Small Snake In The Garden

[2long]

We've had a couple of incidences of small banded snakes in our garden. They're only about 8" -10" in length and have vivid green bands on an otherwise dark grey body. I guess they're either poisonous, or juveniles of a non-poisonous species. I guess I should've taken a photo after I killed it.

Any images (to confirm the species) and info about these would be greatly appreciated, as we have a toddler.

I have done some Google research, but found nothing that looks teh same.

Cheers,

[Mosha]

The book I have when talking of the Keel Backed Rat Snake, starts to talk of the young, and then says easily confused with King Cobras. So if talking about young KC it could be that. Young KC are balck with narrow yellow bands bit are about twice the size you mention. So google that rat snake and see what you get. They are coomon throughout Thailand

[technocracy]

Is there really a need to kill every snake people see in their gardens if they aren't threatening? Could people not usher it of into a place where there isn't humans around?

We had a 4ft tree snake - well it was a climbing snake of some description judging but ease it went up the stairs outside - come into our house about a month ago. It slid into the house and hid itself behind a door, I just used a brush and a piece of plastic tube to usher it out the house. It quickly disappeared off into the undergrowth never to be seen again . . . believe it or not snakes are far more scared of you and would far rather be a place where humans aren't!

We have a 4 month old baby but I don't just kill any snake I see!

Edited June 24, 2008 by technocracy

[2long]

I'm happy for you. I know tha just about every wild animal is more fearful of humans than we are of them. However, you don't know the layout of my house, street or neighbourhood. A fast and brightly coloured snake in amongst our kittens, which my daughter is often playing with, is a threat. It's only natural to protect one's offspring by the most affective means; in this case, death for a reptile.

[distortedlink]

Cant understand why people feel the need to kill these snakes.

There many types of snakes that sometimes pay us a visit. Most are harmless and will eventually go away if left alone. If not, I just spray them with water and in a flash the snake is gone never to be seen again.

Heard all the excuses, have young children etc. Mostly those that destroy wildlife are people of ignorance.

Knowing that we are in a part of the world that has these animals, than why not just train the children to be aware of these creatures.

Many of these retiles are on the endangered list, killing them should only be as a last resort.

[2long]

I am a lover of wildlife, but a lover of my own family more so. There was NOwhere for this snake to escape to, had I chased it with water or whatever. We live in a town house on the end of the row, and therefore have an outside kitchen/laundry room that is open to the garden. My daughter is well aware of the dangers and I have taught her to be scared of snakes. However, she plays with the kittens and may have stepped on the snake by accident, or put her hands in something only to be bitten. It is in a corner. You tell me how a snake is likely to react if cornered and scared!

Because of its colours I killed it. This thread was started to hopefully learn about the species/specimen and maybe next time act more compassionatley and maturely. I don't care what you lot think. I regularly find millipedes and centipedes which I kill. Is that frowned upon too?

I just wanted images for recognition and then some FACTual information, not preaching to.

If there are any TV members who know about very small garden snakes and can offer advice and/or images and/or facts, please feel free to contribute.

[Tatler]

Sorry, but snakes in the garden where young children play don't mix!! I have had 3 cobra's in my garden over the past 3 years and i have killed them all. My family are number 1 and everything else in second to that.. sorry snake

[Cuban]

I encountered a scorpion last night in the kitchen while making toast - safely scooped up and reloacted to the garden where it will find a nice rock to hide under and eat other bugs for me.

If the snake is there, there is probably food (rats?) that it is eating.

Rats/mice carry more disases that affect humans than snakes.

Don't kill the next one - relocate it.

[Moonrakers]

I encountered a scorpion last night in the kitchen while making toast - safely scooped up and reloacted to the garden where it will find a nice rock to hide under and eat other bugs for me.

If the snake is there, there is probably food (rats?) that it is eating.

Rats/mice carry more disases that affect humans than snakes.

Don't kill the next one - relocate it.

My dog was killed by a snake ayear or so ago, asides from being very upset at losing my dog it also drew attention to the fact that it happened in the same garden that my daughter played in (Before we moved).

I like snakes, but given the danger then there is no contest.... The snake gets it.

[Kan Win]

Here is a link to

Poisonous Animals in Thailand

Hope this helps you all.

Kan Win

[Goshawk]

I don't think reptiles have the brain capacity to think "my family is No.1"....sorry human!"

try approaching a cobra nest when there are eggs being incubated and/or young are hatching, the natural instinct/thought process of any mother kicks in and she will protect them from anything, including a human..

now, the question is.. is she 'thinking' or is it just a programmed response, and also what is really the difference? i don't think anyone truely understands the mind of a snake..

i could id your snake with a bit more info.. a pic would be better..

[2long]

Very small and thin. Mainly dark grey/black but lots of vivid green/blue (almost turquoise) thin bands.

Quite fast. Jumped up to strike once after I'd started my vicsious cruel heartless and inhumane attack.

Haven't been able to find any images on the net, causing me to think it may have been a juvenile.

[Kan Win]

I have this book in me car at all times:-

Snakes and Other Reptiles Of Thailand and Southeast Asia

Paperback

Pocket book size

Bangkok 1998

Asia Books

144 pages

ISBN 9781843300199

Kan Win

[happylarry]

Hey 2long I am with you all the way mate. I had a 3/4 rai garden with a big wall all around it and one gate. I admit my ignorance in not knowing one snake from another and therefore I treat them all the same. They scare me sh**less but I have to dispose of them or I would not feel at ease in my own home.

I would like to bet that all these do-gooder animal conservationists would do the same if they had all the same circumstances as you, and if they didnt then they would be failing in their initial responsibility to their own family.

HL

[Dustoff]

I am a snake kinda guy (especially according to an ex-wife) and always have a few around as pets or welcome garden guests. Except in Hawaii of course where there are no snakes and I missed them. And I have rarely ever killed a snake but have to admit that a neuro-toxic one has no place in my garden or my house and I will trim them back as I would any percieved threat to my family, animal or person. And 'endangered retiles' is ridiculous - snakes have been around and very successful since god threw one on the ground, and will be here long after we are gone.

The snake you describe is a tough one to guess at. One thing that you learn about snakes over time is that juveniles are difficult to ID. Even within one particular kind, the color variations before maturity can be very confusing. If you see another, a very clear pic would be a great help but you may wish to go with a telephoto lens..

I cannot recall any of the Rat Snakes or Keelbacks, etc. that match your description but a young King Cobra is a strong possibility. The dark grey with green bands is not unusual but the band is usually very thin and sort of concentrically circles the body rather than going straight across horizontally.

Another thing is I think you wrote that you have seen a few of these.. Somebody much bigger laid those eggs..

It that Godzilla music I hear in the background...?

We have a Whip Snake, an absolutely beautiful Bronzeback and a couple of Keelbacks that we see/visit all the time in our hedge and trees and they are more than welcome here. They tend to look at us nervously when we touch them but we have never seen a threatening gesture from any of them.

Get a good book, learn your visitors and please don't harm the harmless ones.

And get some therapy, willya? Or maybe someone here on TV sells snake insurance?

Edited June 24, 2008 by Dustoff

[technocracy]

Quite fast. Jumped up to strike once after I'd started my vicsious cruel heartless and inhumane attack.

Well if someone was attacking you with a stick or whatever blunt instrument you used what would you do? It was trying to save its hide.

For all those people paranoid about snakes let me tell you my house is on land just over 4 rai - it's been partitioned so the house itself is in just over 1 rai. The 3 rai is left to it own devices with goats on it. Also the surrounds of the house haven't been landscaped yet . . so it's basically scrub - it's on the list of things to do!

However I walk around day and night barefeet in flip flops, the grass out back in places comes up to my knees (it'll be cut when the monsoon season is over).

I've seen about 6 different snakes and never been bitten - there is probably dozens of snakes about but I wouldn't know it. Anyway what I am trying to say is just because you see one doesn't make it anymore dangerous than the ones that you don't, they'll smell you coming and be gone. Well unless you are unfortunate to stumble on to Cobra nest . . .

[Dustoff]

Quite fast. Jumped up to strike once after I'd started my vicsious cruel heartless and inhumane attack.

Well if someone was attacking you with a stick or whatever blunt instrument you used what would you do? It was trying to save its hide.

I've seen about 6 different snakes and never been bitten - there is probably dozens of snakes about but I wouldn't know it. Anyway what I am trying to say is just because you see one doesn't make it anymore dangerous than the ones that you don't, they'll smell you coming and be gone. Well unless you are unfortunate to stumble on to Cobra nest . . .

Good post Technocrazy.

Snakes are survivors and they know that they live on the ground and are subject to being tread upon.

From what I have read, the great majority of deaths due to snakebite in Thailand involve migrant workers in the rubber plantations where, since there is very little foot-traffic, the snakes feel safe to reproduce.

I mean, we gotta be realistic here, right? Cobras, or any other snakes, are not going to do nest-building in any area where there are heavy animals (cattle, water buffalo, oxen) or us flip-flopped creatures.

I suppose there is always the possibility of being shredded by an Eagle but it seems that you would have to be climbing a very tall tree and poking your nose where it don't belong.

I hate statistics but it would seem that any poster who drives/rides even just a couple of kilometers to an internet cafe to post on these forums is several thousand times more at risk than taking a stroll in his garden. And it has been my experience, all over the world, that snakes very, very rarely bite children; or much of anything else that is too big for them to eat.

Now, a fourteen-foot Python hanging around your little kid is another story.

But then...

Only in Thailand, eh?

Edited June 24, 2008 by Dustoff

[Tim207]

Kids and snakes get along just fine if you let them play together. Have a look at this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agBMxX1SeJo

I love this clip.

[2long]

Thanks to Kan Win; so far the best help on this thread; that has become a bit of a joke.

I reckon the culpit/victim/visitor could have been a very small Golden Tree Snake.

Chrysopelea ornata ornatissima (Golden Tree Snake)

Thai: ngoo kio pra in

Length: Up to 140 cm

Occurrence: The Golden Tree Snake is to be found throughout Thailand.

Behaviour/habitat:

Chrysopelea Ornata Ornattissima is a flexible snake. It can be found in forests, on plantations, in gardens and in houses. This snake is regularly found in the inner city areas of Bangkok and Pattaya. As they enjoy eating rodents, geckos and other lizards, they are often found on and in houses. These snakes are active during the day, can climb walls and are very fast.

Danger:

If they fee threatened and cannot flee, they bite straight away. The species Chrysopelea belongs to the viper family. However, the poison is so mild that it does not have much of an effect on humans.

So what have we all learned? It's perfectly safe to have 4 rai and walk around in flip flops. Let kids play with snakes, Therapy is availlable. Cobra mothers are able to think, then attack, sometimes with sticks. I'm a murderer.

[Kan Win]

Thanks to Kan Win; so far the best help on this thread;

Thank you "2long" hope it will also help "one and all" on ThaiVisaDotCom.

Good post "2long"

Sawadee

Kan Win

[TBWG]

Hi

See pic of hissing Sid who is harmless unless you try to interfere with my beer supply which he guards around the clock!!

TBWG

PS He happens to be an elegant bronzeback who is rather partial to insects!

[Goshawk]

Snakes are survivors and they know that they live on the ground and are subject to being tread upon.

a great many species, especially in Thailand, live up in the trees...

I mean, we gotta be realistic here, right? Cobras, or any other snakes, are not going to do nest-building in any area where there are heavy animals (cattle, water buffalo, oxen) or us flip-flopped creatures.

you would think so but in reality, snakes do build their nests a lot closer to you than you are probably aware.. not uncommon under houses or in outbuildings or in piles of vegetation etc.. in gardens & on farms... ...

King Cobras have even been found happily nesting right in the very heart of Bangkok, much to the ignorance of quite a few thousand flip-flopped creatures..

hey, OP

golden tree snake sounds likely.. if you get any more visitors, take some pix - would be great to see exactly what you've got there..

[F1fanatic]

I am a lover of wildlife, but a lover of my own family more so. There was NOwhere for this snake to escape to, had I chased it with water or whatever. We live in a town house on the end of the row, and therefore have an outside kitchen/laundry room that is open to the garden. My daughter is well aware of the dangers and I have taught her to be scared of snakes. However, she plays with the kittens and may have stepped on the snake by accident, or put her hands in something only to be bitten. It is in a corner. You tell me how a snake is likely to react if cornered and scared!

Because of its colours I killed it. This thread was started to hopefully learn about the species/specimen and maybe next time act more compassionatley and maturely. I don't care what you lot think. I regularly find millipedes and centipedes which I kill. Is that frowned upon too?

I just wanted images for recognition and then some FACTual information, not preaching to.

If there are any TV members who know about very small garden snakes and can offer advice and/or images and/or facts, please feel free to contribute.

Millipedes are completely harmless, so yes, this is frowned upon.

Check out the Plants, Pets and Vets forum where people often post pictures of snakes for identification.

Edited June 24, 2008 by F1fanatic

[Jimjim]

Only in Thailand, eh?

Or India.

[2long]

BRIAN:

The birds.

EDDIE:

Have the birds got jobs?!

FRANK:

What's the matter with him?

ARTHUR:

He says the birds are scrounging.

BRIAN:

Oh, uhh, no, the point is the birds. They do all right. Don't they?

FRANK:

Well, good luck to 'em.

EDDIE:

Yeah. They're very pretty.

BRIAN:

Okay, and you're much more important than they are, right? So, what are you worrying about? There you are. See?

EDDIE:

I'm worrying about what you have got against birds.

BRIAN:

I haven't got anything against the birds. Consider the lilies.

ARTHUR:

He's having a go at the flowers now.

EDDIE:

Oh, give the flowers a chance.

Remind anyone of this thread?