What Did The Cats Just Bring Home?

[Phil Conners]

About 20cm long, 1cm diameter, didn't seem very agressive, though it might have been dazed by the cats playing with it. It was still alive though and slid away when I set it free. Just curious what it is.

[surin]

About 20cm long, 1cm diameter, didn't seem very agressive, though it might have been dazed by the cats playing with it. It was still alive though and slid away when I set it free. Just curious what it is.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looks like it could be a snake

[mike100]

I think it’s a Striped Keelback.

If so, non venomous, but has similar markings to a juvenile Malaysian Pit Viper, which is also common in Thailand and highly poisonous.

A handy pocket book on the subject is, Photo Guide to Snakes of Thailand, published by Asia Books at 395 THB.

[Phil Conners]

I found this picture of a Striped Keelback on the net and I agree, it probably is that:

There's a few pictures of Malaysian Pit Vipers on this page but I don't think they resemble "my" snake.

Thanks mike100

[mike100]

Hi Madsere,

Agree that the pics of the adults in your link do not resemble your snake and was 99 per cent sure it was a Striped Keelback.

Pit vipers do seem to vary quite a lot from different regions though.

Had a few young ones in my garden over the last couple of years with much lesser markings. Sent some pics to a snake professor I found on the net, and he sent a quick reply saying they were pit vipers and to very careful as their bite could permanently disable the area bitten even if an anti venom was administered quickly.

I’m no expert, but used to keep Rat, Corn and King snakes a few years ago before moving out here. Certainly do not mean snakes any harm, but don’t like the venomous type around the garden, Lol.

Cheers,

Mike.

[mike100]

Just dug out the reply I had from that snake professor last year, hope it is of interest and help.

>>On Sun, 13 Apr 2003, Mike wrote:

Dear Mike,

Thanks for the pics - they are indeed Malayan pitvipers. Don't feel bad

about killing them, they are pretty nasty snakes.

> Is there anyway I can discourage them from coming onto my property or safely

> move them without too much danger?

Discouraging them would involve in effect keeping a sterile garden -

short, trimmed lawn, no bushes with undergrowth at ground level, no leaf

litter, nothing lying around on the ground that they can shelter under

(e.g., rockeries, rubble, wooden boards, log piles, compost heaps, etc.),

and doing everything possible to reduce the incidence of rodents, lizards

etc. A student of mine did a study on these a while back and found that

they tend to be pretty nomadic - i.e., if you see one in your garden,

chances are it is just passing through.

Moving them - your best bet would be simply to sweep them into a trash can

lying on its side with a broom or something similar - maybe a local can

make you a metal hook on the end of a broomstick, they tend to me more

effective. However, they can certainly shift if they need to, so there is

a risk of loosing the snake while you are trying to do that.

> The wife is terrified of them, and as I said in my post, I’m a bit worried

> about my ten year old daughter and the kittens playing in the garden. Both

> sightings where early evening.

> How bad is it if bitten?

Your concern is appropriate. Although bites are rarely fatal with modern

treatment (< 1% of cases), they can be very severe, and lead to

generalised haemorrhaging, incoagulable blood, massive swelling, blistering

and sometimes severe local necrosis. Permanent scarring, limb function

deficit or even amputations are not rare - this is definitely a snake to

take seriously!

They are pretty much entirely nocturnal, and tend to hang around in deep

vegetation or similar shelters during the day, so wandering around on the

lawn during the day should not be a problem - careful if you poke hands or feet into hedges or under bushes, though, or when picking up objects from the ground. By and large, they are most active on very humid nights, and less so on drier nights - I am actually surprised that they are appearing now, during what I seem to recall is the dry season in that part of Thailand.

I hope this is of some help - let me know if I can help in any other way.

Best regards,

Wolfgang<<

cheers,

Mike.