Ngoo Singh (biggest Snake I Have Ever Seen!)

[NaiGreg]

Just saw the biggest black snake (must be 3+ meters) slithering through the yard, wife in a near panic: "Ngoo Singh! Ngoo Singh! Paw, don't kill it!" When he stopped to look around, his head was as high as my waist. He went into the neighbor's yard and disappeared in the tall grass by our fence. I can't find him so I am afraid he has a home there. I'm not poking around there just yet.

Wife's grandpa used to eat them but she claims they are venomous and mean-spirited. And I mean "spirited" in the Thai sense of the word, thats why we can't kill it. We have a small canal in the back, but she says these are not water snakes.

I've seen smaller snakes around (we live in Mae Rim) but never anything like this. We have a 1 1/2 year old daughter who plays in the yard and of course I am concerned.

Should we call the local snake charmer and have him relocated?

HELP!

[NaiGreg]

Okay, I got more info from grandma. It is NOT venomous, but it's BIG, can be aggressive and it bites. Can climb trees, too.

I don't care what they say, I'm going to kill it if it gets near my daughter! but I will need a very big stick!

I was advised not to mention this to some of the local construction crews because they will become frightened.

[x-pat]

Hm, if it was a "ngoo singh", then it is probably not venomenous. I've seen a few of them here in BKK, especially in areas where there is water and rats.

Check this out: http://www.siam-info.de/english/snakes_ptyas.html

Did it look like that?

Ngoo singhs come in many colors and sizes. 300 cm is a pretty large specimen, never seen any ngoo singh that large, but I have seen cobras and a python of that size.

Cheers, X-Pat

[Johpa]

The snake variety Ngoo singh is a very popular food when caught in the village, quite tasty if prepared well and, of course, washed down with Mae Khong. As others have noted it is not venomous and is fairly common in the hills above Mae Rim although you must have crossed paths with a larger than average specimen, perhaps washed down from the forests during the recent floods.

[chanchao]

So.. killing one is very bad luck, however it's also a popular dish at the same time. Okay.. No problem.

[Ice Maiden]

Thats the same thing my Dad's wife said when one came in our house. My Dad said "You must be crazy, I'm f*cking killing it" and then he killed it. Common sence really.

[Tokker]

It's saddens me to see that it is considered "common sense" to kill the snake that is in the yard. Not that I am superstitious about killing it. Thailand is losing a lot of wildlife as it is. We should not make it worse by acting like this. It's probably easier said that than done but isn't there a "snake wrangler" in the neighborhood who can relocate the snake. In the US they do this all the time with rattle snakes. (Could I get a work permit for this??? )

[frankafey]

I agree with Tokker, killing a good snake is wrong. Sure it probably is a little scary but is doing a lot good by keeping the rat population down.

Keep your grass cut around your house so he does not have a place hide and keep your yard in good order also to keep him from finding a place to hide.

[chonabot]

Thats the same thing my Dad's wife said when one came in our house. My Dad said "You must be crazy, I'm f*cking killing it" and then he killed it. Common sence really.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not if the snake isn't dangerous , how would you feel if he killed a stray cat on your property?

They carry many diseases and are far more harmful to us , albeit in a fluffy package.

He will probably wonder why there are sh1tloads of rats in your residence in a few months time.

Common sense innit ?

Edited September 7, 2005 by chonabot

[Nam Kao]

Leave the poor thing alone, geez

[britmaveric]

Snake is most likely just as afraid of humans as we are of them. If its not a lethal variety let it be and I'm quite confident it will slither away.

[chuchok]

11 posts and not one about the one eyed variety. Whats going on here?

[too true]

My husband refuses to kill any snake that comes on our property, except ngoo singh. He says it's very very bad luck to kill a snake. Apparently the opportunity to eat yum ngoo singh overrides any ingrained fear of snake revenge. There's a house in a village near Wiang Kum Kam that keeps live snakes in cages under a bed and sells them for about 150-200 baht each. It's just a regular village house, but I think the people probably make quite a bit of money.

[NaiGreg]

Superstitions or not, we have no intention of killing anything, ever (except in self defense.) The reasons I was alarmed was the shear enormity of the beast and it's proximity to our daughter who must have looked like a large, but very cute, rat to the serpent. He was larger than anything I, or my wife, ever saw at the suan-ngoo. Had I not run to the house to find the camera, I could have tracked him.

Maybe it was the recent flooding, or maybe it is because there are numerous construction sites in the area, but I am hoping he was just passing through, none-the-less. He slithered away when my wife started shouting. No harm done.

The tall grass in the neighbor's field is being cut today. Animal Planet is sending a film crew, tomorrow.

[p1p]

I would be most interested in the address/directions to the house that sells snakes. I need another couple of rat snakes to help solve a vermin problem at home.

I find these snakes to be by far the best solution for ridding your property of rats and mice. They are not poisonous, being constrictors although they are truly vicious b'stards, striking and biting with great effect. (Been bitten several times!)

Do not kill the snake. It truly will keep your property area free of rats & mice and move on once it has eaten the lot!

[p1p]

Further to my post above. Be wary of sites such as the one linked to above. I had a brief look through and found this page with a photograph purporting to be the Northern Bridle Snake, (Dryocalamus davisonii). This snake looks almost identical to the Multi Banded Krait, (Bungarus multicinctus Bongarre), one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, with neurotoxic venom some 15+ times more potent than that of the king cobra. They are not uncommon in areas around Chiang Mai and should be avoided at all costs.

For information about Bungarus multicinctus Bongarre, please look HERE.

[chuchok]

Further to my post above. Be wary of sites such as the one linked to above. I had a brief look through and found this page with a photograph purporting to be the Northern Bridle Snake, (Dryocalamus davisonii). This snake looks almost identical to the Multi Banded Krait, (Bungarus multicinctus Bongarre), one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, with neurotoxic venom some 15+ times more potent than that of the king cobra. They are not uncommon in areas around Chiang Mai and should be avoided at all costs.

For information about Bungarus multicinctus Bongarre, please look HERE.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The cat killed a Krait just like the one in the pic last year.The boss went out to hang out the washing one morning and found the dead krait with about 25 bite marks all over it.The cat was fine.

[p1p]

The cat was lucky!. These snakes are incredibly dangerous. They can strike so fast and have such small fangs that you frequently do not even know you have been bitten until it is too late.

Problem with the bite is that the survival rate for those taken to hospital and treated with anti venin is only about 50%. No treatment means almost certain curtains.

Be careful.

[Skip88]

I would be most interested in the address/directions to the house that sells snakes. I need another couple of rat snakes to help solve a vermin problem at home.

I find these snakes to be by far the best solution for ridding your property of rats and mice. They are not poisonous, being constrictors although they are truly vicious b'stards, striking and biting with great effect. (Been bitten several times!)

Do not kill the snake. It truly will keep your property area free of rats & mice and move on once it has eaten the lot!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds more like a Cobra than a black snake. Thailand is known to have big Cobras.

[Fosa]

Incidently, anyone know where anti-venom snakebite serum is available in CM ?

Just in case! Thanks

Fosa

[mogoso]

When my wife and I return to thailand in a few years, I hope to bring my pet kingsnake with me. A wonderfully tempered critter who considers other snakes tasty morsels. It can eat snakes larger than itsself, and has a marvelous immunity to snakevenom. They're a welcome addition to anyones yard. I don't know how hard to bring it into country, but may have help from an Issan zoo.

[chuchok]

The cat was lucky!. These snakes are incredibly dangerous. They can strike so fast and have such small fangs that you frequently do not even know you have been bitten until it is too late.

Problem with the bite is that the survival rate for those taken to hospital and treated with anti venin is only about 50%. No treatment means almost certain curtains.

Be careful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dunno about lucky p1p, I was reading a while ago (can't remember where...but that's the story of my life. ) that cats kill far more snakes than the other way around.

[x-pat]

p1p: Be wary of sites such as the one linked to above. I had a brief look through and found this page with a photograph purporting to be the Northern Bridle Snake, (Dryocalamus davisonii). This snake looks almost identical to the Multi Banded Krait...

Yes, kraits are extremely dangerous. Most of them have a very distinctive appearance wich reduces the probability of confusion. Unfortunately the colors on the second photo you linked are not very clear. The bands are either yellow or yellowish or white. The white or yellow bands can be small (as in caeruleus and ceylonicus) or wide (as in candidus or fasciatus). There's also one without bands with a red head (flaviceps).

I have never seen a krait in Thailand myself (not that I'm very keen on it). Have you?

Many years ago a colleague had an unpleasant meeting with a banded krait (fasciatus) in Bangkok. It fell from a tree into the pool where he was swimming. He probably broke the world record in short-distance crawl.

Cheers, X-Pat

[p1p]

Incidently, anyone know where anti-venom snakebite serum is available in CM ?

                        Just in case! Thanks

                                        Fosa

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, It is held at Suan Dork hospital. I believe this is the only place though.

p1p: Be wary of sites such as the one linked to above. I had a brief look through and found this page with a photograph purporting to be the Northern Bridle Snake, (Dryocalamus davisonii). This snake looks almost identical to the Multi Banded Krait...

I have never seen a krait in Thailand myself (not that I'm very keen on it). Have you?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have seen a few. Some twenty or so years ago I found a group of six Banded Kraits (B. fasciatus) in my garden. They were all twined together, so I presume there was one female and five males. (At that time I was in Chom Tong.) They were caught and released in the forest near to home. Interestingly they were totally oblivious to being handled at that time, her pheremones must have been incredibly strong!

During the last four months I have caught, to date, 13 young Multi Banded Kraits (B. multicinctus Bongarre) in my house. There was a nest under the house and they were coming through a hole in the floor under the sink in my guest bathroom on the ground floor. (They were identified by a herpetologist at the uni.)

First one was found because my five year old son moved his bowel in the room. He put the seat cover down prior to flushing and found the snake curled up on the back of the bowl. It was previously hidden by the seat! I caught it and handed it over to the uni for identification. I had a genuine heart flutter when I was told how dangerous the snake really is. (All others have been caught and released in the wild near to the new Night Safari.)

Since that time I have always insisted on checking the room before anybody uses it!

[x-pat]

p1p: First one was found because my five year old son moved his bowel in the room. He put the seat cover down prior to flushing and found the snake curled up on the back of the bowl. It was previously hidden by the seat! I caught it and handed it over to the uni for identification. I had a genuine heart flutter when I was told how dangerous the snake really is.

Wow. That's a chilling story. I still remember the feeling when I almost stepped on a coiled up cobra in my wife's garden. First my wife screamed and I didn't know why. When I saw the cobra raising its head, I made a 2 meters jump, grabbed our German Shepherd and lifted the whole dog into the air to prevent him from attacking the snake. The cobra just went back to sleep. It didn't even slither away. There are lots of cobras in that garden. Two dogs previously died from snakebites.

X-Pat

[bina]

He slithered away when my wife started shouting

SNAKES DONT HEAR ANYTHING!!! they follow heat like our desert vipers, or vision movement, or smell but do not hear anything....

actually, here we teach children when they see a snake to yell as much as they want but to move very slowly backwards or not to move at all since most kids break in to a run going forward and step on snake....

cats are great snake fighters, so are hedgehogs who are immune to most viper venoms

kingsnakes usually need a few months of estivation (cold sleep) to promote breeding and prolong living....depending on which one u have

[highonthai]

"(All others have been caught and released in the wild near to the new Night Safari.)"

Oh great, So I live near a dangerous snake dumping site!

[cobra]

You want rats or the occasional interloping snake,

Anyway, you don't want to p..off any snake ghosts

[meadish_sweetball]

He slithered away when my wife started shouting

SNAKES DONT HEAR ANYTHING!!! they follow heat like our desert vipers, or vision movement, or smell but do not hear anything....

actually, here we teach children when they see a snake to yell as much as they want but to move very slowly backwards or not to move at all since most kids break in to a run going forward and step on snake....

cats are great snake fighters, so are hedgehogs who are immune to most viper venoms

kingsnakes usually need a few months of estivation (cold sleep) to promote breeding and prolong living....depending on which one u have

I was always told back home that when walking through tall grass, the best way to scare off any vipers in your path was to stomp your feet, and the snakes would feel the vibrations and slither away. Is this a myth or not?

[Markymark]

Noi says be noisy when you walk in countryside.

Stamp feet and bang stick - snake go around you.