Identifying a snake by their shed skin.

 

https://steemit.com/science/@herpetologyguy/identifying-snakes-by-their-shed-skins

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Definitely a Python.

 

 https://www.google.com/search?q=python+shedded+skin&rlz=1C1CHBF_enTH1042TH1042&oq=python+shedded+skin&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30l2j0i10i22i30j0i22i30l4j0i15i22i30j0i390.11744j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b80c81cd,vid:RnPYDL5jPTk

No, it isn't. Snake experts said it is a rat snake.

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

8 cm in width is not a large snake ,it equates to  about circumference of my thumb ,

far to small to eat a cat.

 

regards worgeordie 

My thumb is 2 cm in width. 

My ankle is 8 cm in width.

I think you are mixing up width and circumference.

 

I would suggest calling in a snake catcher, and showing them the skin. They are much more experienced at locating snakes, as well as catching them.

If the snake has decamped, a few hundred baht will soothe the disappointment.

I would type this into the Facebook search box, and post your picture there.  They will identify the skin and advise on cat protection - Thai Biodiversity Survey & Species ID.  It is a popular and well respected facebook group.  They ID'd the bird of prey that harries the pidgeons on Patong beach for me recently as a Brahiminy Kite, formerly known in Oz as the Red Backed Sea Eagle.

Look in roof cavities, eaves etc. They like to get high to sleep before going put to look for their next meal.

11 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

Look in roof cavities, eaves etc. They like to get high to sleep before going put to look for their next meal.

 

3 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

My thumb is 2 cm in width. 

My ankle is 8 cm in width.

I think you are mixing up width and circumference.

 

Width and circumference are two different things  Sheryl  , said 8 cm wide ,  make that into a round  snake shape, about size

of my thumb , unless its a flat snake. ????

 

regards worgeordie

4 hours ago, glegolo18 said:

Sheryl, time for me to pay back your helpfulness in the past towards me..... This is for sure a oriental rat snake skin.. So dont worry, only problem for you will be that your cats will have a healthy competition about the next meal I guess....

 

How can you be sure the snake won't eat the smaller cats? It is certainly big enough to judging by the size of the skin.

5 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like a rat snake skin to me, maximum width of the snake maybe 2 - 3 inches if flattened. That would equate to a rat snake 1.5 m long. If you look at the larger python skins, the scales are small in relation to the width.

 

I've never heard of a rat snake big enough to attempt a cat, but one could cope with an unprotected kitten. 

 

If there were pythons around, I'm sure you would have seen them around before. They tend to hand around if there is food about, and have regular patterns of movement. Rat snakes are very quick and come and go.

 

There are pythons in the area (I am at the foot of Khai Yai national park) and I have seen them. But not very often. Also kraits, lots of rat snakes, cobras, occasional vipers.

 

If a rat snake can be as much as 3 inches (8 cm) wide (wide, not circumference) then could be. I did find a much  smaller rat snake around recently (?maybe its baby?).

Just found this on the subject:

 

"Although rat snakes are not venomous, they will kill and eat cats if they are big enough. Adult rat snakes are usually between 3 and 5 feet long, and they can easily kill a cat that is not much larger than they are. "

https://www.hyaenidae.org/will-a-rat-snake-kill-a-cat/

 

 

 

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I have a small "moat" aroubnd my house to deter scorpions, millipedes etc and slpw down ants, as well as several large vats with water lilies. So indeed, water might be the attraction as plenty of it in my yard.

 

Beyond my yard I am completely surrounded by forest and dense brush with innumerable places to hide.

 

Household staff are telling me to spray the whole perimeter with insecticide as a deterrent, I am not convinced that would work and if it won't, would hate to dump all that poison about needlessly.

 

 

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lazada+snake+deterent&atb=v369-6&ia=web

 

Lazada does sell some dedicated snake repellant 

Snake repellant

 

Research has shown that cinnamon oil, clove oil, and eugenol are effective snake repellents. Snakes will retreat when sprayed directly with these oils and will exit cargo or other confined spaces when these oils are introduced to the area.

19 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

It's OK for you lot.

In the development where I live, the local snake wrangler is me.

Just 30 minutes ago I had to remove an immature cobra from my neighbours garden. She was worried about her dogs being bitten.

Not sure if urban myth or not but recall seeing somewhere that the juveniles are potentially more dangerous as they have yet to develop control over the amount of venom delivered per bite. 

19 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

It's OK for you lot.

In the development where I live, the local snake wrangler is me.

Just 30 minutes ago I had to remove an immature cobra from my neighbours garden. She was worried about her dogs being bitten.

Whereabouts on Samui is that?

20 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Stand on a chair and make a hissing sound, watching for movement in the undergrowth. Its reaction may vary, depending on how it interprets your dialect. If there's no response, it's moved on.

If there's no response it's because snakes are deaf.????

This year is snake year for me in Thailand. First come to mom, where the dog had find a snake. It was black and gently I forced him out the house, he was widening his neck, so that would make it a cobra. Not according to mom, but for me it was. Gladly it was not real big and it has been the first time, it ever happend at her house. She lives quite sometime over there.

 

My wife found last year a piece of skin, hanging on the roof(?!). Further no trace of snake, maybe it is hidden on the roof. Until now it hasnt fall down or shown its self.

 

I was more worried when i was cutting grass with the bushmower, metal cutter, all at a sudden, a snake was  flying through the air and when it felt, it was immediately in attack mode and slashing out to me.

My mower hit the snake. After the attack it went in "hunting mode". I could see him clear and later searched for it on internet, a Malaysian pit viper. 

Probably as it was hit by the mower, it was in a shock mode and with a rake, I could fish it up and deported it on the other side of the wall. It didnt look wounded and was quite surprising after it had been hit by my mower. Really exciting moments for me.

 

They say, snakes move away if you make noise and my 2 stroke machine made more then enough noise. But never the less, it stayed for a free flight in the air and giving me the creeps. Im still cutting, but now even more aware they could be there. Never would have expected to meet one. Too many snakes this year for me.

So you are cutting grass as well? Be very aware.

I rather meet a python then the above mentioned ones.

22 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I have a small "moat" aroubnd my house to deter scorpions, millipedes etc and slpw down ants, as well as several large vats with water lilies. So indeed, water might be the attraction as plenty of it in my yard.

 

Beyond my yard I am completely surrounded by forest and dense brush with innumerable places to hide.

 

Household staff are telling me to spray the whole perimeter with insecticide as a deterrent, I am not convinced that would work and if it won't, would hate to dump all that poison about needlessly.

 

 

I have heard of all kinds of things from mothballs to various poisons that my snake expert said basically don't work. Thais who believe in it will swear by them though! I'd personally say a Buddhist style prayer and put an offering of a water reservoir far away from the house for them. My guess is the python (I've never seen one of those in Thailand but we have had several Indochinese rat snakes around in the past. They could overwhelm a puppy or a kitten) might be staying around for the water source. I live in a heavily forested area of Phuket so I've had to learn on the fly myself... 

On 3/21/2023 at 12:10 PM, Sheryl said:

The cats have pretty much already  eaten every mouse and lizard in the vicinity

Doubt it, that was probably the python

4 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said:

This year is snake year for me in Thailand. First come to mom, where the dog had find a snake. It was black and gently I forced him out the house, he was widening his neck, so that would make it a cobra. Not according to mom, but for me it was. Gladly it was not real big and it has been the first time, it ever happend at her house. She lives quite sometime over there.

 

My wife found last year a piece of skin, hanging on the roof(?!). Further no trace of snake, maybe it is hidden on the roof. Until now it hasnt fall down or shown its self.

 

I was more worried when i was cutting grass with the bushmower, metal cutter, all at a sudden, a snake was  flying through the air and when it felt, it was immediately in attack mode and slashing out to me.

My mower hit the snake. After the attack it went in "hunting mode". I could see him clear and later searched for it on internet, a Malaysian pit viper. 

Probably as it was hit by the mower, it was in a shock mode and with a rake, I could fish it up and deported it on the other side of the wall. It didnt look wounded and was quite surprising after it had been hit by my mower. Really exciting moments for me.

 

They say, snakes move away if you make noise and my 2 stroke machine made more then enough noise. But never the less, it stayed for a free flight in the air and giving me the creeps. Im still cutting, but now even more aware they could be there. Never would have expected to meet one. Too many snakes this year for me.

So you are cutting grass as well? Be very aware.

I rather meet a python then the above mentioned ones.

Vipers are called "lazy snakes" as their modus operandum is to lie in wait. Unlike other snakes they tend no to move off when they feel vibrations

As a result they are just about the most common snake bite in Thailand and other countries.. bite is potentially fatal.

 

6 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Doubt it, that was probably the python

Inside the house? Cats will catch and eat most anything small that moves. 

 

I have not seen a lizard, mouse, centipede or spider in the house for a couple years, and while I see the occasional roach, it is either being tormented, it's dead or dying, or it's being offered-up as a gift. 

On 3/21/2023 at 1:10 AM, Sheryl said:

i am very worried abour my cats  2 of which live outside.

as far as i can tell, most cats around the world seem content living inside, even in small apts.

if they're used to living outside, well then it's not option i guess. 

 

2 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Second deadliest snake found in bedroom in Queensland Australia 

16 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Inside the house? Cats will catch and eat most anything small that moves. 

 

Rather depends on the cat burlt the 2 I have living outside are a regular little death squad who have decimated the mouclse, gecko and orher lizard population.  They also often catch normal sized   snakes though hard to say how'd they respond to really big one.  

This python is about 3 meters long and was found in a neighbours house.  It put up quite a fight and it took four of us to subdue it .  They are very strong and definitely not something that I would tackle on my own.

 

The 'business end'.  Its backward facing teeth can inflict some serious damage if it manages to bit you.

 

Note: the lovely markings.  Good news.... it was 'bagged' and I relocated well away from human habitat.

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Rather depends on the cat burlt the 2 I have living outside are a regular little death squad who have decimated the mouclse, gecko and orher lizard population.  They also often catch normal sized   snakes though hard to say how'd they respond to really big one.  

Well, our little girl get's everything that moves, how's Panda? 

On 3/21/2023 at 1:45 PM, worgeordie said:

8 cm in width is not a large snake ,it equates to  about circumference of my thumb ,

far to small to eat a cat.

 

regards worgeordie 

Might be from the tip of the tail. In which case the snake might be much bigger.

 

Maybe something like this might capture its size, or show where it comes from. .

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/5mp-720p-wildcamera-night-version-photo-track-i4239041629-s16741415334.html?clickTrackInfo=query%3Atrail%2Bcamera%3Bnid%3A4239041629%3Bsrc%3ALazadaMainSrp%3Brn%3Af159f740fc0e2198f1eceefc11af2abe%3Bregion%3Ath%3Bsku%3A4239041629_TH%3Bprice%3A536%3Bclient%3Adesktop%3Bsupplier_id%3A100185708012%3Basc_category_id%3A7501%3Bitem_id%3A4239041629%3Bsku_id%3A16741415334%3Bshop_id%3A1722517&fastshipping=0&freeshipping=0&fs_ab=1&fuse_fs=0&lang=th&location=ต่างประเทศ&price=536&priceCompare=&ratingscore=4.0&request_id=f159f740fc0e2198f1eceefc11af2abe&review=2&sale=4&search=1&source=search&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.42df2d93mkqY0a&stock=1

 

Keep your cats inside Sheryl until you are sure its gone.

 

We have never had a python in our walled area but last week we did have another (this time a  small cobra)  inside one of our two cat enclosures, wife thinks he climbed up a banana tree next to the wall and came in through an air brick, the girl cat climbed up out if harms way on one of the cat shelves while the male cat showed us where the snake was hiding. 

 

My wife is good with snakes and netted it then heaved it over the wall.

Picture is not this one but a previous one and shows how she deals with them.

 

We had (according to the Vet) a cobra spit in our dog's eye and it was a mess for a while...

 

She got a few snakes a year, RIP Shiro, you were a great dog.