In my experience, hognosed snakes are not frequent swimmers. They do play dead, but usually they go through an elaborate hissing and neck-spreading display first. Ring-necked snakes have yellow bellies, but their heads are slender. Plain-bellied water snakes have yellow bellies in your area, and they are built similarly enough to cottonmouths to be fairly easily mistaken for them. They have a habit of flattening their heads and bodies when threatened, which enhances the resemblance. Cottonmouths usually float high in the water, almost like they are sitting on it, while the harmless water snakes usually float mostly just below the surface, so that makes it likely that you killed a cottonmouth. If the snake actually opened its mouth and kept it open when threatened, that’s pretty firmly diagnostic: it was a cottonmouth. If you want to verify that without looking at fangs (which actually can be slightly dangerous), look for two openings in its face between the nostril and eye. Cottonmouths are pit vipers, and those are the pits.
Cottonmouths are snakes that, while I certainly would leave alone out in the wild, I’d in no way allow to remain around in my yard or any place I frequent. It’s the only snake that’s ever actually come after me (the Coachwhip likey was a fluke/coincidence) but three times now the Cottonmouth has been unmistakably agressive.
If he fits the very practical description Crotalus provided then your action well may have prevented some unnecessary distress and a trip to the hospital later.
As lieu says, cottonmouths are aggressive and very unlikely to slink away when threatened. As much as I love snakes, if someone finds a venomous one in their garden, I have no criticism of a decision to slay.
Agreed. I might not, but then I don’t have children or outside pets and am attentive. I can’t really fault someone for removing a poisonous snake. It may not be the snake’s fault, but accidents do happen and people and pets before wildlife in this particular circumstance.
That said, being certain of the ID would certainly be preferable before carrying out the execution. Non-venomous snakes in the yard is almost always a plus in terms of pest management. But even here I’d cut some slack for lookalikes ID’d by “non-experts.”
Sometime before the leaves reach three feet across, I have to drag this sucker out to the middle of the pool, and stepping on a cotton mouth would ruin my day. 
I have gone out of my way to save the monster king and rat snakes that occasionally end up on the property, and I was so concerned about the little garter snake that I thought I had injured digging in the garden that I examined it while it bit the snot out of my thumb. BUT. If there’s a cottonmouth anywhere near, it dies.
I learned very early when Father and I shot a king snake that lived in Grandfather’s corn bin. 
I thought garter snakes only had teeth at the back of their mouths like frogs.
I planned to dispose of the body yesterday after work and looks for pits, but it was gone. I found part of it eaten in the pool today, no head.
When I killed him, he was on top of the water. I’ve seen gray snakes of the same size swimming underwater in both pools. Do cotton mouths swim underwater at all?
But…but…but…Terrifel says hognose snakes are responsible for 90% of identity theft! They’re probably carrying ID that says they’re a garter snake! :eek:
Good point.
They probably planted the remains in my water garden to frame the raccoons.
I call it “Bashing the Bishop”.
My 7th grade science teacher had a hognosed snake named Fred. He was a sweet little snake, he used to spend the entire class period curled up around my neck under my hair, watching with interest as I did my classwork. His family history was against him, I know, but he was different! He was sweet and good and always happy to see me.
One of the garter snakes in the class, on the other hand, bit me. Stupid garter snake.
Thanks for sharing!
:rolleyes:
I have a plain bellied watersnake that I have spared twice, despite his resembling a cotton mouth. I saw him take a bite at a small goldfish in the pool tonight, How much do these guys eat? I wish he’s eat tadpoles and frogs rather than my fish. He may be why me Gambusia affiniare all gone. Those are the guys who eat mosquito larvae that grow up to bite me.
I have updated the Wikipedia article to correct the misinformation posted there. Probably by a hognose snake.
They are indeed sneaky bastards, but do they eat baby goldfish and newts?
Any chance of some water garden pics? I loves me some water gardens.
If you get bored around the house, grab your hoe and come on down to Florida. Its officially python hunting season.
According to recommendation from Dopers in one of my reptile posts, it will be the 12 gauge with number 16 shot. Tools are expensive to replace and I can’t hear after a magazine from the .45.