Identifying Snakes

Snakes are the most feared animal in the city…but only a few can hurt humans, and even they prefer to avoid people. In fact, snakes are a beneficial part of Thailand’s ecosystem. Bangkok’s snakes feed on the city’s mice and rats, helping control those rodent populations and reducing crop loss and the spread of disease. Some of the smaller snakes eat insect larvae and help to control ant and termite populations in the city.

However, every year a number of people in Bangkok are bitten by dangerously venomous snakes. For information on what to do if you are bit by a potentially dangerous snake, go to the snakebite page.

Green Snakes

Green camouflage is an adaptation for some snakes that live in bushes and trees. Many people believe that all green snakes are dangerous, but in fact only the vipers are mildly venomous and they can be distinguished by the shape of their head.

Long-nosed Whip Snake – extremely slender with long narrow head and pointed snout ending in a “nose”

Golden Tree Snake – black markings on body, long but not pointed head that is predominantly black on top

Large-eyed Pit Viper – stout triangular head, large eye, blue-green on lips, venomous and dangerous!

White-lipped Pit Viper – broad triangular head, white or yellow on lips, venomous and dangerous!

Brown or Black Snakes

Of course, other snakes that spend their time near the ground or on large trees would prefer to be much drabber in color. Here are a few snakes who are primarily brown or black without significant markings

Indo-Chinese Rat Snake – Large eye, long trail, only faintest markings on adults

Oriental Rat Snake – Large eye, long tail, indistinct bands that fade with age

Monocled Cobra – Smallish eye, short tail, characteristic “monocle” on back of neck, venomous and dangerous!

Sunbeam Snake – flattened head, striking iridescent shine off of dark body

Yellow-bellied Water Snake – small head, dark olive-brown top with yellow belly

Tentacled Snake – flat brownish body, head with two tentacle-like appendages, always in water

Banded Snakes

Many ground and water snakes are brownish in color with various types of bands on their body. Their colors can vary, so the important characteristics to distinguish them are the size of their bodies and the shape and distinction of their bands.

Banded Kukri Snake – dark blotches with small crossbars in-between and a characteristic head marking

Common Wolf Snake – narrow brown head with a white collar, very indistinct light bands on small body

Common Bridle Snake – Small head, slender body with narrow white bands that reticulate near tail

Banded Krait – triangular body, distinct dark and light bands of equal width, venomous and dangerous!

Jodi’s Pipe Snake – small head, red under tail, narrow light bands broken on top

Jack’s Water Snake – narrow but distinct light bands fade with age, broad head with dark “mask”

Bocourt’s Water Snake – Thick body, narrow yellowish bands on a mottled brown background

Dog-faced Water Snake – dark bars on brown/grey body, dark eyestripe, found only on coastal mudflats

Keel-bellied Water Snake – faint black bands on top of cream-colored body, only on coastal mudflats

Little File Snake – thick with loose skin and granulated scales, only in marine habitats

Blotched Snakes

There are a number of brownish Bangkok snakes with various blotches on their body. Most are easy to distinguish by the shape and position of the blotches.

Reticulated Python – Large body with reticulations of black, brown, and yellow

Burmese Python – Large body, brown blotches are lighter between

Eastern Russell’s Viper – brown spots on back and each side, stout head, venomous and dangerous!

Mangrove Pit Viper – broad triangular head, brown, gray, olive, or yellow with dark blotches, venomous and dangerous!

Many-spotted Cat Snake – slender body, average head, rows of brown blotches offset on either side of back

Yellow-spotted Keelback – large eye with eyestripe, black checkers/bars on body

Red-necked Keelback – red and yellow markings on neck, faint checkers on body

Chanard’s Mud Snake – Small eyes, short thick body, small black dots on side with a white line underneath

Jagor’s Water Snake – small eyes and head, very thick body, narrow black blotches that extend all the way down to the belly

Javan Wart Snake – loose skin, granular scales, squared-off head, dark gray blotching on sides

Striped Snakes

A few of Bangkok’s snakes have a variety of striped patterns

Copperhead Racer – Black stripe on front half of body and lines radiating from eye

Indo-Chinese Sand Snake – Alternating light and brown stripes on medium body

Rainbow Water Snake – thick body with two yellow-to-red lines

Painted Bronzeback – slender, light on side with black above through eye

Striped Kukri Snake – light line on back with dark borders, dark marks on head

Buff-striped Keelback – two light stripes intersected with dark bars

Worm-like Snakes

These “blind” snakes can be distinguished from worms because they have eyes, a tongue, and hard scales. Their lack of features makes them difficult to identify, and so a scale count is often necessary to tell the species apart.

Brahminy Blind Snake – slender, relatively uniform coloration

White-headed Blind Snake – slender body, distinct white head

Slender Worm Snake – extremely slender, sometimes with pale head

Diard’s Blind Snake – robust, dark brown fades into paler underbelly

Roxane’s Blind Snake – stout, darkest only on upper dorsal

Flower’s Blind Snake – round tail with no ending tail spine