Can Snakes Still Bite Under Water? 

Swimming in any type of natural water mass like the ocean or a lake doesn’t come without risks. There are many living things sharing the same body of water with you; and many may not particularly enjoy having you there.

Do Snakes Live in Water?

We often think of fish (Picus) or even, more dangerous, Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and other mysterious creatures that exist beneath the waves, but snakes (Serpentes) don’t really come top of mind when thinking about swimming. They seem like more of a woody or tropical forest creature–even deserts seem a more likely place to see a snake. 

But, yes. Snakes swim. Even snakes that don’t live in the water swim. But can they bite you underwater? And how do they even do that? Isn’t enough that these animals that are incredibly adept at surviving and manage to be a bit, well, intimidating? You know, slithery with fangs and all?  No. It’s not enough. Yes, snakes swim and can bite you., even when they are underwater.

Diving Deep Into Water Snake Behavior

The Common water snake (Nerodia sipedon) keeps its primary habitat near bodies of water throughout North America. There are many types of water snakes, but the common water snake is nonvenomous but closely resembles the venomous Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus). 

The Water Moccasin

If you see a Water Moccasin, you need to remove yourself from the area as soon as possible. However, if you see a common water snake, you can take your time or just swim away calmly. The common water snake can bite you — even if it is underwater, but it is nonvenomous. 

Is that a Friend or Foe Swimming Next to Me?

Most folks don’t care to take the time to look closely enough to see if what is swimming by them is a common water snake or a Water Moccasin. And why would you? Interestingly, the Water Moccasin is not a water snake and just happens to make its habitat near bodies of waters. 

The colors of the the two snakes are very similar, so it’s easy to mistake one for the other. Yes, this is done on purpose and on design in order to prevent predators from choosing the common water snake for its next meal. This strategy is called mimicry and is found throughout the animal world.

Other venomous — and mostly land-based — snakes that can swim quite adeptly are:

• The Diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
• The Copperhead  (Agkistrodon contortrix)
• The Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius)
• The Eastern Brown Snake (Peudonaja textilis)

Sea snakes that primarily live in the ocean or water can also be venomous, although as mentioned above, many are not. 

It is interesting to note that most snakes can swim, especially on top of the water, and all can (and will) bite if provoked, even while they are underwater.

Snake Anatomy Allows for Easy Eating and Biting

Snakes have the ability to open their mouths under water to eat and defend themselves because they have the ability to open their mouths without breathing! 

To assist with this maneuver, snakes don’t have diaphragms to assist with breathing (much like mammals). They use their ribs and move them by using small muscles between. More importantly, snakes do not have to rely on the exchange of respiratory gasses to live and only have one lung. 

Therefore, any snake in water can bite you under water. It may or may not be a true sea snake or even venomous, but do you really want to “wade” around to find out?

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Lincoln Griffith/iStock via Getty Images