Snakes!

they really are beautiful snakes. Well named.

Does shredded mean muscle ripped or skin ripped from spines, thorns, sun etc? Haha.

Out of curiosity, was it the lone native scorpion or an introduced one? I’m always on the look out for naturalized arachnids. I used to breed a crap load of arachnids. we do need an 8 legged thread.

URODACUS
totally, they are one of my favorite snakes here, young ones are especially amazing! Their temperament is especially beautiful.

Tempo, haokepa is only cause you see the picture, if you watch a snake in a safe comfortable situation and watch its process it will soon become not so.creepy. may not be beautiful for you, but there is rhyme to their reason. As with everything.

Both :slight_smile:

This is in the Philippines. I didn’t have a camera with me but I’m pretty sure I know what it was. I’ll post in the bug thread.

Since moving to Okinawa, my favourite all-time for coloration and attitude is the akamata. juveniles are especially beautiful.

(Ryukyu odd-tooth snake, Lycodon semicarinatus. AKA Ryukyu rough scaled snake.)

It’s a non-venomous (colubrid, i think), but has an ornery temperament and deservedly so, they take on much bigger snakes in defense, and bite first and often as their main weapon.

here’s a photo taken by a friend of mine (on his website)…

and a juvenile:
image

Do they eat other snakes as well?

Never seen one before, quite pretty.

These 2 viper were a meter apart sitting v at the tree frog buffet the other night. Phone sucks when humid, but looked cool.

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These days I was thinking that with this temperature tree vipers should still be around, and here we go :smiley:

One day I went herping I spotted several of these. I saw a couple of them kinda together, and then, when I was going to lean on a wall for taking some pictures, I thought that I should check around just to make sure there wouldn’t be another… and yes, there was another on the wall, just hiding under some plants. It is very important to check around, always, and not to walk by night without lights.

http://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1104485016522948608/pu/vid/346x588/WXRR1lY14WSLGBH-.mp4
Why you tuck your trousers into you socks. :snake: :australia:

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I’m hiking/geocaching at Hutoushan in Taoyuan and just came upon this guy. It’s my first time in eleven years here seeing one of these in real life.

Here’s how close it was to the geocache (cache on left, snake on right)
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After looking at photos on websites, I think the one I saw last night was a banded krait ( Bungarus fasciatus ) #### Many-Banded Krait 雨傘節

The Many-Banded Krait is highly venomous, and can be quite common while hiking at night in humid areas. The Many-Banded krait is rear fanged, and not aggressive unless provoked. In most encounters the snake will freeze or flee to avoid any interaction. Be careful and do no disturb this snake, as you have to go to Australia to find a more venomous bite!

Brrrr… It was really close to my tool shed

If it makes you feel better banded kraits are very nervous and flighty. They can bite for sure but they are very fast and really dont like conflict. ive seen them damn near jump they ran so fast. their fangs are short too. They like dark humid areas too so easier to avoid.

vipers are the only dangerous snakes im worried about in taiwan. They are generally not aggressive but their sit and wait ambush style makes them hard to see and they dont run if already sitting still so easy to walk by unnoticed. that said ive walked by tons, especially long nosed and the green bamboo vipers, couple times rubbing them with bare feet in sandals and they didnt strike. was a bit unnerving afterward but it goes to show their demeanor.

generally snakes are quite magical to watch. the only danger is when they are unnoticed and you threaten them (eg in your shoe and crushing them etc). hence why in taiwan its usually farmers and moutnain workers getting bit. even then, taiwan has good medical service and deaths are rare :slight_smile: if it makes you feel any better.

in recent weeks we have been seeing lots of tiger snakes, which until this year i have not ever found one.

That website has it wrong, keroliver: the kraits are elapid snakes, and thus front fanged, not rear fanged (colubrid snakes). But Yes, they are very venomous, and will lead to respiratory collapse quite quickly if you get a good dose.

not nice to know you have them in your back yard.

I only have Okinawa habu to deal with here… big angry pit vipers. The local habu is 2-3 times the size of the Taiwan habu, but fortunately they don’t climb apartment buildings very well.

I was just reading more about the green tree viper I spotted in my post above. Makes me shudder knowing I was reaching around in the area where it was. I’ll definitely be more aware in the future.

T. stejnegeri has a potent hemotoxin. The wound usually feels extremely painful, as if it had been branded with a hot iron, and the pain does not subside until about 24 hours after being bitten. Within a few minutes of being bitten, the surrounding flesh dies and turns black, highlighting the puncture wounds. The wound site quickly swells, and the skin and muscle become black due to necrosis.

Elapids, not sure where the fangs are, but mouths are on the small side and they are shy animals (the many banded kraits at least). When they notice your presence, first they try to pretend they aren’t there, and then they run away. Normally.

HOWEVER, they are fast as fuck, and they’ve got the most powerful venom in a terrestrial snake outside Australia. No need to say more. I like them, but I’d be super careful with them.

I looked for those bastards for many years until I finally had the first encounter. Normally they aren’t aggressive, BUT if you get too close you’ll most likely get bitten. Also I’ve seen some more confrontational… I guess they got tired of the photo shoot.

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I dread running into one of these
https://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Daboia%20russelli%20siamensis/species_daboia_russelli.htm

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Be careful of stupid home remedies.

Agreed. I would definitely have that one in the top 5 of “snakes I really want to avoid”.

the others being both species of taipan, the eastern brown, and the black mamba… and maybe the saw-scaled viper.

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I am sure that to make matters more confusing , there are snakes that look almost identical ,but one is dangerous and one is harmless.

Has anyone seen a russels viper? Ive only ever heard of people seeing them.

If i remember correctly the cdc listed them as one of the species they carry antivenin for so i guess more common than i thought.

No, but if you want to find it (or see it before it sees you and you are too close), you need to know where they hang out. Apparently they like open spaces, they coil up just there in the middle of nowhere waiting to bite you. They live mostly in the South, like Pintung and around that area. Or that’s what I can recall.

Can you explain why? Just curious… is it because of their venom, or because of their behaviour?