They spend most of their life in fresh water. You need to be careful wading around near shore when these guys are in the area. They are very good swimmers. It is rare to see one out of water in the woods. They do come up around our houses sometimes in the fall to look for a place to hibernate through the winter. They are ubiquitous here in eastern FL though you will rarely encounter one.Hmm, a real road snake.
What a life slithering around on the scratchy gravel.
Nice image though.
You can also live off of them if you can find them. We ate a couple in survival school. Not bad at all...there are far worse tasting critters out there.