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

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

Keel-Bellied Vine 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 brown. The neck and up to the stomach are 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 and 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 okay 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: