Snakes!

The head was oval… That’s all I can say so far
Yep, a photo would be welcome indeed!

Does it have overly large eyes?

Yes, I noticed she had huge eyes

My neighbor knows the Chinese name
He will send it to me soon (and I will share)
Obviously, it is not venomous
This snake is quite large and smells… very bad
And the day before I found myself face to face with it, I noticed the smell on the field!

ok, I got the name…

Depending on what I said to my friend, considering he did not see the snake, but has lived for many years in the area… He thinks this is a 王錦蛇 Wáng jǐnshé

I looked at the photos… and, yes, it is. Elaphe carinata, the king ratsnake (also known as Taiwan stink snake)

Elaphe carinata - Wikipedia

Indeed… the smell is horrible! She deserves that name

Elaphe carinata is a large snake with total length up to 240 cm (7.9 ft).
Elaphe carinata is an active, predatory snake that eats everything from beetles to birds to snakes, with particular preference for the latter. (a snake eating other snakes, great!)
The common name of “king ratsnake” refers to its habit of eating other snakes, including venomous species such as the Chinese cobra and the sharp-nosed viper.
Elaphe carinata is one of major species in snake trade in China, particularly in skin trade but also of live animals. ( Yep, the skin is beautiful!)
It is the most commonly available snake in restaurants. (Oooops)

So… venomous or not? obviously not.

I am going to take good care of her. She is welcome in the ecosystem of my farm.

I’m curious about the smell. I don’t think I’ve ever held a snake that had a smell at all. Is it from eating such a variety, living in the wild? Is it common?

The answer is in the link…

The other common names “stink snake” or “stinking goddess” refer to this species’ highly developed post-anal glands which, when the snake is picked up, are frequently emptied, with a very strong, bad odour.

post-anal! hahaha!

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OK, so I saw the first DOR of 2018. It’s a pity that the first snake of the year is already a carpet, but well, it’s still good news that I can probably start my night herping hobby again.

Poor bastard.

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Went herping a week ago, and I guess I was kinda lucky. I found 2 many banded krait (last year they were very difficult to spot in the area where I usually go herping), AND I got lucky and run into a tiny cute tree viper.

I was a bad guy and took that poor krait off the ditch and dropped it on the road so that I could take some shots. Actually because I messed with her too much, and because it’s dangerously fast, I didn’t really take many or good pictures of it. I did take a video of the whole thing.

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Yesterday while hiking.

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Cobra! nice.

Actually I’m considering to go to look for cobras to the area I said… where were you hiking?

Actually, I would discourage people from actively setting out to look for venomous snakes. I just happened upon this one.

Yeah, well, I would and I do take people with me to look for snakes, but I’m very cautious (actually sometimes I’m a bit scared when doing it). But it is good to know about snakes distribution and make people aware of what they can find and where. I’d say that you could see snakes ANYWHERE in Taiwan (I’ve seen a roadkill on some road that goes from Chungshan street to the National Palace Museum in Taipei, basically in the middle of the city).

Personally I think I’ve seen cobras in road number 7 and probably a couple of times in Yilan, but sneaking out of my view :frowning:

How far away were you from it?

Not far enough. That picture used the digital zoom on my cellphone, so it may look like I was closer than I actually was.

Snakes scare me a lot. #NotGoingHikingAnymore

Same here. However, it was pretty calm. We didn’t threaten it. I’d say 3 meters would be fine. It’s neck was still round in one of those pictures. You can see its neck flattening out, though, as we walked passed it. It didn’t move much, which kind of surprised me.

A cobra is not likely to attack you for no reason… or attack you at all. I’m talking about the species you can find here in Taiwan.

@SlowRain didn’t want to tell me where he was hiking when he saw the animal because he doesn’t want to encourage people chasing snakes, but the real danger here is not to be aware of snakes. When you are looking for them at least you are paying attention. OTOH when you are hiking you might be very close to them unknowingly. And that’s really dangerous depending on the animal.

Some snakes won’t move if you get close, and will bite when you are already too close. There are more of these in the South, but again who can predict what a wild animal will do!

I like snakes but I have a lot of respect for them. Don’t want to get bitten!

wtf you gonna do if it rushes you lol.

You have to fight that thing somehow.

A spider you can just squash like a bug, not a snake…

Cobras can be aggressive, more than any other snake in Taiwan, especially if cornered. If they raise themselves up and flare their neck while making a hushing sound you’re in real danger of attack. But even a cobra will leave the scene if an exit route is obvious.

We don’t go looking for snakes where I am from. 1280px-Boomslang

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