Thailand Snakes | Venomous | Photos | Videos | ID

Paradise Tree Snake – Not Dangerous – Just Beautiful

These are great snakes for a couple of reasons. Number 1 – their colors. This snake looks like Christmas – right? Amazing oranges, greens, and blacks assault your senses.

Number 2? They fly. They glide very far when they jump from a high vantage point. They can glide dozens of meters – and probably more, these snakes are limited only by how high they are when they jump. Typically they use their gliding ability to travel from tree to tree in search of prey, or to elude capture by a predator.

I don’t know how long the link will be here – but, here is a page full of snakes in this family – jumping and gliding. Amazing videos…

Tree snakes flying videos

Name: Chrysopelea paradisi. Paradise Tree Snake. Also called “flying snake” and “ornate flying snake”.

Length: As long as 1.2 meters (almost 4 feet)

Range: Thailand-wide. This one was found in Krabi province at sea-level in a handbag shop at the beach. We’ve found them in rainforest near a Thailand resort as well.

Habitat: Bushes, ground, trees, roofs. They are often found in palm tree fronds. I have found them there as well as small trees with big leaves and a lot of open area so they can see – presumably. I have found them as high as 500 meters vertically up a mountain in Thailand, and at sea level. Recently we found one 7 meters up a large tree on a hot sunny day.

Active Time? Diurnal – active during the day.

Food: House geckos, Tokay geckos, bats, and frogs.

Defensive Behavior: They bite very quickly, but have small mouths and teeth. There has been no medically significant case of envenomation mentioned in the literature. They are considered harmless for humans and probably pets over the size of a cat.

Venom Toxicity: Weak for humans. Effective for geckos, frogs and bats. These are rear-fanged colobrids and a prolonged bite could cause swelling and pain at the bite site.

Offspring: They produce eggs which hatch during May/June in Thailand.

Notes: Paradisi is distinguished from ornata ornatissima by the orange/red coloration at the top of the body, sometimes at the head, sometimes more of the body is colored, and sometimes the entire head and body are covered in the red flower like scale patterns.

This one tried to bite many times and calmed after 10 minutes.

This paradise tree snake was caught grabbing gecko lunch in Singapore by David Joseph.  Copyright 2011 – David Joseph. Used with permission.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Chrysopelea
Species: C. paradisi
Binomial name – Chrysopelea paradisi
Classified by Boie, in the year 1827

Video of C. paradisi found 5/23/13:

Golden Tree Snake found today in Southern Thailand among some vines on a fence. Chrysopelea ornata ornatissima.

This is a small specimen of rat snake, maybe 1.5 meters. They grow to nearly 3 meters.

He turns to strike at me – but, can’t reach because too many vines in the way.

Nang jumps out of the back seat and grabs the snake so I can film.

They are called “Golden Tree Snakes”. They are sometimes called “Flying Snakes”. They can jump from 100 meter heights and glide down into the bough of another tree or even just hit the ground. They flatten out when they fall – and they are unharmed when they hit. Amazing, huh?

These pics are from today. The guys went out before I arrived and caught a grey rat snake, as you can see here. Also a beautiful specimen. Shame someone whacked it with a stick at the house it was found at!

Golden Tree Snake - Venomous - Little Danger to Humans

These Golden Tree Snakes are also known as Flying Snakes. They glide very well, perhaps the best of any snake in the world, and even better than some squirrels and lizards. Golden Tree Snakes are a lime green and black checkered type patterned snake. They are tree dwellers but can climb anything, even walls. They appear to have a favorite food – the Tokay Geckos that reach sizes of 12 inches long in adulthood. They are frequently seen eating Tokays.

Chrysopelea ornata ornatissima (Golden Tree Snake)
Thai language: Ngoo kee-ow ly dok mak

Appearance: Chrysopelea ornata in Thailand is lime green with some black and green cross hatches. This snake’s head is rather flat with a thin neck and atypical blunt nose, large eyes which sometimes are red depending on the angle.

Length: Up to 140 cm (almost 5 feet). They only get about as thick as 2-3 fingers held together.

Range: All over Thailand and many countries in Southeast Asia.

Habitat: Golden Tree Snakes can be found just about anywhere – in an apartment in Bangkok, or climbing bushes at 500 meters vertical elevation. Typically I see them at sea-level crossing the roads, or laying flat out along the stem of a low-lying palm tree branch.

Notes: If you’re trying to catch one of these snakes it can be very difficult. They are excellent escape artists and once they get into a clump of bushes or up a tree – forget it. Go look for something else, you won’t catch it. They can disappear in trees so fast it’s hard to believe.Occasionally you can find these in caves – they eat bats too.

Active Time? Diurnal – daytime.

Food: Small geckos, lizards, large Tokay geckos, rodents, bird eggs, insects, another snake occasionally, and bats. Golden Tree Snakes kill by squeezing the neck of their prey, crushing it.

Natural Enemies: King cobras and Kraits will eat these snakes when they can catch them. When they are small, birds eat them.

Defensive Behavior: Golden Tree Snakes (flying snakes) bite quickly when played with. As adults they may not lose that temperament. As babies – I have one now, they lose it quickly – and are OK with being held. They are very fast snakes when escaping.

Venom Toxicity: Rear fanged venomous snake – but the venom is not very dangerous to humans at all. Just the same, don’t let it bite down on you more than a second or two before you remove it. Don’t give this snake a chance to inject a lot of venom and you’ll likely be just fine if no allergies to it. There have been no confirmed cases of medically significant envenomation with Golden Tree Snakes.

Offspring: Little is known about the breeding habits of these snakes because nobody can seem to get them to mait while captive. Being oviparous it lays 6-12 eggs in May-June and they hatch in June. Baby snakes are 11-15cm long (4-6″)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Chrysopelea
Species: C. ornata
Binomial name: Chrysopelea ornata

Discovered, classified by Shaw, 1802

Golden Tree Snake Photo:

In Thailand the golden tree snakes typically have this coloration and pattern.

Video: My Baby Golden Tree Snake in Thailand: