Considered as one of the deadliest reptiles in the world, a single snake has the inane ability to empty an entire building.Given the construct of venomous beast who slither around looking for humans to bite, snakes have been exploited as an anti-hero by both Hollywood and Bollywood alike.But,of the approximately 3000 species of snakes worldwide, only 500 are venomous rest are pretty harmless, atleast to humans. Here we take a look at ten most non poisonous snakes.
1. Leucistic Texas Rat Snake(Elaphe obsoleta linheimeri)
A truly unique snake,the Leucistic Texas Rat snake, a variant of the Texas rat snake has a snow white opaque pattern with dark almost blue eyes.This subspecies is found from Louisiana through the prairies and hill country of Central Texas.The presence of this snake is marked by the density of oak trees in an area.Considered to be one of the meanest snakes alive, this subspecies often reacts defensively by aggressive biting. However, they are fairly docile if left alone.In the wild, this species is a predator on rodents of all sizes, with large adults being able to take prey up to the size of a fox squirrel. Texas Ratsnakes are a species of skilled climbers, with the ablility to climb vertical trunks of trees by clinging to cracks in the bark. They are also capable swimmers.They breed in the spring,after a period of winter hibernation and lay clutches of 5 to 20 eggs, which hatch in late autumn.
2.Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus Caninus)
Born bright red to orange, an adult Emerald tree Boa, as the name suggests turns bright green with age.Native to the rain forests of South America, the snake is one of the most vibrant in the world.A non venomous snake in nature, it still has large fangs which it uses to grip its food, usually small birds strongly.Nocturnal in nature, this Boa is inactive during daytime and spends the day with its head wrapped and nestled at its center. At night, the reptile uses its heat sensors to detect the prey and prepares to catch it by staying coiled on the branch, head down, ready to strike. It then pulls up the small mammals by its teeth and to its death.A reptile of slow metabolism,it is classified as a”sit and wait predator” which enables it to go through a long period without food.
3. Amelanistic Burmese Python (Python bivittatus)
The Albino variant of the Burmese python, these snakes are widely found in tropic and sub-tropic areas of Southeast Asia. Unlike the brown and black burmese python, the Amelanistic is of the colour white and butterscotch yellow and surprisingly,a very popular design fro a birthday cake.Being one of the 6 biggest kinds of snakes in the world, Burmese pythons can grow up to 20 feet long. The largest pythons are always female which can grow from 13 to 20 feet while the typically smaller males grow from 8 to 17 feet.Pythons are constrictors, therefore instead of fangs they have rear ward teeth and they are non-venomous. This python is an excellent swimmer and climber and requires a permanent source of water.Though docile in nature, the huge size of the reptile can be difficult to take care of and can accidentally cause harm.
4. Scarlet King snake (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides)
Common in Georgia and Tennessee in USA, the Scarlet king snake is a beautiful reptile marked with red,yellow and black patterns.A fairly small snake(14 cm)the pattern of this constrictor has the red rings touching the black rings. Found in pine wood area,the flattened snout is considered an adaptation, as they are usually found beneath pine snags. This snake is famous for its resemblance to the much feared and deadly coral snake, which inhabits many of the same areas.One theory on the resemblance of the Scarlet King snake to the Coral snake is that it gave the former a survival advantage as predators would usually avoid it rather than attack it but unlike the Coral snake, it does not produce venom and is harmless to humans. The best way to distinguish a scarlet king snake from a coral snake is to differentiate between the the color patterns of the two snakes. In Coral snakes the yellow banding touches the red banding.
5. The Iridescent Shieldtail (Melanophidium)
Melanophidium bilineatum, commonly known as the iridescent shield tail, is a species of snake found in India. Only three specimens are known to be found of this species in the wild and very little is known and documented about it. one of the most beautiful snakes in the world, it has only been sighted in India at a height of about 5000 feet. The Iridescent colour of the base and top in the snake are separated by a line of bright yellow, which makes it unique in some ways.
6. Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
A very exotic pet, Eastern Hognose snakes are found across a wide range in the USA. The female of this species is usually longer than the male. The best identifying feature of hognose snakes is the upturned snout, which is necessary for digging in the sandy habitat.The colors and the patterns in the snake vary widely and not every hognose is alike.This species is noted for an impressive defensive display that includes hissing and spreading the neck cobra-like. When pestered further, they will roll over on their back and play dead. Despite its ferocious display, they rarely bite and even rare do they get aggravated. A very active species they prefer the outdoors to the indoors.
7. Flying Snake (Chrysopelea)
Snakes seemingly are scary but a flying one is the stuff of nightmares.Mildly venomous, these snakes are still considered harmless because their toxicity is not lethal to humans.Found in China, India and Sri Lanka, these snakes are more of gliders than fliers in nature.Gliding using its ridge scales against the rough bark, these snakes climb trees before taking off. It slithers to the end of a branch and dangle in a J shape. Propelling itself from its lower body it flattens to about twice its normal width, giving its normally round shaped stomach a concave C shape, which can trap air and help it in the motion of lateral undulation mid air and landing parallel to the ground.
8. Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)
The largest snake in the United States, reaching up to 8.6 feet in length,the Eastern Indigo Snake is protected legally by the Endangered Species Act. This bluish-black snake often has some orange-red pigment on the chin and neck. This snake received its name from the glossy iridescent blackish-purple sheen it displays in bright light. Due to it’s docile nature, the fact that it feels threatened by humans and is extremely beautiful, indigo snake is an attractive reptile as a pet.Like all snakes, it is carnivorous and feeds on rats, turtles,lizards,other snakes,small birds etc. On being threatened, it flattens itself, vibrates its tail but seldom bites.
9.Vine snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)
Belonging to the family of Colubridae, Vine snakes have slender bodies, narrow heads, and pointed snouts. The five species of vine snakes range from Texas in the United States to Peru. Ahaetulla is a tropical Asian distributed through India, the Philippines and Southeast Asia.Of the two colours of vine snakes, the Green species inhabit rainforest areas while the gray or brown species live primarily in dry forests. The body is laterally compressed and elongated, with the tail accounting for more than one-third of the total length.Relying on camouflage, they easily blend into the surrounding foliage and capture lizards, frogs, and birds. The back and forth flicking of the tongue attracts the prey, which mistake it for a worm or an insect and falls for the deception. When aggravated or threatened they inflate the neck region to reveal a startling colour display on the skin between the scales.Most species of n=vine snakes are relatively harmless to humans.
10. Mandarin Ratsnakes (Euprepiophis mandarina)
Mandarin Ratsnake are mainly found in Central and South Asia and have an affinity to hilly terrains. Euprepiophis mandarina can be translated as “pretty mandarin snake” and they stay true to their name with a grey body marked by yellow and black triangular saddles.Belonging to the Colubridae family, this 140 cm reptile is considered a very shy creature. A carnivore, it usually feeds on small mammals and reptiles. A secretive species,the ratsnake habitats a lot of dark places where it hides and rests.
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