Can anyone identify this snake?

[Dario]

This afternoon, our Persian cat stood at the entrance of our kitchen door of our home in Northern Surin province in a strange way, not moving, like petrified and staring at the big fridge and freezer right at the door. Seeing her, I understood her behavior. I moved a bit the fridge and couldn't believe what I saw: a snake (not a baby snake) slowly moving behind the fridge and the freezer. I called my wife's father and told him. He came immediately with a piece of wood. The snake escaped into our open store room and moved unbelievably fast to the end. My father-in-law got her and was able to kill her. I later measured our secret visitor: 180 cm long. Does anyone know this snake? Is it venomous? Just last Saturday I saw a patient at the provincial hospital who was bitten at his right hand by a snake in the rice fields. Didn't look nice and he said it hurt a lot.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Dario

[Slip]

I'm no expert, but it looks very like the only rat snake I've ever seen, just as dead as the one I saw by the time my dog and neighbour had been at it. They can get pretty long, but are harmless. (If that is actually what it is).

[Goshawk]

It's a 'Common Rat Snake' (Ptyas mucosus). It's not venomous..

[Dario]

Thank you very much for your help! Today the Lung Pho (abbot) of our village temple came to us and performed a 50 minute ritual with prayers. Apparently, encountering this snake means bad luck. Well, incidentally, my wife had good luck last week Saturday. She was on the way to a temple with other people on the pickup of our puyai baan, when the driver fell asleep, lost control of the car which left the road and fell into a ditch.It wasn't the puai baan who drove the car. Several people were slightly injured including my wife. Well, happily the pickup didn't overturn, otherwise everything would have turned out much worse ...

[khaowong1]

"Encountering this snake brings bad Luck" That's pretty funny, As you live in an area of rice fields where these snakes prefer to live. Maybe he smelled mice or rats in your kitchen. These snakes are better than cats at finding rodents.

Edited November 10, 2013 by khaowong1

[TPI]

Giving money to Abbots always dispells "bad luck"!

[Arkady]

Seems a pity to kill a harmless rat snake.

[Cuban]

Seems a pity to kill a harmless rat snake.

But makes prefect sense if you are on the spot and do not know if the snake that you are facing is a direct threat to your family and loved ones being pets or people.

The down side of not removing such a threat can be serious medical treatment and possibly death simply because an elderly of young person did not see/aware that they were "encroaching" on an area where a "bad" snake had suddenly chosen to lay eggs or shed it's skin.

I am happy to take guidance from our village locals as to what snakes are "good" and can be moved on because they eat vermin and which are "kill on sight".

You are not in Kansas any more, and it is deeper that just if the snake is a known to be venomous or not but also the time to get to a hospital that can treat a bite, some rural situations are not ideally placed for Western levels of health care.

The best place to observe and practice Western/farang values is the West/farang-land..

[getnial wrats]

looks too much like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naja_siamensis to be comfortable on quick encounter. have encounter a big snake that could of been either, very fast mover as you say. could have been even something else

Edited November 11, 2013 by getnial wrats