Juvenile Snake ID?

[Otolith]

 

[Otolith]

I found him this morning sunning outside in the yard, scoped him up before my dogs made a quick breakfast of him. I'm thinking... water snake of some species? (I'm in southern Mississippi, within ten miles of the gulf)

 

[Noto]

Banded watersnake, Nerodia fasciata. The dark stripe behind the eye is a good way to distinguish it from N. sipedon and N. erythrogaster. It looks more like the nominate race than N. f. confluens, which is the widespread race in MS. What area did you find it in?

 

[Otolith]

Thank you! He was a couple hundred yards from a couple acre bass pond, coiled up in a barren patch lacking any grass. How old do you think he is? (I should have put a coin near him for scale in hindsight)

 

[Noto]

He's this year's baby, probably born sometime in the summer. One of my favorite water snakes! Unlike some of the others they usually keep their nice pattern and color as they grow.