Thailand Snake Photos – Malayan Pit Viper

Malayan Pit Viper in Thailand climbing blue fence. — Deadly, and cytotoxic venom which destroys all tissue – even bone.

This lovely 1 meter long Malayan Pit Viper was submitted by a reader of Thailand Snakes (.com), John Helm in Jomtien Beach, near Pattaya, Thailand. The photo was taken on 3/7/11.

John moved the snake from his patio over a wall separating his house from some heavy bush.

These snakes appear to be lazy, or not aggressive – and John said this as well. However, they are violent strikers and can hit you from further than you think. In addition to that, Malayan Pit Vipers can strike backwards VERY fast and VERY accurately. They need not strike out forward… In fact, I have a video of one striking a mouse I put in the cage on Youtube here. It struck backward.

The other day I was observing one and dangling some paper behind it – it struck VERY fast and nailed it.

These snakes are reported to cause more deaths in Thailand than any other snake. The reason I presume, is because they bite village people who either rely on natural medicines – leaves rubbed on the wound, for instance – instead of getting to a hospital they can’t afford.

These and the Russell’s Vipers are the most dangerous vipers in Thailand for bites. Of course, monocled cobras (Naja kaouthia), other cobras, and kraits are worse as far as their venom being deadlier.

Thanks John!

King Cobra Hatchling Found – 2017!

Baby king cobra hatchling - juvenile, found in Southern Thailand. — Baby king cobra hatchling – juvenile, found in Southern Thailand.

I was hoping this year was going to be THE YEAR I found a king cobra hatchling – at least one under a meter. Alex Gillard made it happen for me, I didn’t get to find it, but we were at the same place and I’d actually just passed the place he found the little king – about 30 minutes before. Good enough for me, I just wanted to see one in the wild and get some photos and videos.

This has been my target species for about ten years now. I’ve found some adults, and one adult even found me, but I have never seen a king cobra in the wild less than three meters in length.

Juvenile king cobras are very difficult to find. People say they’re ‘smart’ – and yeah, I guess they are. I’ve never even heard of someone finding a hatchling king in the wild. One time a doctor from Malaysia sent me a photo of a tiny hatchling outside his clinic – in the middle of the day. It had probably just hatched.

Certainly, nobody goes looking for and finds king neonates.

Until Alex found one.

So, anyway. My life is complete. Enjoy the photos of this stunning little one-month old king cobra found in Krabi. I don’t know how many times I’ve been herping over the last ten years, certainly well over 1,000 times. And still, I’ve never found one myself!

Anyway, yeah, enjoy…

Hooded king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) hatchling (neonate / juvenile) found in Southern Thailand in July 2017. — Ready for action!

Brown Kukri Snake – Non Venomous – Not Dangerous

Kukri Snake in Thailand - non venomous, but biting snake found all over Thailand — Kukri Snake – Non Venomous – Not Dangerous

Oligodon purpurascens (Brown Kukri Snake)

Thais say: Ngoo koot

Appearance: Typical kukri shape – not long, but thick snakes with a short tail and no real separation between neck and head. Very small head. Pattern on top of head indicative of most kukri species. Venter is creme or pink.

Length: Average just under 1 meter (about 37 inches)

Range: All over Thailand. Brown Kukri snakes were once thought to be native to only the southernmost Thailand provinces, however J. Bulian has found one in Pattaya and there have been others discovered farther in the northeast. Assume the Brown Kukri’s habitat is across most of Thailand.

Habitat: These snakes prefer life in the forest and can be found at great elevations – about 1 mile high (1,600 meters). I have received numerous requests to identify this snake from readers who found them close to or inside their homes as well. The habitat is wide and varied for this species. Regardless where they are found, they enjoy living under brush, wood, rocks, and thick flora.

Active Time? Nocturnal, active at night and in the early morning as the sun rises. I have also found them in the middle of the day, and toward evening before sunset.

Food: Frogs, lizards, geckos, skinks, and their eggs.

Defensive Behavior: If the brown kukris are bothered enough they will roll their body to the side and lift up their tail – perhaps to present it as a place to attack – leaving the mouth free to strike when the aggressor does go for the tail. Kukri snakes have specialized egg-slicing teeth in the back of the jaw which are enlarged and shaped like a kukri knife. When held by the head, this snake can expertly twist the jaw around to stick the handler with these teeth. Holding is not recommended.

Venom Toxicity: No venom.

Offspring: Lay 6-12 eggs. A reader reported his snake had 8 eggs the first time and 10 the next. Eggs hatched after 60 days, incubated at 29 degrees C. Hatching in Bangkok latitude around late April.

Notes: Though this snake is not venomous, it is keen to bite and can inflict deep wounds due to it’s large, curved teeth and strong bite. Michael Cota, researcher, says, “Appears that it might be an evolutionary link on the way to being venomous, since it is the only snake that I can think of that has “fangs” (enlarged pair of teeth), but no venom delivery system or ducts to the teeth. They are not dangerous, but will give you quite a bloody bite that takes a long time to heal. What makes them so difficult is that their head is not distinct; therefore, it is extremely difficult to grab behind the head and keep proper control of it. It maneuvers it head around on your grip and then uses teeth to bite – slash.”

You’ll need a tetatus shot if you are bitten, as with all snakes as a precaution.

Kukris are common and you might see one in Thailand if you live here.

Brown Kukri Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Oligodon
Species: Oligodon purpurascens

Binomial name: Oligodon purpurascens
Classified by Schlegel in 1837.

Purple Kukri Snake - Harmless and common in Thailand. — Oligodon purpurascens, a very common kukri snake in our area. These have a fairly wide range in the south of Thailand. Brown or Purple kukri snake.

Snakes I’ve Found or Caught in Thailand

I thought I’d write up a list of Thailand snakes I’ve caught – just to try to keep track. Here’s a list of both venomous and non-venomous snakes I’ve caught (through 4/2017).

Thailand Snakes I’ve been lucky enough to find:

NEW SPECIES! I found a new Oligodon species that has not been named.

NEW SPECIES! I found another snake that I think is a new species. It is similar to a keelback, but thinner, longer. It was yellow with a white ring around the neck, about 70 cm in length around 400 meters elevation.

Venomous Species

King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

Monocled Cobra (Naja kaouthia)

Malayan Krait / Blue Krait (Bungarus candidus)

Mangrove Pit Viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus)

Wagler’s Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri)

Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma)

Beautiful Pit Viper (Trimeresurus venustus)

Red Necked Keelback (Rhabdophis subminiatus)

Red Headed Krait – (Bungarus flaviceps)

Small Spotted Coral Snake (Calliophis maculiceps)

Brown Long-glanded Coral Snake (Calliophis intestinalis)

Non-Venomous Species

Speckle-bellied Keelback (Rhabdophis chrysargos)

Golden Kukri Snake (Oligodon cinereus)

Purple Kukri Snake (Oligodon purpurascens)

Blood Python (Python Brongersmai)

Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus)

Triangle Keelback (Xenochrophis triangularis)

Common Brown Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus)

Checkered Keelback (Xenochrophis piscator)

Striped Keelback (Amphiesma stolatum)

Big-eyed Mountain Keelback (Pseudoxenodon macrops)

Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) green, yellow phases

Malayan Whip Snake (Ahaetulla mycterizans)

Malayan Banded Wolf Snake (Lycodon subcinctus)

Brown Whip Snake / Keel bellied Whip Snake (Dryophiops rubescens) both brown and red phases.

Butler’s Wolf Snake (Lycodon butleri)

Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus)

Dusky Wolf Snake (Lepturophis albofuscus)

Laotian Wolf Snake (Lycodon laoensis)

Malayan Bridle Snake (Dryocalamus subannulatus)

Puff-Faced Water Snake (Homalopsis buccata)

Red Tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis ruffus ruffus)

Sunbeam Snake (Xenopeltis unicolor)

Common Water Snake / Yellow Bellied Water Snake (Enhydris plumbea)

Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata)

Paradise Tree Snake (Chrysopelea paradisi)

Blue Bronzeback Snake (Dendrelaphis cyanochloris)

Striped Bronzeback Snake (Dendrelaphis caudolineatus)

Common Bronzeback Snake (Dendrelaphis pictus)

Banded Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis striatus)

Copperheaded Racer | Radiated Rat Snake (Coelognathus radiata)

Malayan Racer (Coelognathus flavolineatus)

Red-tailed Racer (Gonyosoma oxycephalum)

Banded Cat Snake / Mangrove Cat Snake / Black Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila)

Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea)

Dog-toothed Cat Snake (Boiga cynodon)

Common Mock Viper (Psammodyanstes pulverulentus)

Ridley’s Racer (Othriophis taeniurus ridleyi)

Indo-Chinese Rat Snake (Ptyas korros)

White-bellied Rat Snake (Ptyas fusca)

Oriental Rat Snake (Ptyas mucosus)

Keeled Rat Snake (Ptyas carinatus)

Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus)

Common Bridle Snake (Dryocalamus davisonii)

Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris)

Orange-bellied Snake (Gongylosoma baliodeirus)

DORs (Dead on Road)

I don’t count these, I have seen more species in addition those above.

Fifty-eight different snake species. Well, there are 150+ more out there – so I’d better get herping.

Just to make it crystal clear for those that need it. I catch the snakes and let them go in the same place I found them – in all cases except rescues where I am removing snakes from someone’s property, and they must be relocated. I release snakes I catch almost always within 24 hours. I release the snakes back to another suitable habitat.

If you want to come and catch snakes in Thailand – give us an email:

We go primarily at night to herp for a couple reasons:

1. More herps.
2. Cooler weather.

Nearly 7 Years of ThailandSnakes.com – Thanks!

Thailand Snakes stats.

When I started this website almost 7 years ago, I really didn’t think there’d be that many people interested in the herpetofauna of Thailand. I was so wrong. The stats above show the growth of ThailandSnakes.com over the years. This month we are already the 2nd highest traffic month ever. Traffic means people coming to the site and what they’re consuming – pageviews.

Now I need to come to a decision – either crank it up to be as big as it can possibly get, or just let it coast.

I certainly don’t have all the pages I want on the site yet. It’s slow going to add new species pages. It takes a few hours to write the information and find good photos. When I look at the traffic numbers, people are mostly interested in the common Thailand snakes, and venomous Thailand snakes categories.

I have few pit vipers listed. I have no seasnakes listed – I might have Laticauda. Can’t recall. I have very few snakes outside of the species I catch here in the South. I could really add another 100 species to cover more of the commonly seen snakes in Thailand.

I have a lot of helpful pages up. I’m not sure what else I could write to help people with snakes. If you have any ideas, do let me know!

I’m stuck about how to monetize the site. There is a ton of free info here, and I’ve written some books to cover more specific info people may want. I’m writing a new book that will be finished in a few days – “Venomous Snakebites and Near Misses – Southeast Asia Edition” which I hope everyone likes. Some of the stories are really fascinating. Danger lurking around every corner.

If you have any suggestions for the site, now is the time to let me know.

Cheers!

The Best Herping Headlamp? Petzl Ultra Rush!

OK, bear with me as I recommend this obscenely expensive headlamp for herping, but I have to do it. I doubt there is anyone else in the world using this headlamp to find snakes, reptiles, amphibians, etc… but, you know what?

The Petzl Ultra Rush Headlamp is the BEST Headlamp for Herping

How much is it? Don’t ask. You can’t afford it. I afford it because I reviewed it for my Headlamps101.com site, and then I’ve been using it for the past month, and it has absolutely blown me away. I have found more snakes and other wildlife than I would have found with other lights – by far. It’s not just the brightness, it’s bright. It’s a combination of factors reviewed below.

It’s really the best headlamp for herping that I’ve seen, and I’ve used dozens of LED flashlights and eight top of the line headlamps over the years. I have never found any headlamp even close to this one.

What Qualities Are Important in a Herping Headlamp?

LUMENS

It’s not just lumens. If it was, I’d go out and buy six of the 1,500 lumens lights for $70 each, and be done with it. It has little to do with lumens. I mean, you need a good number of lumens – say 400 lm to be bright enough for most of your herping needs. Four hundred does it for me for ground herping. It’s just about right. With the Ultra Rush headlamp, I get 420 lm for 5 hours straight. I can’t remember the last time I herped for 5 hours in a night, but yeah, it’s available if you need it that long. If you need it for longer than that, you can get 300 lumens for 7 hour out of it. That’s plenty long enough for even the most intrepid herpers. Three hundred lumens is still very usable for closer distances – say 3-4 meters in front of you, though it isn’t all that great for herping high in the trees.

With four hundred and twenty lumens, you will be able to light up the ground to about 10-15 meters and trees – at every distance you could need to – because you sure aren’t climbing a 15 meter tree to get a snake down. You don’t need more lumens for most uses. That said, for road cruising – it is nice to have more so you can see 50 meters or so down the road and spot a snake. The Ultra Rush headlamp GIVES YOU THAT with 760 max lumens on demand. Switch on the super-bright 760 lumens occasionally as you need to see extra-far or need something you’re unsure about, lit up like Times Square. Or, you can just crank it up from the start to 760 lumens and it will go straight for 2 hours. Note – if you do it this way, it’s actually over 900 lumens for the first 15-20 minutes!

When I am riding my motorbike with the high-beams on and then turn on this headlamp at full power – the headlamp is easily 6 times as bright as my high-beams on the motorbike. That’s bright.

BEAM SHAPE

Keep in mind that the next factor – Beam Shape – greatly affects the measurement of lumens put out by the light. You can have 420 lumens spread out over 1 meter diameter at 4 meters, or at .5 meters, it is giving only half the light. The Ultra Rush gives you a large beam size – matching the capabilities of your eyes. Most beams are too tight or far too wide to give you what you need. For example, a headlamp with a 420 lumen rating that is spread out across 150 degrees of angle – will be so dim – you’d be lucky to be able to read a book by it. Lumens is a measure of total light leaving the headlamp. How it spreads out – substantially affects the brightness of the light. This leads us to the next factor…

For herping, you need a beam that matches exactly what your eyes are capable of. Your eyes are only capable of seeing snakes and other wildlife in a small range of area as you scan the ground or trees. At three meters from you, you’d be lucky to see a full meter in diameter. At four meters you could see a meter or so. The Ultra Rush was designed to match your vision.

Most headlamps have an overly-bright center spotlight beam which is too tight, too small, and too bright. At four meters distance, it is around a half-meter in size. That is too small and will contribute to eye-fatigue.

Another typical feature of headlamps and flashlights is that they try to do two things at once. They try to have a bright center beam (spot) and a wide beam going at the same time. The result is a too-bright center spotlight and a very weak flood light. Neither of these helps you find snakes. What you need is a circular beam that covers enough diameter so you can see what the light makes visible. The Ultra Rush is just perfect for this. There are 6 LED lights that blend perfectly to give you a round beam that is evenly lit and a big enough diameter to help you see everything that is there in front of you.

BEAM LIGHT BALANCE

Something I didn’t understand until recently is that, you want a WARM COLORED BEAM for your headlamp. Previous to the Ultra Rush, I was using the Nao 2 Headlamp – which I thought was awesome for 2016 – it’s dependable and I found hundreds of snakes using it. Guess what? It has a either a blue-tinted (cold) beam, or maybe it’s neutral – I cannot tell. But, when I compare the two beams – Nao 2 against the Ultra Rush – the Nao 2 beam has a bluish tint in comparison.

At first I didn’t know how that affected herping. Today I know, the slightly warm tint of the Ultra Rush is PERFECT for finding wildlife in the rainforest. For whatever reason, the warm light accents the differences between snakes and plants, snakes and the surroundings, lizards and plants, insects and plants or the ground. It’s really quite amazing to see the difference, but I’ve found so much more wildlife with this new Ultra Rush headlamp, than I ever found with my other headlamps with blue tints and tighter or looser beams.

DEPENDABILITY

The Petzl company has been around since the late 1970’s! No kidding. They were making headlamps for cavers and climbers for 40+ years now. They are definitely the best company for headlamps, and I’d not use anything else. I’ve used four of their top headlamps and all of them were durable, dependable, and gave a great quality of light. I’d certainly not switch to any other brand at this point. Go with what WORKS I’ve always been told.

When you’re in the deep rainforest and you need to depend on a headlamp to get you back out of the forest – and find you the most snakes and other wildlife – I strongly suggest you get this Ultra Rush headlamp. It’s expensive as hell. I encourage you to compare it to other lights – especially beam patterns. One-thousand lumens doesn’t mean much if the beam is super tight and laser-like. At least order this headlamp and try it out for yourself. I think you won’t be able to send it back. Like me. You’ll keep it and make excuses why you couldn’t possibly send it back. You’ll love it from the day it arrives.

Cheers,

Vern L.
ThailandSnakes.com
USASnakes.com
SnakebiteAid.org

Last Night’s Herp – February 22, 2017

Just a quick rundown of last night’s herping activity here in Southern Thailand – Krabi province. I walked around for two hours last night between 8 pm. and 10 pm. and found quite a lot of wildlife active. The weather has been dry and hot (33°C max during daylight, and around 29°C at night at this time). No wind, and dry air – maybe 50% humidity.

Found:

Malayan pit viper (C. rhodostoma) – male, 50 cm, on the move, actively hunting prey.
Malayan whip snake (A. mycterizans) – very light green 80 cm, sleeping on large leaves at 2 meters off ground.
Oriental whip snake (A. prasina) – light brown, sleeping on large leaves at 1 meter off ground.
5 Slow lorises () – all in trees and ranging from 4 meters off the ground to 30 meters or more.
30+ Lizards – most or all were Forest crested lizards (C. emma), though one or two I couldn’t see well could have been A. mystaceous).
Stick Insect – about 4 inches long. Love these.
Tiny green bird shaped like a sphere – not bigger than a golf ball. Sleeping on a large-leafed plant 1 meter off the ground on a sloping hill with 30% grade.
Numerous Spiders, Millipedes, Centipedes, Forest Scorpions mostly, but including one very small and a thin scorpion I believe from the genus Heterometrus.
2 Nightjars – these are birds of prey which feed on insects in the air or on the ground – grasshoppers, mosquitos, beetles, etc. I also saw a number of them flying around overhead.

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Preparing for 2017 Herping Season – Excited…

Nothing quite like the anticipation of another amazing snake season here in Thailand and maybe some other parts of Southeast Asia in 2017.

We got some rain last week, flooded the hell out of Krabi in some spots, but most of it drained within a couple hours of bucketing down and flooding roads and places I’d never seen flooded before. A bit like the flood of May 2011, but worse.

Last night I went out and found 4 snakes in 25 minutes. That might be a record. There were trees all over the road, and I couldn’t go far, but I herped what I could get to, and I guess I really wanted to find snakes because it wasn’t difficult, but some were in difficult spots to see.

Here’s a rundown of what the year looks like at the moment.

February – Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani trip.

April – Isaan trip – Yasothon, Sisaket, Ubon, and there’s a national park in Mukdahan I want to have a look at. There’s some things up here other than snakes that I’m interested in – and I’m not only talking about Spago’s Pizza either! Though, if my stomach will handle it, I’ll shovel some in.

May – Possibly having a couple visitors for herping. Anything could happen, so we’ll see.

June – SnakeStalk 2017. So looking forward to it!

July – Considering making a run up to Nakhon to see a few people and herp some new areas. Thing is, I really want to focus on hatchling king cobras here in our area – and I have a couple places to check on continually during June/July. It’s probably better I stay here, and make it August I go up to Nakhon (Korat).

Aug – Herping the heck out of this place, or going to Korat.

September – Herping the heck out of this place.

October – depends on weather

November – depends on weather

December – not much is likely