Venomous Snakes of Udon Thani

westerby wrote:Looking at your location Treeg, I take it you live in the city, have you got any rivers or streams near you?

We live at Mooban Krissana, Moo Mon, that's just outside the ringway near the road to Nongkai. There are indeed a few streams nearby, although still several hundred meters from our house.

Treeg wrote:

Saw above snake(s) several times in our garden, about one meter long at most I would guess, somewhat grey color on top side but quite clear yellow or very light green on the sides (longitudal marking). Quite often they 'stand up' a little, lifting there head and part of their body above the grass.

They are active in daytime, so I presume they are not dangerous, I'll just keep out of their path and let them crawl along, they seem to live in the grass or bushes, at least never saw them climb.

Difficult to tell with the picture being blurry, but did it look like this snake that is very common, diurnal and moves quickly in our area?

This is Dendrelaphis pictus (Painted Bronzeback). It is rear fanged, but I have not even heard of minimal swelling associated with its bite, so it should be considered completely harmless. All the ones that I have come across were very keen on making a fast get away. Their favourite prey is frogs; I find them by listening to the screaming of the frogs they catch, like in the picture, it is eating a Fejervarya limnocharis (Rice Field Frog).

Had (maybe 7") a small snake in the house this morning. After cowering in the corner (both of us) she got a broom, covered the little guy and shuffled over to the front door which I opened, but wouldn't sweep it out until I moved away from the door. As though it would jump 6' and get us. Good thing there was no video crew, I'm sure it was quite comical to see;o) She chased it a bit outside but thinks it crawled up into the truck, so maybe it will get us yet;o(

scotty is the 7 inches or 7 feet LOL

With the current heat I would think they would be looking for cool places these days

Michael C wrote:Difficult to tell with the picture being blurry, but did it look like this snake that is very common, diurnal and moves quickly in our area?

Yes, guess its this one, although the sides from the ones in our garden look more bright yellow then on your picture, but that might be just a trick of the light, for the rest all markings are the same.

Thanks for identification and confirming that its harmless, I'll leave them in peace.

jetdoc wrote: She chased it a bit outside but thinks it crawled up into the truck, so maybe it will get us yet;o(

I'm often amazed how little the locals know about the snakes. My wife is born here and has been living here almost all of her life, but the only thing she knows about any snake is 'very dangerous'. There are plenty snakes here, I should think that if you have been living here all your life you should know which snake is really dangerous and which isn't but for the fast majority of the people 'a snake is a snake' and they don't seem to make any difference between them.

Insects seem to be divided in 'the ones you can eat and the ones that can bite you' but it also doesn't go much further then that, anything which looks vaguely like a centipede is killed right away. Apparently even at the schools there aren't any lessons given on 'animals in our kingdom' or something. Sometimes I almost feel pity for the snakes.

westerby wrote:Does 'Dendrelaphis' mean that it hangs out of trees?

The genus name does mean that it is supposed to be found in the trees and they make use of branches while in captivity, but I always find them in the field on the ground. Maybe they are just blending in better in the trees

Michael C wrote:

westerby wrote:Does 'Dendrelaphis' mean that it hangs out of trees?

The genus name does mean that it is supposed to be found in the trees and they make use of branches while in captivity, but I always find them in the field on the ground. Maybe they are just blending in better in the trees

you are a very enlightened man micheal c , and i think a lot of people respect your imput into this site , i certainly do . so , could you tell us your feelings and thoughts about some other burning questions on the forum lately , like the singing of happy birthday in restaurants , or the eternal question of , how to spot a ladyboy in its natural envoiroment .

Even Enlightened men will have a thought or two on Singing Happy Birthday in restaurants...opinion on LB's well that could be deemed as a more private matter for some...C'mon Saint Cheer up, can't be that bad can it, you having a bad day..?

As much as snakes in trees give me the Willys they are very interesting too, along with monkeys/primates an animal i could never tire of seeing.

Would like to see a few more personal Snake pics Micheal, these must take sometime to collect, and to strike the shot button at the right moment.
Are you running some sort of snake centre..?

Michael C wrote:The genus name does mean that it is supposed to be found in the trees and they make use of branches while in captivity, but I always find them in the field on the ground.

You say their favorite food is frogs, I can believe that for we have a lot of frogs in the area, but frogs live on the ground, never seen them in trees, so the snake just has to adept if it likes to eat frog I would guess...

My primary purpose of this thread was to inform people of the venomous snakes of the Udon Thani area. I have also taken the opportunity to identify species that forum members have come across and anyone can contact me directly by email if they are concerned about identification of a snake. Usually, I try to protect my pictures through the photo hosting site. By posting them on the forum, they are open to theft and sadly, many of my pictures are stolen and used without my permission even though I stamp them. I will give the link to my photo hosting site for those that are interested in the snakes, other reptiles or amphibians of Thailand.
http://flickr.com/photos/73879198@N00/

Yes, it has taken a lot of field time to photograph and document all of the species that I have photographed and documented. So far, it has been 5 years with the first 7 semesters concurrently teaching and doing field research. A number of the pictures have been published in books and journals in Thailand and internationally.

I keep 4 species of snakes captive and none of the snakes on my property are ever bothered; so far, I have documented 9 species of snakes on my property. My place is not a snake centre, but I do conduct herpetological research, currently for the Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum; Tomistoma Task Force, Crocodile Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; collaboration of research with the Smithsonian Institute and just accepted an invitation of collaboration of research sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. There is also a study that the Thai government’s Division of Wild Fauna and Flora Protection, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department that is supposed to come up soon that I am to participate in sometime soon.

Treeg, Thailand has over 30 species of tree frogs. Rhacophorus bipunctatus is a type of 'Flying Frog' found in our area, in the areas that are still forested:

This Polypedates leucomystax was pictured in the kitchen and this species also comes into the bathroom here in Udon Thani:

During the rainy season you will hear them as a raspy short croaking sound, but the ones calling will be the males- the one pictured is a female. It is found everywhere in Thailand (except some small islands). The reason many people might not see them is because they remain hidden away during the day.

Michael C wrote:During the rainy season you will hear them as a raspy short croaking sound, but the ones calling will be the males- the one pictured is a female. It is found everywhere in Thailand (except some small islands). The reason many people might not see them is because they remain hidden away during the day.

Indeed, after a rainshower, especially at night, it's a LOT of noise, however I never knew you have also frogs living in the trees over here! We have also some weird animals here, they hop a bit like a frog but they are quite big, almost small rabbits, and more rounded, almost like some mixture of a frog and a lizard. Next time I'll see one of them I will try to make a picture, don't know what they are.

Michael, you're work is much appreciated, I live already more then 5 years over here but I still learn a lot of new things every day!

Thanks for the link Micheal.

'Ovophis Monticola' (Doi Inthanon)....looks a short fat snake and looks heavy, But as with all of them wouldn't want to get too close..!

and is the..'Ramphotyphlop Braminus' ..something that i would know as a slow worm/Blind Worm..?