[Wanted] Water Snakes

2 or 3 water snakes for my pond in the back yard. Does anyone have any experience keeping water snakes in their pond where they do not just disappear? I have a good food source of feeder goldfish. I have turtles and fish, a few snakes would do nicely. I live in Leavenworth, Kansas (zone 5). I assume the snakes will hibernate like my turtles? I'm in unknown territory here. Any advice would be appreciated.
v/r,
Rick

Email: richard.olsen1@us.army.mil

Ricko, it would NOT be a good idea to import and release any snakes that are not native to your area. I'm pretty sure that you have Broad-Banded Water Snakes where you live, possibly Yellow-Bellies and maybe Northerns, but the others would not be native and introducing them wouldn't be good. Reptiles have a fairly well-developed "homing instinct" so a freshly-released snake is not likely to stick around where you want it to, and this is especially true during the breeding season, when males are going to wander some pretty far distances looking for females. Also, goldfish are VERY, VERY BAD for snakes to eat, since they contain an enzyme called "Thiaminaise" which inhibits the snake's body from being able to absorb vital nutrients from food, especially the Vitamin B complex, which will eventually result in severe neurological damage and death. And yes, snakes do hibernate just like turtles, and in many places, it's still a bit too cool for them. I'm in SC, and we're a lot further south than you, and I still have yet to see the first snake out here. I keep Nerodia, by the way, so I'm pretty familiar with these snakes.

S.A. McKenzie

Pitbulllady - this is great advice, just what I have been looking for. I keep getting other advice from pet shops, knowing they were probably not telling me the whole story. Did not know about the goldfish, good to know. Thanks for your time. Looks like unless it is native, I won't even consider it. In fact, this whole idea will not work.
Rick

If you have an outdoor pond, you'll eventually have frogs, and if you have frogs, you'll eventually have Garter Snakes, at least, if not native Water Snakes. Most outdoor pond owners do NOT want them, not only because of that ridiculous fear of snakes that so many people have, but because these things are bottomless pits when it comes to eating! I've had to remove Water Snakes from some of these little manmade ponds after all the fish had "disappeared"; they're like a fox in a chicken house and when they are surrounded by all this free food which has no room to escape, they just go into a sort of feeding frenzy, even killing fish after they have no more room in their bellies to hold a guppy. I caught one big Red-Belly that regurged 15 expensive Koi...in my CAR on the way home, and those were not little fish, either! The pond owner had paid as much as $85.00 for some of those fish-how many of US get to enjoy dining on that level?

pitbulllady

Very interesting facts. Thanks for your advice.
Rick