Thailand Venomous Snake Photos

[Page Updated: 14 July 2023]

COBRA SNAKE PHOTOS

King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

This is the longest venomous snake on the planet, and they get to around 6 meters long (19 feet!). The King Cobra length isn’t the scary part, it’s the amount of venom they can inject with one bite – which can kill an elephant. The brother of a friend I have was killed by a bite to the chest while doing a snake show with a king cobra. He died in less than 10 minutes. Kings are rather slow to bite, but if you are within striking distance, and they think you are a threat, they might feel threatened enough to strike.

Captive adult King Cobra - Ophiophagus hannah.
A captive King Cobra at a snake show in Southern Thailand. Ophiophagus hannah. ©Vern Lovic

Monocled Cobras (Naja kaouthia)

These are usually quite dark brown, black, or dark grey snakes that are very fast strikers and movers. The Monocled Cobra’s venom is much more lethal than the King Cobra’s venom, so only a very small amount is needed to cause death in humans.

I met a woman who lost a husband recently, due to a bite on the man’s toe when it came out from under an outdoor refrigerator as he opened it to get a beer. The venom is both necrotic and neurotoxic. First, the man who was bitten lost his foot to necrosis. Then up to his knee. Then his entire leg and the doctor assured him and his family – he would be fine now.

He died days later. Monocled cobras are quicker to bite than king cobras and are exceptionally dangerous. Do not mess with this snake.

Juvenile Monocled Cobra - Naja kaouthia.
Juvenile Monocled Cobra – Naja kaouthia in Southern Thailand. Color varies from dark black to grey to brown. Deadly venomous snake. ©Vern Lovic

Naja kaouthia just might be my favorite snake… Monocled Cobra.

KRAIT SNAKE PHOTOS

Banded Kraits (Bungarus fasciatus)

Banded Kraits are yellow and black snakes that are active at night. During the day they are usually quite docile. Some are foolish enough to handhold them during the daylight hours. Show this snake more respect, its venom is quite lethal and kills people each year in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Bands can be yellow and black, white and black, or even with longitudinal (yellow and black striped) instead of banding due to genetic anomaly.

Banded Krait - black and yellow in Thailand. Bungarus fasciatus. Deadly venomous snake.
Banded kraits can be yellow and black or white and black. They have a very high vertebral ridge. Bungarus fasciatus. ©Vern Lovic

Venomous Snakebites and Near Misses!

More than 34 stories of venomous snakebites and very near misses from Southeast Asia’s most deadly snakes – King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Monocled Cobra, Banded Krait, Malayan Krait, and more! Digital Book with over 100 pages by Vern Lovic.

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Kraits

Malayan Kraits (Blue Krait) (Bungarus candidus)

Stronger venom than the Banded Krait, but not as lethal as it’s sister – the Multi-banded Krait, that looks very similar. Malayan Kraits are generally not interested in biting, but they have one of the most toxic venoms of any snake. Extreme caution is recommended.

Adult Malayan Krait - Deadly venomous snake. Bungarus candidus.
Malayan Kraits come in black and white and have thick bands of alternating white and black. This one is flattening itself to appear larger. ©Vern Lovic

Red-headed Kraits (Bungarus flaviceps)

The Red-headed Krait, is seen as often during the day as at night. These ultra-lethal venomous snakes are quite rare to find at all. I have seen just two in more than a decade of looking for snakes in Thailand. Most people never see one in the wild. Their venom and behavior has not been well-studied but their venom is very toxic, like the other kraits.

Photo of deadly Red-headed Krait (Bungarus flaviceps) in Thailand.
A deadly Thailand snake, the red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps). These are extremely rare. ©Vern Lovic

Thailand Snakes – Venomous and Non-Venomous snake information!

Many-banded Kraits (Bungarus multicinctus)

A small, less than 10-inch snake called Bungarus multicinctus killed famous American herpetologist, Joe Slowinski while he was on an expedition in Burma and far from a hospital with respirators. He died within 30 hours from the Many-banded Krait bite. These snakes have venom which is in the top 5 of the most lethal territorial snakes in the world. These snakes look very similar to the Malayan Krait, but they have more bands.

HAVE YOU READ THIS SNAKE BOOK YET? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
One of Top Snake Biologists in the World is in Burma and is Bitten by a Krait… Great Story!

VIPER SNAKE PHOTOS

Malayan Pit Vipers (Calloselasma rhodostoma)

Malayan Pit Viper - Calloselasma rhodostoma. Deadly venomous snake in Thailand.
One of Thailand’s most deadly pit vipers – Malayan Pit Viper. Deadly necrotoxic venom. ©Vern Lovic

These snakes have the distinction of killing the most people across Thailand of any other snake. Malayan Pit Vipers have large heads, very large fangs, and a strong bite that can inflict deep wounds filled with venom. These snakes love the grass and light cover. They tend not to move at all when approached, and don’t give any noise before striking. Usually people die when they don’t get hospital treatment quickly. The venom is primarily hemotoxic and the victim bleeds from orifices on the body – as well as from the brain.

Siamese Viper (Daboia siamensis)

Found north, west and east of Bangkok – this snake is not to be found in southern Thailand. Siamese Vipers kill more people across the globe than any other. Like the Malayan pit viper these vipers are very strong, thick, and have large fangs.

Photo of Siamese Viper, one of Thailand's most deadly snakes.
Siamese Viper – Daboia siamensis is a deadly Thailand Snake. Image used with permission. Thanks Mike!

Brown-spotted Pit Viper (Trimeresurus venustus)

And she is a beautiful snake too! In the header of this website is a photo of what I think is the first venomous snake I saw in Thailand – the Trimeresurus venustus, the Beautiful Pit Viper. These are small vipers with very small scales – especially on the head. They are not so deadly, but you will have strong local reaction to the venom.

Brown-spotted Pit Viper (Beautiful Pit Viper - T. venustus) waiting in ambush for prey (frogs).
The Brown-spotted Pit Viper, aka “The Beautiful Pit Viper” hanging over a culvert edge waiting to ambush prey.

Beautiful Pit Viper – Trimeresurus venustus. Stunning in person.

The image I use in my header at the top of this page is also the T. venustus – Beautiful pit viper.

Kanburi Pit Viper (Trimeresurus kanburiensis)

Very rare and found only in and next to the Kanburi province of Thailand. Very similar in appearance to the beautiful viper.

Wagler’s Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri)

Wagler's Pit Viper - Tropidolaemus wagleri. Deadly venomous snake of Thailand.
Wagler’s Pit Viper – beautiful! Used with permission given by Emilios Kattides.

Wagler’s Pit Vipers are common in Phuket, and called by some, “The Temple Viper.” These are incredibly stunning snakes to look at. Their patterns are diverse. The photo above is a female. The male is about 1/4 the thickness, with a green overall color and red/white spots.

Hagen’s Bamboo Pit Viper – coming soon.

Pope’s Bamboo Pit Viper

Female Pope's pit viper from Thailand.
Female Pope’s Pit Viper. Copyright Tom Charlton. Photo used with permission.

Wirot’s Palm Viper

Sorry, no image could be found.

Indo-Malayan Mountain Pit Viper

A father sent me photos of a snake that his young son was kicking at while they visited a waterfall on the Thai-Burma border in Phang Nga province. These are rare in Thailand, and have a nasty bite. Luckily, his son was not harmed.

Mountain Pit Viper from Phang Nga province, Thailand. Deadly venomous snake.
Indo Malayan Mountain Pit Viper. Used with permission from Stewart King. Ovophis monticola.

Mangrove Pit Viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus)

These are pretty elusive. They spend time in mangrove areas near the ocean, and I’ve yet to see one in the wild. They are big biters and not docile at all. Be careful if you come across one of these small vipers. Mangrove Pit Vipers are beautiful – but dangerous.

Mangrove Pit Viper - Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus is a deadly pit viper from Southern Thailand.
Mangrove Pit Viper – used with permission from Richard Richert. Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus.

 

Large-eyed Green Pit Viper (Trimerusurus macrops)

As the name implies, the eyes are large on this green pit viper. Green pit vipers in Thailand are quite difficult to tell apart from each other. Be careful with all of them.

Big-eyed or Large-eyed Pit Viper photo by David Frohlich. All rights reserved.
Large-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrops) by David Frohlich. Used with permission. Venomous and potentially fatal bites.

White-lipped Pit Viper (Trimeresurus albolabris)

Very dangerous and hard to identify. A very beautiful pit viper as the pictures show.

Male white-lipped pit viper from Thailand by David Frohlich.
A male White-lipped Pit Viper photo by David Frohlich. All rights reserved.

CORAL SNAKES PICTURES

Blue Malaysian Coral Snake (Calliophis bivirgata)

Blue Malaysian Coral Snake - deadly and rare in Thailand.
A stunning Blue Malaysian Coral Snake found by Tom Charlton. Rare snakes in Thailand. Thanks Tom!

Small Spotted Coral Snake (Calliophis maculiceps)

Small-spotted coral snake from Southern Thailand, Krabi province. (Calliophis maculiceps)
Small coral snake which looks harmless enough, but can inflict potentially fatal amounts of venom. Calliophis maculiceps. ©2016 ThailandSnakes.com

Venomous Snakebites and Near Misses!

More than 34 stories of venomous snakebite and very near misses from Southeast Asia’s most deadly snakes – King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Monocled Cobra, Banded Krait, Malayan Krait, and more! Digital Book with over 100 pages by Vern Lovic.

Get your copy here >

 


68 Comments

  1. We found a tiny snake in our apartment yesterday. It’s short and very thin with green and black stripes. Do you know what kind of snake it is and if it’s dangerous?

    1. Hard to say without a photo. The only green/black snake I can come up with with “stripes” is one of the rare rat snakes just recently found in Chiang Mai and far north.

      The golden tree snake has what appear to be bands, or checkered black and greenish. It’s harmless. Is this the snake – Golden Tree Snake ?

  2. HI Vern. Thank you for doing what you do. It’s been a very long time since I’ve lived in Thailand – about 25 years. I lived in Phattalung province, about halfway between Phattalung city and Hat Yai. I stumbled upon what very much looks like a red-headed krait from your picture. It was little, pencil thin and maybe 18 inches or 2 feet long. It was all black or dark grey (if I remember correctly) but when I examined it more closely it puffed up defensively and exposed a bright red head. I’ve never heard of a red headed krait or any other snake doing this. Did I imagine it, or do you have any idea what it was? Thank, Corey.

    1. Hi Corey, first off – thanks! The snake is an unknown. I’d say Red-necked keelback because in the south, they are the only snake with a red head (red neck) that is capable of ‘puffing up.’ But, they aren’t generally described as black or grey. When in need of a shed, they can have muted colors and appear somewhat grey I guess.

      The red-headed krait has black/grey body and red head and red tail. So does the Blue Long-glanded Coral Snake. Neither puffs up the head or neck.

      There is another red-headed snake, a fossorial species, Calamaria schlegeli that has a red head and grey body. These snakes reach 45 cm in length (1.6ft?). That’s a possibility. I don’t think it puffs up the neck.

      Macrophistodon flaviceps has a grey body with light banding, and a red head. It’s a keelback. It might be able to do something with the neck to flare. So, that is a possibility. They get around 2 feet maximum length.

      Actually, I’d guess it was this one. I’ve never known anyone in Thailand to find one though!

      Cheers!

  3. Hello, I was visiting Phuket in early January and during the middle of the morning looked out my rental and saw a very large black snake sticking off a bush. Probably about the length of my arm. It was shiny black and i could see every scale on its face from close to 20 or 30 feet away. I went to the window to fet a closer look and it turned around and i saw a yell9w under belly. All i can think after looking at numberous pictures is that it was a king cobra. Are there any other snakes in Phuket that fit this description?

    1. Monocled Cobra. Not sure what you mean that you could see every scale from 20-30 feet away. Is that even possible? Anyway, king cobras and monocled cobras have big scales and a yellow bottom in the front under the hood.

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