Black Swamp Snake

Snapshot

A small (to ~22 inches), glossy black aquatic snake with a bright solid red belly — of Coastal Plain open wetlands. Prefers vegetated, often fishless wetlands rich in amphibians. Non-venomous; extremely secretive. Leave alone. (Older literature: Seminatrix pygaea.)

Photos

(Photos pending — see photos/black-swamp-snake/MANIFEST.md.)

Description and identification

SREL: fairly small; glossy black above; bright red unmarked belly. Females much longer/heavier; males longer-tailed. Neonates 2–3 inches, miniature adults. Differs from mud snakes (checkerboard belly, red on sides) and terrestrial red-bellied snakes (not aquatic/black).

Look-alikes

Mud snake — red-black belly checkerboard; red on sides. Red-bellied snake — terrestrial, not solid black aquatic. Rainbow snake — red dorsal stripes.

Range in Georgia

Coastal Plain from eastern North Carolina to southern Alabama and throughout Florida. Georgia Coastal Plain wetlands. Full native range is this southeastern Coastal Plain band.

Full species range map

(Full native-range map pending — maps/black-swamp-snake-full-range.png. Georgia occurrence in text; prefer GA DNR / SREL. Not Georgia-only art.)

Habitat preferences

Coastal Plain open aquatic habitats: Carolina bays, ditches, sphagnum bogs, sawgrass, and margins of heavily vegetated ponds and lakes. A secretive wetland specialist — not a general Piedmont “water snake.”

Natural history

Live-bearing; females larger and heavier-bodied than males. Young only a few inches long but colored like adults. Strongly tied to heavily vegetated, often fish-poor wetlands in parts of the range — exotic fish introductions are a noted concern elsewhere.

Food preferences

Preferentially aquatic salamanders (larval/paedomorphic Ambystoma, etc.) and leeches in SC studies; also small fish, tadpoles, frogs; Florida accounts also emphasize aquatic salamanders.

Temperament and encounters

Highly aquatic and secretive. Non-venomous; may be found in vegetated wetlands far from Cartersville Piedmont yards — leave wetland specialists in place. Do not drain or poison cover to “remove” them.

Conservation and legal notes

Patchy and poorly known; wetland destruction and exotic fish introductions (noted in Florida literature) are concerns; protected throughout Georgia.

In Georgia, non-venomous snakes are protected nongame wildlife. Per Georgia DNR materials summarizing O.C.G.A. §27-1-28, it is illegal (a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail) to possess or kill many nongame wildlife species, including non-venomous snakes. It is also illegal to disturb or destroy dens, holes, or homes of wildlife (O.C.G.A. §27-1-30). Report what DNR states; do not invent statutes or exceptions.

Georgia DNR’s georgiasnakes overview notes that among native snakes discussed there, only the eastern indigo and southern hognose are state-listed as threatened (indigo is also federally threatened). Roads, habitat loss, and fear-based killing still harm common species; calm ID from a distance is conservation work.

If you meet one

Give the snake room. Identify from a distance; do not handle, poke, or try to kill it. Most encounters end when people simply step back. If relocation is truly needed, Georgia DNR points residents to private wildlife-removal specialists. Local educators — including community resources around Cartersville such as Etowah Valley Exotics when appropriate — can help with distant photo ID and outreach.

This species is not venomous. A defensive bite can still be painful — clean the wound and seek medical advice if needed — but it is not a pit-viper or coral-snake emergency. Leave wild snakes alone. Never pour gasoline or chemicals into holes (illegal under Georgia wildlife den-protection rules).