Tag Archives: Thailand snake journal

rear-fanged

Thailand Snake Journal – Found Rare Keel-Bellied Vine Snake (Dryophiops rubescens)

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Brown Whip Snake - Keel-bellied Whip Snake - Dryophiops rubescens caught in Thailand
Brown Whip Snake - Keel-bellied Whip Snake - Dryophiops rubescens

Found another one of these whip snakes – they are supposed to be either red or brown… I guess this could be called brown. The head is more brown. The neck and up to the stomach is silver… with some black patches… and then the tail is reddish brown. It could well be the red variety because as I compare photos with the other brown whip snake I had before – they are quite different in coloration. This one is predominantly silver – for the neck and down to the beginning of the tail. The tail gets dark – and there is a reddish tint to the brown… So, not sure.

Lovely snakes. These are vine snakes and very fast in the wild. I found him on the ground amongst leaves and rocks… sandy dirty. He was about to enter an 8 inch diameter drain pipe. It did take a bit to catch him – and once I got him he was fine – no bites until I had to grab his tail to pick him up. He was not ok with that and tagged my finger very quickly – a little blood.

There were people around and they were all screaming Pit Pit! (Venomous) It isn’t… Thais call all snakes venomous – which is part of the problem here – they kill any snake they see, insisting it’s venomous. The other part of the problem is that in Thailand there are 60+ venomous snakes. Most people can’t be bothered to study them all and know the difference. I don’t know all of them either.

This one I knew though. Great snake – will keep it for a couple of days and let it go where I found it.

Common names: Keel-bellied vine snake; keel-bellied whip snake; brown whip snake; red whip snake (more red).

Video of this Brown Whip Snake below:

Thailand Snake Journal

Thailand Snake Journal – Caught Reticulated Python

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We were eating on some floating huts on a river -and I thought – this would make an ideal place for a snake to hang out… cool, thatched bamboo huts floating on a river in sunny Isaan Thailand.

I inspected all the huts – and at the last one – bang – a prize… a 1 meter long reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus). I put him in my snake bag and played with him a bit – watched him swim in the shallow river and got some great video of that – Pythons love the water. I’ll post that video at http://www.youtube.com/user/thailandsnakes sometime when i have good internet. I didn’t take any photos – just video.

That’s the first snake I saw in Thailand’s chilly northeast. It’s super cold here – I’d be hibernating too.