Snakes in Chiang Mai Province

[puukao]

Once I rode over a semi-large, green snake heading to doi suthep on my bicycle. it is a little scary, but it happens so fast that I know to remain calm and relaxed. it was more disconcerting to see a massive spider on the ceiling outside my room. small head, long legs, maybe 10 inches long. odds of waking up to a massive spider on your bed and large snake under your bed.....I hope zero. it's like seeing a moose, bear, or tiger in America. I want to see them, but at a distance where I think i'm 90+% safe. oh yea, they call that a zoo.

[PoodMaiDai]

The Cobra still gets style points

So the Banded Krait looks like this? Good info to have. Run like hell !!

During the Vietnam war we referred to it as the 'Two-Stepper'. A bit of an exaggeration of course but implied after getting bit you will die after taking two steps.

My father tells a hair raising story of one of his nights in Vietnam where he woke up with one of those in bed with him. It's all I think about when I camp in Thailand.

[ramrod711]

Our cats like to bring the small ones in the house and play with them. When we see them i take the broom and dust pan, carry the snake to the creek and throw them in. I like to think they swim a long distance before exiting the water.

[danstarr]

Jeez OP. You don't say!

Have you tweeted this?

And what did the snake have for breakfast?

As it goes I did tweet it and thankfully I wasn't on its breakfast menu..

I moved out of the house for a couple of nights just to regain some calm(!), staying in a nearby ban dan. First thing this morning I went to the bathroom and there was another snake (albeit much smaller than the cobra) having a head-to-head with a frog.

I'm now back in my own ban din but have virtually barricaded myself in as I have to somehow get some sleep. I've even blocked the bathroom outflow pipes.

I even jumped out of my skin when I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it turned out to be an electric cable.

Time to get a pet mongoose methinks.

[monkeyboots]

A King Cobra shot by the neighbours last year - pity coz they're beautiful and impressive creatures. Dangerous though, and it was next to their house with kids playing around. Watched as they put it on a fire to tenderise it before taking the skin off and putting part of it into a curry. Bit spicy for me.......!

Edited August 10, 2013 by monkeyboots

[DiamondKing]

The Cobra still gets style points

So the Banded Krait looks like this? Good info to have. Run like hell !!

During the Vietnam war we referred to it as the 'Two-Stepper'. A bit of an exaggeration of course but implied after getting bit you will die after taking two steps.

The Banded Krait is active at NIGHT and very aggressive, however in daytime it is very docile which explains why the guy above can handle them

[chiangmaiexpat]

This is what bothers me the most about snakes. Like the ones that are not afraid of you, the (Malayan pit vipers). They stand their ground and will strike unexpectedly. Also, finding a cobra under my bed would be pretty traumatic as well. But at least most snakes in Thailand will avoid any contact with humans and depart at the earliest opportunity. Having snakes like rattlesnakes, copperheads from SE USA, and even Malayan pit vipers around Chaing Mai that stand their ground and strike freely are most dangerous and the ones I worry about.

Yes, and Russel's vipers, too, which never bite dry. To the credit of the Malayan pit viper I must say, that I have once seen eight or ten hikers walking by one at less than 50 cm distance (easy striking distance), and the snake never made a move. I wouldn't want to count on it, though.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[danstarr]

FWIW I saw a dead banded krait in the road near Mae Ai last week.

Anyway, here's my latest snake encounter: I park my motorbike down the side of the house and have to do a u-turn near the agroforest to face the direction of the farm exit. Anyway, as I did the u-turn, I set my foot down and very nearly trod on a very large black snake. Of course, I totally freaked out before realizing it had a very significant head injury and was probably dead so, still somewhat shaken, I continued on my way. However, curiosity then got the better of me and in my quest to identify the said snake, went back to photograph it. Returning to it, still sat on the bike, I got my phone out and I'd just got it into focus when it suddenly sprang into life, writhing wildly in the undergrowth, prompting the fastest ever acceleration by a Honda Dream. I have thankfully now calmed down.

The Cobra still gets style points

So the Banded Krait looks like this? Good info to have. Run like hell !!

During the Vietnam war we referred to it as the 'Two-Stepper'. A bit of an exaggeration of course but implied after getting bit you will die after taking two steps.

The Banded Krait is active at NIGHT and very aggressive, however in daytime it is very docile which explains why the guy above can handle them

[beau thai]

Anyone seen snakes on golf courses here??

Played years ago on a course in Canada that had notices suggesting if your ball went in the rough safer just to leave it there - for the bears and snakes.

Seemed like great advice but I go after mine here - maybe I should reconsider..........

On golf courses in Spain, snakes tend only to be in attack mode if they have young ( around June there)-otherwise they slither away fast if disturbed.

[habfan]

Anyone seen snakes on golf courses here??

Played years ago on a course in Canada that had notices suggesting if your ball went in the rough safer just to leave it there - for the bears and snakes.

Seemed like great advice but I go after mine here - maybe I should reconsider..........

On golf courses in Spain, snakes tend only to be in attack mode if they have young ( around June there)-otherwise they slither away fast if disturbed.

I'm from Canada and that's an old scare tactic used by courses to keep people from looking for lost balls that the club themselves can collect and then resell to future golfers.

[BenCM]

I watched a very interesting programme on TV a while back where an American guy had been undertaking research in India as to the propensity of snakes to bite. He did various tests using a leg of a mannequin to tread on snakes both in daylight and in the dark. He discovered that cobras were incredibly reluctant to bite, even slapping the leg with its head rather than bite. The snake that was most likely to bite and inject was the Russell's Viper. Apparently a lot of the deaths from snakebite are due to people using outside toilets at night and treading on or near the viper.

[Goshawk]

Apparently a lot of the deaths from snakebite are due to people using outside toilets at night and treading on or near the viper.

very true.. In Thailand, it's the Malayan Pit Viper that causes more serious injury/death than any other snake. They sit coiled motionless oblivious to any approaching vibration (footsteps, walking etc..) that once detected, usually sends other snakes fleeing. Dangerous beasts...

[IEMDavid]

200,000 people get killed each year in Thailand with snake bites, wow that a lot.

http://exm.nr/1ad6BLh

[elektrified]

200,000 people get killed each year in Thailand with snake bites, wow that a lot.

http://exm.nr/1ad6BLh

If you believe the source.

[kalbo123]

200,000 people get killed each year in Thailand with snake bites, wow that a lot.

http://exm.nr/1ad6BLh

If you believe the source.

Maybe 200.000 get bit every year.

But to believe 200.000 perons die every year of snake bites seems a lttke bit to much.

[Tywais]

200,000 people get killed each year in Thailand with snake bites, wow that a lot.

http://exm.nr/1ad6BLh

If you believe the source.

The statement in the article implies 200,000 world wide however, from a more reliable source:

Snakebites: At Least 421,000 Venom Bites And 20,000 Deaths Occur Each Year, Study Finds

Nov. 4, 2008 — Snakebites cause considerable death and injury worldwide and pose an important yet neglected threat to public health, says new research published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

The study used the most comprehensive methods yet to estimate that at least 421,000 envenomings (venomous bites) and 20,000 deaths from snakebites occur each year, especially in South and South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

To estimate death and injury from snakebite, Janaka de Silva (University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka) and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature, reviewed county-specific mortality data from databases maintained by United Nations organizations, and identified unpublished information from Ministries of Health, National Poison Centres, and snakebite experts on snakebites in countries that do not have reliable data on snakebite incidence and mortality.

This data retrieval produced information for many of the world's 227 countries, which were grouped into 21 geographical regions. The researchers estimate that 421,000 envenomings and 20,000 deaths occur worldwide from snakebite each year, but warn that these figures may be as high as 1,841,000 envenomings and 94,000 deaths, especially in areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where antivenoms are hard to obtain. India has the highest estimated annual envenomings and deaths: 81,000, and 11,000 respectively.

More here Science Daily

[Tywais]

Thailand shows from 5-94 deaths/year - Charts here - http://www.toxinology.org/GSI-epidemiology2.htm

Another article - Williams pointed out regional disparities in managing snake bites. Snakes kill less than 10 people every year in Thailand, out of the some 10,000 people bitten, while 500-1,000 people die annually from snake bites in neighbouring Myanmar, though about the same number are bitten.

http://www.irinnews.org/report/91107/asia-why-snakebites-matter