Venomous Snakes in Thailand

Venomous Snakes in Thailand (List by Species)

Here is the start of a venomous snakes in Thailand list for those of you that are concerned about what you might run into in the wild or under the water. Most of the ocean snakes are assumed deadly, so do not get bitten by any snake while diving.

Though most Colubrids (Colubridae) have been found to have venom in some amount and strength, we will only include them on this list if envenomation has caused fairly significant reactions in the form of tissue damage or other problems for the person bitten.

If you or someone you know has been bitten by a snake in Thailand and had complications arise from the bite, would you have them write me an email so I can take down their account of the incident? Thanks!

Venomous Terrestrial (Land) Snakes

• Banded Krait – (Bungarus candidus)
• Beautiful Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus venustus)
• Blue Coral Snake – (Calliophis bivirgatus)
• Equatorial Spitting Cobra – (Naja sumatrana)
• Flat-nosed Pit Viper (Ashy Pit Viper) – (Trimeresurus puniceus)
• Gumprech’s Viper – (Trimeresurus gumprechti)
• Green Keelback – (Rhabdophis nigrocinctus) (assumed venomous – no proof)
• Indochinese Spitting Cobra – (Naja siamensis)
• Kanburi Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus kanburiensis)
• King Cobra – (Ophiophagus hannah)
• Large-eyed Bamboo Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus macrops)
• MacClelland’s Coral Snake – (Calliophis macclellandi)
• Malayan Krait (Blue Krait) – (Bungarus fasciatus)
• Malayan Pit Viper – (Calloselasma rhodostoma)
• Mangrove Cat-eyed Snake – (Boiga dendrophila) (some people have intense headaches, dizziness following bite)
• Mangrove Pit Viper / Shore Viper – (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus)
• Many-banded Krait – (Bungarus multicinctus)
• Monocled / Monocellate Cobra – (Naja kaouthia)
• Mountain Pit Viper – (Ovophis monticola)
• Pope’s Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus popeorum)
• Red-headed Krait – (Bungarus flaviceps)
• Red-necked Keelback – (Rhabdophis subminiatus)
• Russell’s Viper – (Daboia russelii)
• Small Spotted Coral Snake – (Calliophis maculiceps)
• Spotted Coral Snake – (Calliophis gracilis)
• Sumatran Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus sumatranus)
• Vogel’s Viper – (Trimeresurus vogeli)
• Wagler’s Pit Viper – (Tropidolaemus wagleri)
• White-lipped Pit Viper – (Trimeresurus albolabris)

Venomous Sea Snakes

• Annulated Sea Snake (Hydrophis cyanocinctus) – numerous envenomations and fatalities.
• Beaked Sea Snake (Enhydrina schistosa) – numerous human fatalities.
• Black-banded Sea Snake (Hydrophis gracilis) – potentially deadly, no bites to humans.
• Black-banded Sea Snake (Lapemis hardwickii) – venom not well studied, assume potentially fatal. Related to Lapemis curtus above.
• Blue-banded Sea Krait (Laticauda laticaudata) – potentially deadly. No significant envenomations reported.
• Blue-lipped Sea Krait (Laticauda colubrina) – few envenomations and no fatalities reported to this point.
• Cantor’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis cantorus) – potentially deadly, very few envenomations, and no fatalities reported.
• Hardwicke’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis spiralis) – deadly, larger than most sea snakes. Long fangs and large venom stores. Untreated envenomation likely to be fatal. Many human deaths reported as a result of bites from this snake. Aggressive, bites without provocation.
• Horned Sea Snake (Hydrophis peronii) – potentially deadly, no fatalities or envenomation reported.
• Olive Sea Snake (Aipysurus laevis) – potentially deadly, venom not well studied.
• Ornate Reef Sea Snake (Hydrophis ornatus) – rare, potentially deadly. Envenomation reported, but no deaths reported.
• Shaw’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis lapemoides) – deadly, some have been envenomated and died as a result of bites from this snake.
• Short Sea Snake (Lapemis curtus) – deadly snake, causes renal failure with full envenomation. Deaths have resulted.
• Stokes’ Sea Snake (Astrotia stokesii) – potentially deadly, largest of the sea snakes, venom not well studied.
• Viperine Sea Snake (Thalassophina viperina) – envenomation and death recorded after bites from this sea snake.