Well it is. A neighbour call me earlier and said she had a snake in the garden and was worried it might bite her kitten. I went round and caught the snake, but couldn't identify it. Half a meter long with a striking white underbelly, with a very faint blue colour on the back, No obvious fangs. Any ideas?

Rat snake?

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/indo-chinese_rat_snake.htm

Or Sunbeam snake with tinge of blue ?

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/sunbeam_snake.htm

Edited August 20, 201411 yr by DaamNaam

Definitely not a sunbeam, but I did think ratsnake at first glance. Maybe the local experts will nail it, and yes I did let it go again in some nice vacant land.

wouldn't be picking it up if I didn't know what it was!

Head shot isn't very clear. Can you rule out a young cobra?

Head shot isn't very clear. Can you rule out a young cobra?

Was hard to hold the snake in one hand and the camera in another. Had many cobras here in the past and they all had that lovely bronze/coppery look.

wouldn't be picking it up if I didn't know what it was!

Picked up a lot worse in Loi Kroh after dark

Good man, Maejo, The usual suspects would have killed it

then asked for it to be identified.cannot see it properly but

maybe some kind of keelback.

regards Worgeordie

gray rat snake

gray rat snake

Probably right on the money with that one. I thought rat snake, but the colouring didn't seem right.

My guess would be a rat snake too.

gray rat snake

Probably right on the money with that one. I thought rat snake, but the colouring didn't seem right.

I can confirm that it`s an Indochinese rat snake and completely harmless. Maejo old sport, thank you for not killing it.

Although known as an Indochinese rat snake they are common all over Thailand. They seem to be quite prevalent this time of year. We have a whole nest of them that have made home underneath our water tank and never a problem. If they see me or my cats and dogs they just slide away somewhere.

Info here:

http://www.thailandsnakes.com/non-venomous/indochinese-rat-snake-non-venomous-not-dangerous/

Edited August 20, 201411 yr by Beetlejuice

Rat snake?

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/indo-chinese_rat_snake.htm

Or Sunbeam snake with tinge of blue ?

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/sunbeam_snake.htm

I agree with you on the "Sunbeam". The spotted pattern matches and you can't always see the iridescent coloring unless the sun hits at the right angle or get a photo of its color every time. Also re-examining the photo you will see hints of a silvery shine at the head and upwards a bit.

Edited August 20, 201411 yr by Mrjlh

I thought that Rat Snakes were fairly aggressive. Though not poisonous they do strike and bite. I saw a video where they used Rat Snakes to train young boys for handling Cobra's in shows. The boys suffered a few bites, but nothing serious.

Here is a quote from the Youtube site of the above video;

These rat snakes are really beautiful, and common in Thailand. They are rodent eaters and prefer rats and mice to anything else. They are very fast, and defend themselves with great strikes - even jumping at the attacker. This one was very mild, despite having been caught less than 30 minutes before this video was shot.

I thought that Rat Snakes were fairly aggressive. Though not poisonous they do strike and bite. I saw a video where they used Rat Snakes to train young boys for handling Cobra's in shows. The boys suffered a few bites, but nothing serious.

Here is a quote from the Youtube site of the above video;

These rat snakes are really beautiful, and common in Thailand. They are rodent eaters and prefer rats and mice to anything else. They are very fast, and defend themselves with great strikes - even jumping at the attacker. This one was very mild, despite having been caught less than 30 minutes before this video was shot.

What some call agressive, I would call defensive. That is why some snakes will tame so quickly when handeled as they don't feel threatened. If you are agressive , and act like a predator then they will bite in defense. If you hold it gently for awhile it may just think of you as a warm soft tree branch. The snake show students mess with the rat snakes to get them to strike.

Can't beat a good snake thread.

To the OP . . . your snake would be straight into the pot in Mrs G's village. That species is a highly regarded delicacy . .

Can't beat a good snake thread.

Well how about putting a snake up against a pizza.

Gotta be a pizza win hands down......chai mai ?