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Snakes

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THE SNAKES IN MARLOTH PARK AND LIONSPRUIT ……..
Snakes are valuable for our environment, for the following reasons: They control the number of rodents and bats in the bush. They also eat frogs, birds, lizards, geckos, chameleons, bird eggs, insects and fish as part of the food chain and are food for the Brown Snake Eagle, another snake-eating birds, mongoose, hyena and other snakes. We have some beautiful, innocent and slightly poisonous snakes (their poison is of no concern to humans) in the bush around us, but unfortunately sometimes they come looking for in it in our homes they look for food or shelter. out of fear, many people will want to kill them because they do not know whether it is a dangerous snake or not. This page is to help to get to know our harmless snakes, so we do them no harm but ensure that they continue to live in the wild and are part of the food chain as nature intended. It is also important to know that there are also poisonous snakes and how to react when you see one. For all snakes, please call the Snake Handlers, see the the phone numbers to help you.. The 18 most common snakes found in Marloth Park and Lionspruit

  • Spotted bush snake
  • Green water snake
  • Brown house snake
  • Eastern Tiger Snake
  • Striped belly sand snake
  • Olive grass snake
  • Red-lipped herald
  • Phyton
  • Marbled tree snake
  • Black-headed centipede eater
  • Snouted night adder
  • Common night adder
  • Boomslang
  • Common egg eater
  • Mozambique spitting cobra
  • Black mamba
  • Twig snake
  • Puff adder

NOT VENOMOUS SNAKES:

Spotted Bushsnake
Spotted Bush Snake 2 Philothamnus semivariegatus, commonly known as the spotted bush snake, is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake, endemic to Africa:

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Green Water Snake
Green-water-snake-2 Green water snake Philothamnus hoplogaster (Green water snake, South eastern green snake) Groenwaterslang; Suidoostelike groenslang [Afrikaans]; Umhlwazi [Xhosa

The Green water snake can be identified by its round pupils, a white or yellow underside, a particularly good swimming and tree climbing ability and a diurnal lifestyle. It grows to an average length of 60 cm and a maximum length of 1 meter.

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Brown House Snake
Brown-house-snake-5

Lamprophis capensis (Brown house snake, Common house snake) Bruinhuisslang, Gewone huisslang [Afrikaans]; Umzingandlu [Zulu]; Inkwakhwa [Xhosa]

Cape House Snakes are usually dark brown on top but the colour varies greatly, from almost black through brown to olive green.

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THE PHYTON

Africa’s largest snake and one of the six largest snake species in the world. Not venomous but has bad bite
Python

Python natalensis (South African rock python, Natal rock python) Suider-Afrikaanse luislang[Afrikaans]; inHlwathi, uMonya, imFundamo [Zulu]; iNamba, iFoli, uGqoloma [Xhosa];inHlathu [Ndebele]; Nhlarhu [Tsonga];Hlware [Sotho/ Tswana]; Tharu [Venda];Shatu [Shona]

Africa’s largest snake and one of the six largest snake species in the world (along with the green anaconda,

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MILD VENOMOUS, NO CONSEQUENSES FOR HUMAN:

Eastern Tiger Snake Eastern_Tiger_Snake-2 Eastern Tiger Snake (Telescopus semiannulatus semiannulatus) Oostlelike tierslang [Afrikaans] The Eastern Tiger snake can be identified by the following features and behaviors; a head which is distinct from the body, large eyes (with vertical pupils), an orange-yellow colouration, its highly aggressive nature when threatened, between 20 and 50 dark blotches down its length and its strictly nocturnal lifestyle. This snake has an average length of 80 cm but can reach a length of 1 meter. can be confused with a koral snake,

Western Stripe-bellied Sand SnakeWestern-Stripe-bellied-Sand-Snake-Psammophis-subtaeniatus
Western Stripe-bellied Sand Snake [Psammophis subtaeniatus](Afr) WESTELIKE GESTREEPTE SANDSLANG (Xho) UMHLWAZI, This snake is a long slender snake with a pointed head and round pupils, usually striped from neck to tail, not clearly visible in this picture

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OLIVE GRASS SNAKEOLIVE-GRASS-SNAKEOlive grass snake Psammophis mossambicus(Olive whip snake) Olyfsweepslang [Afrikaans] this snake can be fount south of Durban in the Natal, to north. north-Transvaal and the Limpopo province. and all Swaziland

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Red-lipped-snake-Herald-snakeRed-lipped-snake-Herald-snake5 Red-lipped herald Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia Rooilipslang [Afrikaans]; Phimpi [Ndebele] The Red Lipped Snake is a small snake with a broad, obvious head and a short tail. The scales are in 19 rows at midbody and are dull, the head is iridescent when the skin is freshly shed

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Common egg eater Common-egg-eater4 Common egg eater Dasypeltis scabra ( Rhombic egg-eater)Gewone eiervreter [Afrikaans]; Ralegonyane [Tswana] can be identified by there pattern Common egg eater

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Marbled-tree-snakeMarbled-tree-snake-1

Marbled tree snakeDipsadoboa aulica Marmerslang [Afrikaans]
The Marbled tree snake can be identified by its large eyes (with vertical pupils), a head which is distinct from its body, a white tongue and its nocturnal lifestyle. It grows to an average length of 60 cm and a maximum length of 85 cm

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Black-headed-centipede-eater
black headed centepi eaterBlack-headed centipede eater Aparallactus capensis ( Cape centipede-eater) Swartkop-honderdpootvreter [Afrikaans] De Black-headed duizendpoot eter Yellow or pale reddish brown dorsally, with or without a blackish vertebral line. Yellowish white ventrally. Neck and top of head black, with or without a yellowish crossbar behind the parietals. Sides of head yellowish, with the shields bordering the eye black. Adults may attain a total length of 33.5 cm (13 14 in), with a tail 7 cm (2 34 in) long.

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Snouted night adder

snouted night adder
Snouted Night Adder Causus defilipii ,Wipneusnagadder [Afrikaans]; Changwa [Ndebele].Can be identified by the following: a dark brown or mauve colouration with a dark stripe extending down the length of the body, dark brown or black blotches on either side of the stripe, a distinctive V-shaped marking on the head and an upturned snout. It has an average length of 35 cm but may reach 43 cm in length.
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HIGHLY VENOMOUS !!!!!!!!!:

Boomslang

Boomslang Dispholidus typus iNambezelu,iNyushu [Xhosa]; inDlondlo [Ndebele]; Logwere [Tswana]; Legwere [North Sotho]; Khangala [Venda]; Muroxwe[Venda]; Coracunda [Shona]The average adult boomslang is 100–160 cm (3¼–5¼ feet) in total length, but some exceed 183 cm (6 feet). The eyes are exceptionally large, and the head has a characteristic egg-like shape. Coloration is very variable. Males are light green with black or blue scale edges, but adult females may be brown.

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Common-night-adderCommon-night-adder1Common Night adder Causus rhombeatus (Rhombic Night adder ) Nagadder [Afrikaans];iNyoka yasebusuku [Zulu]; Unomofuthwana [Xhosa]; Changwa [Ndebele]; Chiva [Shona]These snakes are fairly stout, never growing to more than 1 m (3.3 ft) in total length As opposed to most vipers, where the head is distinct from the neck and covered with small scales, in Causus the head is only slightly distinct from the neck and covered with 9 large, symmetrical head shields.

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Mozambique spitting cobraMozambique-spitting-cobra-1Mozambique spitting cobra Naja mossambica, Mosambiekse spoegkobra, Spuugslang [Afrikaans]; iPhimpi [Xhosa]; imFezi [Zulu]; iPhimpi [Ndebele]; Kake [Tswana]; Phakhuphakhu [Venda].In color the snake is slate to olive grey, olive or tawny black above, with some or all scales black-edging. Below, salmon pink to purple yellowish, with black bars across the neck and ventrals speckled or edged with brown or black; young specimens sometimes have pink or yellow bars on the throat.

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Black-mamba Black-mamba2 Black mamba Dendroaspis polylepis(Black mamba, Southern brown mamba) Swart mamba [Afrikaans]; iMamba [Xhosa]; iMamba ennyama [Zulu & Ndebele]; Mokopa [Tswana & North Sotho]; Khangala [Venda]; Hangara [Shona],
It takes its common name not from the colour of its scales, but from the interior of its mouth, which is inky-black. It is the longest species of venomous snake on the African continent, with a length typically ranging from 2 meters (6.6 ft) to 3 meters (9.8 ft) and up to 4.3 to 4.5 meters (14.1 to 14.8 ft). It is among the fastest moving snakes in the world, capable of moving at 11 km/h (6.8 mph) over short distances.

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Twig snakeTwig-snake2 Twig snake Thelotornis capensis capensis (Southern vine snake, Bird snake) Savannevoelslang [Afrikaans]; Kotikoti [Ndebele]; Ukhokhothi [Zulu] ,Can be identified by a long pointed head, a distinctive keyhole shaped pupil, a dull grey or grey brown colouration (often with dark blotches), a green or green blue head, a dark line running between the eye and mouth, and its red and black tongue. It can also be recognized by the way its neck when threatened. This snake reaches an average length of 1.2 meters but may also reach just under 1.5 meters.

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Southern stiletto snake

Atractaspis bibronii (Southern stiletto snake, Bibron’s burrowing asp)
Suidelike sypikslang [Afrikaans]
Identification
The Southern Stiletto snake can be identified by the following features; a tail spine, small eyes, a uniform purple or black colour, a neck arch behind the head, the unique position of its fangs (this makes it impossible to handle) and its predominately nocturnal lifestyle. It grows to an average length of 40 cm and a maximum length of 70 cm.
Southern Stiletto

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Puff adderPuff-adder-2-Witberg-M-Albe

Puff adder Bitis arietans Poffadder[Afrikaans]; iBululu [Xhosa / Zulu / Ndebele];iRambi [Xhosa]iHobosha [Zulu]; Lerabe, Marabe, Thamaha, Thama-dinkotsane[South Sotho]; Lebolobolo [Tswana & North Sotho]; Vuluvulu [Venda]; Chiva [Shona];Mhiri [Tsonga] ,This thick, heavily built snake has a large, flattened, triangular head and large nostrils which point vertically upwards. The body is yellow-brown to light brown, with black, pale-edged chevrons on the back and bars on the tail.

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ALARM Number, Field note slang3Alarm number for information about Snake Bites etc .

I have confirmed with the Tygerberg Hospital the existence of a 24 h telephone number where one can get assistance and information on virtually all emergency cases of envenomation by either snakes, bees and wasps, spiders and scorpions. I thought this might be valuable for our colleagues out on the reserves and in the rural areas, or those who cannot always get to a doctor or hospital quickly (or those of us who live in the “urban jungle”).

The number to dial is : 021-931 6129.

A few quick facts and tips on snakes and snakebite

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click this to show the List of dangerous snakes !!!!!

 

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