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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
White-lipped Pit Viper (Trimeresurus albolabris)
Very dangerous and hard to identify. A very beautiful pit viper as the pictures show.
CORAL SNAKES PICTURES
Blue Malaysian Coral Snake (Calliophis bivirgata)
Small Spotted Coral Snake (Calliophis maculiceps)
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 >
Very interesting and useful when I am working in the garden in Ban Phe, Thailand.
Hi
My friend and I recently had an encounter with a small snake on a rocky beach on Koh Kradan. We took pictures of it but none of the locals could tell us what kind it was and so far we’ve had no luck googleing it . Will you help us put a name to it, if I e-mail you some pictures of it? It kind of sneaked up behind us and gave us a scare. It didn’t mind us at all and it actually crawled across my sunbathing mat. It seemed calm and well tempered :)
Yes, look here for contact info
I have seen all these snakes.i live in the mid of rayong and ban phe.
Seen a few snakes in Thailand south Rayong and Trang near Phuket a weird small fat snake with bands and a fat little head that was slowly off to a near pond and a black yellow thing in a tree next to a river we were rafting near Krabi / Phuket a couple of green whip snakes like to wrap themselves round the door handles. Small cobra came into the school and was killed by the dinner ladies and a red-headed thing try to eat a frog which i rescued (strange cause it hopped off seemingly unharmed plenty of sea snakes esp washed up after tsunami in Phuket. Rayong area is lovely wild and very wet and also has rose quartz as well as moonstones and i expect some good quartz crystals etc as wellas gold mines etc
You mean Ranong (Rayong is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand).
Hello
You have a very informed site , it may save lives, I live on the Nam Ping river 24 km North of Chiang Mai, I am from Australia , where I have been in contact with Taipan’s Fierce Snakes, in the Desert Also king Brown’s (very aggressive when cornered)
so I am no stranger to seeing snakes,
My 2 siamese cats are forever bringing Me snakes, they are long and thin I guess some sort of tree snake , I save them when I can,
The other day a dead snake in yard was verity similar in color to the viper light brown and slightly darker bands, without the broad head, it was decomposed so I didn’t bother with a pic,
What if any snakes in this region would be dangerous,
Regards Mark
Hi Mark,
Yep, you’ve got your share of venomous and quite deadly snakes in Australia. Up north there are cobras including the king cobra. There are kraits – Malayan krait, and possibly the many-banded krait – the most potent venom of any snake found in Thailand. There are a number of vipers, and maybe including the Mountain Viper. I don’t know if the corals snakes are up there that far, but I wouldn’t doubt it. I don’t have a geographical break down specifying which snakes are found where. Would be nice, but on the other hand, so many snakes are found outside the range that it probably doesn’t make sense to even put the time into that sort of thing. Assume all Thailand snakes are to be found in your region. Send pics when you get them…. Cheers man!
Hey I found this snake in a log in my apartment and was wondering what it is if you email me I’ll give you a picture of it i don’t know how to post pictures here.
My name is Owen Brindle,
I live here in Kanchanaburi Thailand with my wife Nong, this morning I went into the front garden to feed the fish and came across a 5 foot shinny black snake. When it saw me it took off. I called out to my wife Nong but by the time she got here the snake had disappeared. QUESTION… IS A SHINNY BLACK SNAKE 5 FOOT LONG POISONOUS…???
Question – are you going to eat it? Poisonous means you’re going to suffer ill effects from eating it. Venomous means it can kill you with envenomation – biting and injecting venom.
It could be venomous – yes. Could be a cobra. Do be careful. Sorry, you gave me little to go on. There are many snakes that fit that description.
My wife and her friend killed a snake in our yard this morning, it was a metre long, black or dark brown with what apeared to be some mottling on its skin. I know it was a cobra because I saw its hood (only the front) yesterday when our dogs cornered it but what kind I do not know. We live near Uttaradit. Any ideas?
Maybe the spitting cobra (Naja siamensis) or monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia).
Informative website. I’m planning a trip to Thailand to train at a Muay Thai camp, possibly Fairtex. Is this snake issue something I should be overly concerned about or conscientious of?
Nope. Unless you’re sleeping outside, on the porch on the ground, or anywhere snakes could find you at night. Also, don’t walk around at night without a flashlight/torch. Have fun…