have been found in every state; copperheads, 

 which are distributed from New England to Texas and in all the 

 southern states; water moccasins, found chiefly in the southern 

 and southeastern states; and coral snakes, which live only in the 

 deep South, from North Carolina to Texas and parts of Arizona. 

 While this broad distribution sounds forbidding, there are many 

 areas within these regions where you will find only harmless 

 species. 



