Found Another New Snake – Not Yet Classified – Possible New Discovery
Found Another New Snake – Not Yet Classified – Possible New Discovery
I was getting in one of my mountain climbing workouts and on the dead tree next to me was a small (50cm) dark green snake coming out of a hole where it looked like termites were munching wood. He was head down and just gliding slowly down the vertical trunk of the tree.
I ripped off my shirt and softly grabbed it. I’ve caught 3 of these same species of snake before, and none of them bit or struck, but I don’t take any chances when I don’t know what kind of snake it is.
I had my friend give me a plastic bag and I put the snake in there until I could drink all my water from a bottle and transfer the snake into the bottle. It was 10 minutes before I would find something to poke holes in the bottle. I let air in twice during that time. I’m always scared they don’t have enough to breathe.
I got home and tried to shoot some photos and video, but the light is horrible today and the snake was not cooperative at all. It is calm, but it is calm and full of energy. It never stops in one place so I can get a good photo. Hence the photos I’ll upload to this page are not perfect. Will work on getting better images tomorrow.
Also tomorrow I’ll try to get scale counts and some better video. It’s exciting to know that very few (or nobody) has seen this snake before. It isn’t described in the literature for Thailand. Maybe it came up the peninsula from Malaysia. Not sure. Anyway, enjoy the pics. Will post more as I get them.
Hi!
I really like your page i have been living 13 years in thailand, and now 4 years in the philipines, snakes have always attracted me, i was once bitten by a cobra in my garden having a pee at night, i was lucky, one of the fangs hit my townail and i could see one tiny hole were the other fang penetraited, with a drop of clear substance, i stayed tree days in the hospital.
I have seen a snake like this in Korat area Sung Noen, i think it looks like a krait without the bands, i have seen both the b-y and b-w in that area, but normally kraits dont move around when its daylight.
Hope you find out what kind it is.
Is it so that in the northern part you have a snake that can cause liver kidny failure up to a year after you are bitten?
Rgds Bjorn
The Rhabdophis subminiatus – red-necked keelback, has a wicked strong venom that attacks the kidneys. Guess you could have problems for a year. Not sure. The krait venom can mess you up for a year or so. One guy wrote me that was bitten on the arm during a show in a bar in Bangkok. He was only fully recovered after 2 years – nerve issues.
Sounds like you got lucky to be alive after the cobra bite. I know a woman whose husband was bitten on the toe. First he lost his leg to the knee. Then they cut off his leg to the hip. Then he died anyway after all that.
Venom is nothing to mess with…
Cheers man, thanks for taking the time to comment.
Vern
Hello Vern,
I’ve spent a few summers in Thailand, mostly NE of Lampang and SE of Chiang Mai. I admit that I haven’t reviewed a lot of your posts and links, but I am wondering if you give information about which snakes Thai people eat. I stay with friends in a small village most of the time I’m there, and they purchased a snake to eat while I was with them. They were not at all concerned about danger of venom, so I assume that it was harmless. They assured me it was not venomous. I’d like to know if the venomous ones are commonly eaten, and perhaps what percentage of all native species are consumed in Thailand.
Thank You
Thais and others in Asia, eat all sorts of snakes. There is only supposedly one which is poisonous as well as venomous. That’s the red-necked keelback. I think everything else can be eaten when cooked. Cheers!