# Brown wax (*Nerodia fasciata*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-wax  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The brown wax (Nerodia fasciata) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults live up to 9.58 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | up to 1.59 m |
| Lifespan | 9.58 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 16 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 19.5 – 22.8 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

Recorded prey: Southern leopard frog (*Lithobates sphenocephalus*), Southern toad (*Anaxyrus terrestris*), Walking catfish (*Clarias batrachus*), Mosquitofish (*Gambusia affinis*), Greater siren (*Siren lacertina*). Recorded predators: Racer (*Coluber constrictor*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Colubridae
- genus: Nerodia
- species: *Nerodia fasciata* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Coluber fasciatus*, *Natrix fasciata confluens*, *Natrix fasciata pictiventris*, *Natrix sipedon engelsi*, *Natrix sipedon fasciata*, *Tropidonotus bisectus*

## Common questions

### How long does the brown wax live?

The brown wax has a recorded lifespan of 9.58 years.

### What kind of animal is the brown wax?

The brown wax (Nerodia fasciata) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

### What eats the brown wax?

Animals recorded preying on the brown wax include racer. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

### Which animals does the brown wax eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the brown wax include southern leopard frog, southern toad, walking catfish and mosquitofish. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Brown wax (Nerodia fasciata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-wax