I hear to stay away from the copied versions of “Viagra” you’ll be up all week. 
Ground deer antlers
[quote=“almas john”]Taiwanese students are taught at school that triangular-shaped heads indicate a venomous species. This is a pretty rough rule of thumb. The highly venomous but non-aggressive banded krait is a classic exception to the rule.
Regarding the Japs releasing exotic species of snakes into the wild. Garbage! No exotic species has ever been recorded as establishing itself in the wild. A much greater threat comes from the illegal pet trade: owners getting tired of their pets and releasing them into the wild. You may have seen a recent story about a young women who was bitten by King cobra (which is a non-native species).[/quote]
Is the “king cobra” a different species from the cobra that is found on Taiwan (first photo at BH’s link)?
I was a little surprised to see that they call one of their venomous species a “garter snake”, since the U.S. garter snake is a completely different (and harmless) species. “Chain snake” is definitely a better name for its color pattern.
Any regs on catching and killing these critters? I could use a few new hatbands. Both the conehead and chain snake would look great.
There are more than a dozen different species of cobra. Taiwan only has one species, the Chinese Cobra. The King Cobra is from India and is - biologically speaking - one big mother.
However, I have to correct my previous post. The latest info I have is that the woman was bitten by an Egyptian Cobra, not a King Cobra. She didn’t die, but will probably spend the rest of her days as a vegetable.
I got a call tonight from a friend who collected a snake from a local fire station. He had been told that it was a banded krait (a snake which has very distictive black and white bands). When he actually saw the snake, he realized it was a Californian King Snake.
The snake was probably a pet and the owner released it after being scared by the SARS outbreak or the story I just mentioned. This snake would be a real danger to the local fauna if it were to become established.
MaPoDoFu wrote
“Any regs on catching and killing these critters? I could use a few new hatbands. Both the conehead and chain snake would look great.”
Both of these snakes are protected. You need a permit even if you want to catch them for photographic or research purposes.
And on another note:
God! Taiwan’s Center for Disease Control strikes again! The names they give in their website are garbage. The “conehead” is a hundred pacer and the chain snake is a Russell’s viper
Yup. I’ve seen king snakes for sale here, but I’ve also found a fair number of banded kraits with atypical markings that make them look exactly like king snakes. You friend must be quite a herp… herpat… herpes… snake guy.
[quote=“almas john”]MaPoDoFu wrote
“Any regs on catching and killing these critters? I could use a few new hatbands. Both the conehead and chain snake would look great.”
Both of these snakes are protected. You need a permit even if you want to catch them for photographic or research purposes.
[/quote]
I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved. OTOH, if I’m catching them for fashion and/or culinary purposes, I guess that means it’s ok? 
While growing up in California, we used to catch and keep California king snakes as pets. Along with rodents, one of their favorite snacks was other snakes. If I remember correctly, they are more-or-less immune to rattlesnake venom. I don’t know if this immunity extended to other types of snake venom, but I would guess they could indeed have a nasty impact on the native snake population if they were to become established here.
Pangolin,
You are spot on! Californian king snakes eat rodents, lizards, and other snakes. And, as you said, the buggers are immune to rattlesnake venom. As I mentioned before, they are hardy mothers!
Yes, if established in the wild, this foreign species would eat a lot of the local snakes.
Although it is easily confused with the banded krait, the Californian king snake is non-venomous.
How do you you tell them apart? The Californian king snake has a black and white head whilst the banded krait’s head is completely black.
I had this guy visiting in my garden “The banded krait snake, or the striped snake in Hukkeinese or the knotted snake in Hakka” … took the garden chair and squished his head… it was a baby version of it… but still… heard that the babies are the most venemous ones… so thought that it was better to kill it then lettin it run around the garden… also seen the bamboo snake in the garden… but disappeared before i could do anything… =)
And just think. If you weren’t a stupid prick you could have just scooped it into a bucket and released it in the woods. Or called the fire department if you were too scared to do it yourself. Stray dogs carry all kinds of nasty diseases – would you have “squished its head with a garden chair” if it had been a puppy? 
Do the other snakes a favour – get yourself a sack of lime and spread a line of it around your property. That’s all you need to keep snakes away.
Sandman,
You are right about scooping it up and releasing it or calling the fire station to come and get it.
However, lime doesn’t keep snakes away. This is a myth. The only effective deterrent is a mother-in-law, placed in a central position in your backyard (on a long leash).
Muzzled, of course!
Is that true about the lime? Well, well – live and learn.
I have to agree with Sandman on this one. However, scooping up any unidentified snake with a bucket sounds a little dodgy to me. I for one don’t own on of those cool snake grabber hooks like that croc hunter loony. Best leave it to the fire department.
If everyone went around bashing snakes on the head we’d be up to our arses in rats and mice in no time. Taiwan is short enough on predatory species as it is without us helping to worsen the situation.
The question is, what will the fire department do with the snake after removing it from the garden?
You scoop it into a bucket using a sweeping brush or a stick. Its pretty simple and you don’t have to get anywhere near the critter. The guy said it was a baby snake – I wouldn’t try it with a five-foot cobra.
The fire dept. don’t (or aren’t supposed to) kill them. Usually they get sent off to be milked, as far as I know. Almas?
Aint snakes cool?
Almas, you’re doing a book on snakes aren’t you? Can you identify a slender snake that’s very dark bluish green on top with a bright canary yellow underside? I see a fair number of these beautiful animals in the woods around my place (Bitan/Wulai, jsut to the south of Taipei) but I’ve never been able to find any info on them.
And just think. If you weren’t a stupid prick you could have just scooped it into a bucket and released it in the woods. Or called the fire department if you were too scared to do it yourself.[/quote]
Or save it for me so I can make a new hatband!
Sanddude, I can’t blame him for whacking the snake. Why leave something deadly roaming around a residential area for a child to get bitten by? St. Patrick is celebrated for having driven all of the snakes out of Ireland (*); I don’t see why the Taiwanese shouldn’t do the same. There are plenty of nonpoisonous snakes out there to eat the rats.
(*) Actually a clever bit of propaganda. The snakes left on their own, having gotten tired of the Irish throwing up on them every Friday and Saturday night.
You carry it into the woods and release it there, far from children’s ankles. There’s usually absolutely no reason whatsoever to kill snakes.
As for a hatband – I got a hundred-pacer once that was almost unmarked roadkill. Really beautiful, but I did something wrong when I tried to cure it and it ended up STINKING! Was just the right size for a hatband, too.
Sandman,
Yes, I am working on a book about snakes. Will probably take 3 years to finish the bugger.
The snake you described is the Chinese green snake Cyclophiops major Easy to identify; the only snake in Taiwan with a yellow underside.
It is non-venomous, and eats earthworms that come to the surface.
Regarding fire stations, the firemen usually eat the large snakes they collect and release the smaller ones. A few also end up in wine.
Almas, thanks muchly for that info – I’ll have fun catching one next time I find one.
So, don’t call the fire department seems to be the thing to do. although at least the beasts get used. Are many of the snakes here really endangered, by the way? I would imagine not – I recall a year or two back, some research group or other went out one night and bushwhacked around outside Taipei hunting for snakes. If memory serves, they caught around 1,000 in a single night.
Three years, eh? Well, put me down for a copy anyway. Hope its got lots of high quality colour photos.