I lived near Lake Charles, where I had easy access to WH from the Calcasieu river. When I moved to Alexandria, I took a little with me for my pond. The winter here killed it. So, if a central LA winter kills WH, then a North LA winter should certainly kill it. By the way, I checked with the 'powers that be' before removing any from the river to take home, and he said as long as I don't put it into natural waterways, its okay. Not even illegal, because the authorities have given up fighting it and consider it 'naturalized'. Plus, living near the Calcasieu river all my life, I've never seen it get really bad, and I've never known of anybody trying to eradicate it. Sure it forms small rafts, but it never entirely clogs the waterways. You can just navigate your boat around it. Plus, I found it makes a really good source of Nitrogen for compost piles. My koi eat all the roots off any WH I put in the pond, so I toss the rootless plants in the compost bin and get fresh for the pond. So, it also makes good vacation food for my koi. All around a useful plant, if used and disposed of carefully. Sorry, no I don't have any right now. I haven't gone back to the river to get some yet this season. Check ebay, you may find it there.

not a good mix with dogs as they (dogs) tend to look for trouble, your probably safe as long as you dont step on it.first i would try to get a positive I.D. on it.I saw one at Busch wildlife santuary in west palm,it had a very thick body and a large triangular head.try a google search.what if critter control comes out and the snake is no where to be found.you may never see it again or maybe everyday,who knows. worst case scenario i work with a guy who would probably take to another location for $50.also have a look at the banded water snake, very similar.

Ritchie is right on. It is a Diamondback Water Snake (Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer). They are nonvenomous and harmless.

It is indeed a long term commitment, Nancy. One of the benefits of participating in parrot-owner groups is finding someone who can take your animals should life conditions change. Sometimes it is not death, but economics which force a rehoming of a parrot.....like large noisy macaws especially are rehomed when folks in recent years lost their homes and moved in with family or into apartments etc which did not accept such noisy pets. Of course, once night comes, parrots are quiet and asleep, but still, a macaw is a wood-eating machine and to consider what is fair to the bird is also important. They need space, and time out of the confinement. So, having someone who can permanently or temporarily care for the birds is a big issue for parrot owners. And as you say, they can life as long a life as human beings. I discovered parrots late in life, maybe when I was 45, and so any young birds I take will outlive me, given a normal longevity. My adored African greys are just now sexually mature, around 15 for one, and my big boy Kimali turned 14 on March 18.....I had him from the time he was 5 weeks old, fell in love with the little dinosaur when he was hatched only 3 days. So he's known me all his life. We have a special relationship. One of the major concerns with most people is the long term care of the parrots after we pass on. So, the parrots are in my will. I am a fan and supporter of Iowa Parrot Rescue near Muscatine Iowa, and have taken several parrots to them for my vet when folks cannot keep them. IPR is a 401c3 or whatever it is, tax deductible etc, and it is a great place out in the middle of huge expanses of corn fields, with an outdoor aviary, and a large permanent care facility along with an active adoption program. Parrots coming from a home frequently need a new family to love, and prefer to be touched and handled. Yet others have been so badly abused for whatever reasons, that they are custodial candidates. Mike and Abi evaluate potential homes before and after an adoption, and I trust their judgement with this. I have a bequest to the IPR in my will, and definitely support them during the present time. In most cases, family members are not inclined to share legacies with a bird, and in my mind it is not an optional commitment. Before everything else, my animals, dogs as well as birds, are to be provided for. My external hard drive with 10 years worth of photos on it failed, and it also contained the backups for the whole computer. So, now I must send it off to be salvaged if possible. All I have left are albums on Flickr. I might have a couple of pictures accessible but what a sad thing. I took 10 gig of photos of just my hosta garden last year, so those are gone too. Real bummer. Dolly and Dixie. Dolly is the puppy. Keno, a male eclectus parrot adopted when his mama died of esophageal cancer Kimali male African grey in the dining room Rumbles, a tiny female African grey adopted last May when her mama was diagnosed with brain tumor and lung cancer