Worst Snake To Be Bitten By in Thailand? The King Cobra

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1 Worst Snake To Be Bitten By in Thailand? The King Cobra This is a tough call because Thailand has a few snakes that could kill you within a couple hours if you weren t able to reach medical care quickly enough. I think the King Cobra, if it got a good bite on you would be the worst snake to be bitten by in the country. I have a friend who lost his little brother (adult brother) to a King bite on the shoulder that killed him in less than ten minutes. Luke Yeomans from the United Kingdom, all set to open up the King Cobra Sanctuary to the public was bitten and died within minutes as he had a massive coronary. If you are allergic to the venom of the snake that bites you, death could come very quickly. Some snake experts recommend carrying around a Ventolin inhaler that people use for asthma treatment. If bitten by a venomous snake in Thailand you may start losing your breath. That s when to take a spray. Others insist on using epi-pens at the first sign of anaphylactic shock. I always have the ventolin inhaler I am slightly asthmatic so, in this case it s actually a good thing. King Cobra Fact Page > All King Cobra Pages >

2 Are King Cobra Fangs Sharper than a Needle? Find out here our latest research with a juvenile King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) reveals the size difference between a very thin needle and a neonate King Cobra s fang. Find Out HERE. Wagler s Pit Viper Venomous Dangerous Tropidolaemus wagleri Wagler s Pit Viper Dangerous and potentially deadly bites. Tropidolaemus wagleri also called: Wagler s Pit viper; temple viper; bamboo snake; speckled pit viper [Last Updated: 5 May 2017] Thais say: ngoo keow took geh Length: Average length of 60 cm. Male smaller than female. Female maximum length at 100 cm. Appearance: Wagler s pit viper is a short green (ง เข ยว ) pit viper and the female is considerably thicker (3-4 times as

3 thick) than the male. A marked difference in patterns is noted with the female becoming darker and with strong banding as you can see in the above image. The males are so radically different that they look like completely different species (sexual dimorphism). In three reptile identification books I have for Thailand, they make no mention of the differences between the sexes. The female is pictured in each case. Dorsal scale count ( 23 to 29 ) ( 21 to 27 ) ( 17 to 21 ) and usually 21 to 23 mid-body dorsal scale rows in males and 23 to 27 mid-body scale rows in females. Dorsal scales are strongly keeled in females, and lesser keeled in males. Coloration can vary significantly among females. Here is a very yellow T. wagleri. Yellow and black female Wagler s Pit Viper from Southern Thailand. Here is a darker colored female, but not nearly as much as the top and bottom photos on this page. Not nearly as much lateral yellow as the previous photo. Gravid and ready to bear young. Soon to be the parent of dozens of hatchling vipers.

4 Besides the difference in size, thickness, and pattern, the body type is also quite different. The male grows to be around 60 cm and is long and thin, more like a wolf snake or something similar. Below is a photo of a male Wagler s pit viper found within one meter of a very gravid female. Obviously quite a big difference. Male Wagler s Pit Viper note the remarkable difference between male and female (Sexual dimorphism). Range: Southern Thailand south of Khao Sok National Park, Suratthani province. Other countries: West Malaysia; Indonesia; Philippines. There is a concentration of these common vipers on the island of Phuket, Thailand.

5 Habitat: Elevations up to about 1,200 meters but most abundant at elevations from 400 up to about 600 meters in lowland primary forest, secondary forest and jungle especially coastal mangrove. During the day these vipers can sometimes be found as little as a meter off the ground, up to a couple meters. They seem to prefer bushes over trees. Recently I found a gravid female at one meter off the forest floor and resting on a strong vine just 1 cm in diameter. Active Time? Mainly nocturnal, but occasionally found during the day, especially during or after rain. Crepuscular in nature, they are more often active during dusk and dawn, or on an unusually dark day during heavy rain. I have found these snakes during the day in a moderate rain at 400 meters elevation, and at 2000 hours after a light rain. Food: Birds especially baby birds in the nest, mice and other rodents, lizards, frogs. Defensive Behavior: Coil back into s-shape before striking. Strike is typically less than.3 meters in distance. Mouth wide-open exposing very long fangs and white tissue. Can strike in succession rather quickly. Their strike is not very fast in comparison with some of the other vipers. The heatsensing pits between the eyes can sense temperature difference as little as degrees Celsius. If continuously threatened they may hold their mouth wide open, like the photo above. Venom Toxicity: Potentially deadly. Strong venom that usually does not result in death to humans. Victims experience a strong burning sensation upon envenomation, and swelling, necrosis of tissue. The multi-valent antivenom for green pit vipers treats envenomation by this snake. Antivenom Code: SAsTRC01 Antivenom Name: Green Pit Viper Antivenin Manufacturer: Science Division, Thai Red Cross Society Phone: (up to 0164)

6 Address: Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, 1871 Rama IV Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok Country: Thailand Offspring: Live birth in September is common, with up to 41 young per litter. Male and females look different from day one, the females having light banding and the males with creme / red or brown dots on the top of the body. Notes: Though these snakes are said to be exclusively arboreal and nocturnal, I found one on a mountain recently during the middle of the day, on the ground, during a rain shower. See the video below. Tropidolaemus wagleri Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Crotalinae Genus: Tropidolaemus Species: T. wagleri Binomial name: Tropidolaemus wagleri Classified by Boie, in the year Top of head very triangular, and thin neck (female): Video 1 Wagler s Pit Viper found during daylight hours during a moderate rain shower with dark skies at around 400 meters elevation on a mountain in Krabi province, Southern

7 Thailand. Siamese Viper Venomous Deadly Russel s viper found in Sa Kaeo province near the Thailand border with Cambodia. Daboia Viper; Viper) siamensis Eastern Thais say: Ngoo Maow Saow (Siamese Russel s

8 Length: Maximum of 1.7 meters. Russel s around 1 meter long are common. Range: These snakes are found around Bangkok, West, North, and East of Bangkok. The Russel s photos shown here are from Sa Kaeo province near Cambodia. Habitat: These snakes are terrestrial and prefer grassy lowland, and open areas of all sorts. They prefer dry air and ground. Siamese vipers are not known to be found in dense rainforest or other very humid areas often. Active Time? Nocturnal. Food: Mostly rodents, but will target lizards and frogs as well. Defensive Behavior: A loud hiss can precede a bite. When striking, it coils first and strikes. This snake is strong, so bites can be deep. Simple rubber boots are probably not sufficient to stop the fangs from penetration.

9 Russel s viper in typical ambush posture. Venom Toxicity: Very strong. The rate of envenomation is estimated at 80% of bites. That s high in comparison to Malayan pit vipers for instance, which is closer to 50%. Coagulopathy is common and necrosis is a possibility. Renal failure is common. Russell s Viper Antivenin is made at the Queen Saovabha Memorial Snake Institute in Bangkok. Offspring: Need information for this section. Notes: Across the globe, it this snake kill more people vipers) are present across have strong fangs and their has been estimated that bites from than any other. This snake (Daboia Asia and their bite is deep. They venom is very strong. Russel s have thick necks and they are the thickest of the vipers in Thailand, by far.

10 Color of Russel s tends to be shades of brown. A rather unknown occurrence years after a bite, a man s testicles may shrivel up, and there can be a loss of body hair. Info here. Scientific classification: Daboia siamensis Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Viperinae Genus: Daboia Binomial name: Daboia siamensis (Classified by M.A. Smith, 1917) Video of Russel s Viper If you have a video of D. siamensis at Youtube or some other video sharing site, do let me know. I d love to replace the video below with another better one! Brown-Spotted Green Pit Viper Venomous Dangerous

11 Trimeresurus venustus. Brown-Spotted Green Viper. Small 70 cm. Venomous. Mildly Dangerous. Found in Southern Thailand ThailandSnakes.com. Trimeresurus venustus, previously Cryptelytrops venustus (Brown-spotted Green Pit Viper, Beautiful Pit Viper) [Last Updated: 5 May 2017] Appearance: Green snake (ง เข ยว ) with brown or reddish orange scales which may form bands across the width of the snake. Triangular pit viper head. Thais Say: Haang Ham tai Length: average cm Range: Chumpon to Krabi Province in Thailand. I have found them in Krabi and Surat Thani provinces. Notes: I found this one in the picture on a small hill at a Buddhist temple on a hill next to some steps. These venomous snakes are active on the ground and in bushes. This one was in a bush about 1.3 meters high, right next to the path. It was non-aggressive and didn t protest when I moved it away from the path with a stick. Appearance: Small vipers with usually brilliant greens, whites, and browns. Though sometimes the color can be quite muted. Dorsal scales are strongly keeled. Dorsal scale count

12 A brightly colored T. venustus waiting in ambush atop a rock. Habitat: I ve found these vipers up to 300 meters elevation. This snake hunts almost entirely on the ground where it preys on frogs and lizards. They also enjoy primary and secondary rainforest, limestone mountains, and rubber tree plantations. I kept one of these for three days to photograph and shoot video of. It spends most time suspended from a branch just a few inches off the bottom of the tank. Active Time? The snake is mainly nocturnal. Active during the day only after heavy rainfall. I have found most of mine during daylight hours, but have also found them at night hunting prey on the ground in ambush position in culverts on certain hills. Food: Mice, frogs, lizards. I had a good sized house gecko in the tank with this Trimeresurus venustus, but it left it alone. The pit vipers sense the heat of the animal and strike. The geckos are cold blooded so they are no hotter than their surroundings. Still, some pit vipers will eat cold blooded animals. Perhaps this snake just wasn t hungry at the moment.

13 Defensive Behavior: This pit viper is very slow during the day and only bites if seriously aggravated. I ran into a reptile poacher in a Thailand forest and he was hand carrying one of these brown spotted green pit vipers in his left hand and had a large box turtle in his other hand. I told him PIT! It means venomous in Thai. He insisted no, it wasn t and held it up to his face where the snake immediately bit him on the cheek a couple times and once on the lip. It let go after 1-2 seconds. He said See?? I promptly bought the snake from him, to keep him from further harm. Not sure what hospital he was at that night! Venom Toxicity: Mildly toxic, but complications can develop. Bites are painful and usually without significant effects. Probably this viper would need to bite down for a number of seconds to transfer enough volume of venom that it would be seriously detrimental, but they are fully capable of doing so. Bites are to be considered potentially deadly. Green Pit Viper Antivenin is available at most public hospitals in Thailand. Antivenom Code: SAsTRC01 Antivenom Name: Green Pit Viper Antivenin Manufacturer: Science Division, Thai Red Cross Society Phone: (up to 0164) Address: Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, 1871 Rama IV Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok Country: Thailand Offspring: The beautiful pit viper I have now is likely gravid, which contradicts some other info I ve seen about them having offspring in the June/July time-frame. This is December. She is not overly gravid and looks to be in the beginning stages, but still I think only a couple of months are required for gestation. She ll have an early birth April maybe? These snakes birth live offspring in a jelly-like bubble that breaks after coming out of the female snake.

14 Typical numbers are young that are colored and patterned same as the adults. Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Crotilinae Species: Trimeresurus venustus I could find little information about this snake beyond my own experience and some of the snake identification books I have. #GreenPitViper #GreenSnake #ง เข ยว Dog Toothed Cat Snake Venomous Not Dangerous

15 Really amazing snakes, the Dog-toothed Cat Snake, which I don t get to see near often enough here in Southern Thailand. These are bird, egg, and lizard eaters primarily but this one was seen heading for the frog pond. Boiga cynodon Cat Snake) (Dog-toothed Thais say: ngoo sy hang ma Length: As large as 2.75 meters (8+ feet) Recently I caught one that was about 2.5 meters. They are thin snakes and have a pronounced vertebral ridge and color bands of tan, yellow, brown and black. Range: These Dog toothed cat snakes are found only in southern Thailand from Prachuap Khiri Khan and southward to Malaysia. We found two Boiga cynodon in Krabi and one in Nakhon si Thammarat over the past year. Other countries B. cynodon is

16 present: Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines. Habitat: Though they shy away from locations humans frequent they can be found on resorts in southern Thailand especially where there are chickens, eggs, and birds in cages. Typical habitat for the Boiga cynodon is the edge of rainforest where they are arboreal, spending most of their time in the trees and bushes waiting on the perfect bird meal to land. They are known to live in palm plantations as well. Active Time? Nocturnal, active at night usually but, we found one during the day as well. Dog-toothed Cat Snake Venomous Not Dangerous. This one is darker than usual it has an abundance of melanin, and is melanistic. Photo by Tom Charlton. Food: Birds of all sorts, and their eggs. Birds, chickens, and quail in captivity. When hungry will also eat other animals lizards are most likely. Recently we caught a large specimen of 2.4 meters in length which was crawling across a road toward a frog pond. There are herping forum postings of a captive animal eating mice. Defensive Behavior: Rarely bites, this is a big snake that can be hand held until aggravated. Venom Toxicity: Though they rarely bite even when physically attacked they can inject venom. They are rear-fanged colubrids and a prolonged bite could cause swelling and pain at the bite site. The venom can cause problems with circulation. A simple bite from this snake is not usually dangerous because the rear fangs don t sink in during a typical bite. There are two larger than average front teeth resembling fangs. Offspring: Six to twelve eggs laid.

17 I ve hand-held the dog-toothed cat snakes before and no problem but this one struck at me repeatedly. The melanistic snakes can be really stunning ThailandSnakes.com Notes: These are beautiful snakes here in Thailand perhaps more so than the rest of Asia where they are known to be found. A couple of specimens were found locally in Krabi in southern Thailand at night and near a chicken farm in one case, in a tree on another herping field trip. These snakes are known to eat local Thais birds in the cage, and then not be able to get back out through the slats in the bird-cage, and so entrap themselves.

18 Coloring on these snakes varies greatly. You can see the two snakes in these images here, they were both from the same area. They are dramatically different in coloration, the darker one having an excess of melanin. Dog-toothed cat snakes are sometimes confused with vipers because their head is quite pronounced in size from the size of their necks where it meets the head. There is no viper that gets anywhere near this big so, you can discount vipers if the snake is 1.5 meters or longer. Only the Chain Viper (Russell s Viper) reaches 1.5 meters, and it is considerably thicker in size at the neck. If you are in Thailand s deep south,the Sumatran Pit Viper can reach around 2 meters in length. A lighter-shade of Dog-toothed cat snake found in a palm tree at night in Krabi province. This one was nearly 3 meters long. Scientific cynodon classification: Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Boiga

19 Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Subfamily: Colubrinae Genus: Boiga Species: B. cynodon Scientific classification: Boiga cynodon (Classified by Boie, in year 1827) Page Updated: 7 September 2016 Video of Release of Dog-toothed Cat Snake 2016 Event Contact Info If you need information about the 2016 Event we are booked solid. Contact us here for info about future events:

20 Thailand Snakes One-month Internships We just opened up an internship for people wanting to learn more about snakes and other reptiles found here in Southern Thailand. We re calling it the Snake Internship. It s basically a self-guided field trip / reptile internship with support from local experts. Open to anyone over 18 years of age with an interest in snakes or other reptiles. FIND OUT MORE > HERE How To Find a King Cobra in Thailand? A three meter king cobra found in Krabi province through persistence and luck.

21 Many people are trying to find a king cobra in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere. How Do You Find a King Cobra? When I first got into the hobby eight or so years ago, I thought there was some sort of formula I could use to find snakes I was targeting. This was my mentality back then because I was an addicted kayak fisherman who was on the ocean every weekend and a fair number of weekdays floating around and catching gator trout, snook, redfish, and other amazing species. I figured catching snakes was just like catching fish. Target them with the right equipment, time, weather, and bait, and I could catch whatever I was focused on. I ve since learned that snakes and fish are radically different. To start with, there are very few snakes you can target and catch repeatedly. Here in Southern Thailand I can usually target a Homalopsis buccata (puff-faced water snake) and have a good chance of catching one because I know where they generally are. Generally. Sometimes I cannot find them. Where they go is anyone s guess, maybe to the deeper water during the dry season because at the moment they are very difficult to find in the shallow pools I ve been looking in. Anyway, back to the King Cobra and how to catch one. There are people who come over to Thailand and are enough to find a snake during their vacation. One fell waterfall for a guy who sent me a photo of him standing one floating in a pool of water. Then, there s everybody lucky over a beside else.

22 Thanks to Robert Abrams for permission to post this photo of a king cobra which washed over a waterfall while he was swimming. Amazing Thailand. Finding a king cobra comes down to just two things. Persistence, and luck. That s it really. You can try to go out during daytime hours, or limited daytime hours. You can go out early evenings only. You can target patches of bamboo. You can go out during mating season. You can go out in areas where they are known to have been previously. You can rub captive king cobra feces all over your pants and walk around the forest. To my knowledge, it is only people who are persistent and who get lucky, that will find king cobras. I ve found four of them now. I live here in Thailand full-time and I am always looking around for them on the road, in open fields or wherever I am. I go looking for snakes in the forest a couple times a month on average. I can t remember when I found the first one there are two that were fairly close together. One was on step 357 of 1,200+ steps leading up a mountain at a Buddhist temple. People were screaming and a friend of mine ran down the steps and ran right into me. Him: Hey Mr. Vern! Snake! You catch snakes, right? Me: Sure, uhm, what kind of snake? Him: Cobra! Big! Me: How big?

23 Him: I don t know, 4 meters maybe? Me: No, I don t catch 4 meter cobras! I did however go up and touch the tail and poke it with a stick a couple times to move it off the steps. It was a real beauty light brown, yellowish and in perfect shape. Very strong, and definitely the top of the reptile food chain in the area. So, I wasn t looking for snakes, and there she was a real mindblower! The next time was while looking half-heartedly for snakes and standing on a road that goes up a mountain. I was looking one way, turned around in time to see a massive tail of a king cobra disappearing into the thick brush. I mean massive as in twice the size and thickness of any other king cobra I d seen at the snake show I used to visit a few times per month. It was ridiculously large. Apparently it just crossed the road behind me with no fear at all. I was only maybe 10 meters away. Another time I found one on Penang Hill in Malaysia while running down a forest trail. The last time, and this was one of the best for sure was when I was herping with Tom Charlton, and he found one in the early evening as we herped some man-made pools I d been to over 100 times before. I d never seen a king cobra anywhere near there before. Still, there he was 3 meters of absolute reptile perfection! Tom had been coming to Thailand and Malaysia for 12 years and hadn t found a king cobra before last week. They are NOT an easy species to target. You probably shouldn t pay for a herping trip a wildlife tour that promises to find you a king. In Indonesia they are actually promising you can find a wild king, but they re putting them in bags and releasing them

24 in front of the tourists that just paid stacks of cash to see one in the wild. It s nuts! There are two parts of the equation for finding kings persistence and luck. Really, only luck is necessary you don t even have to go looking for king cobras to find them. You just need a lot of luck! Good luck to you! King Cobra Fact Page > All King Cobra Pages > Oriental Whip Snake Venomous Not Dangerous Oriental Whip Snake Venomous Not Dangerous The oriental whip snake is a very common rear-fanged venomous snake found here in Thailand s rain forests. You can find these snakes in the trees during the day, I have even seen them crossing my path twice on trips up a small local mountain in southern Thailand. The beauty of these snakes is legend. There are green, yellow, or grey phases of this snake, all of which are spellbindingly beautiful. The juvenile whip snakes are often brown or yellow. Ahaetulla prasina (Oriental Whip snakes) Thai Language: ngoo kee-ow hoo-uh jing joke pa Length: Up to 190 cm. Girth: Body is finger thin, tapering to

25 a very thin pencil-width neck. The head is spear shaped and bright green. Range: All over Thailand. The species ranges from India to China and throughout Southeast Asia. Habitat: During the day you can find these snakes in trees and bushes usually. Occasionally they will be at ground level hunting frogs and small lizards. I have seen these snakes in all kinds of habitat, but usually in trees and leafy bushes. At night these snakes sleep in the same environment. Active Time? Diurnal active during the daylight hours. Food: Frogs, small birds, small lizards. Defensive Behavior: The oriental whip snake can spread it s neck area to increase by double in size as a defensive technique designed to scare attackers. It is quite beautiful when either solid green, or with the green, white and black checkered pattern displayed in full defensive posture. Sort of comical is what the snake does with it s tongue when molested. It sticks the tongue out and holds it there for some seconds, or minutes. Venom Toxicity: Weak. Although this is considered to be a rear-fanged and venomous snake it is not very dangerous to humans due to it s non-aggressive nature and weak venom characteristics. The venom would need to be injected into the wound with time with a chewing motion. Not many people bitten are going to let a snake hang off them for any amount of time. Some do, and they may have severe complications and require hospitalization. Offspring: In Thailand the Ahaetulla prasina can mate during either of two times. Usually between April and July, and then also between December and January. Gestation period: ~ 6 months. Number of births: Lengths at birth of offspring: mm.

26 Notes: These are wonderful little snakes to catch and let go. These snakes do not do well in captivity and many die within days of being kept in an enclosure. They are as beautiful as snakes get, but please resist the urge to capture one to keep as they are very sensitive and die easily. We have not been bitten by these snakes, but in the wild when catching them they will attempt to strike at times. They are fast and have a short striking range. What is really amazing about these snakes is the way they effortlessly glide down a hill or through trees like on ice. They can climb extremely fast and disappear before you have a chance to grab them. See video below! These snakes are not often confused with other snakes here in Thailand because they are quite distinctive. Their head is long and to a fine point. They are very thin at the neck before the head unless they have flared up in defense. Ahaetulla prasina Oriental Whipsnake (Ahaetulla prasina) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Subfamily: Colubrinae Genus: Ahaetulla Species: Ahaetulla prasina Binomial name: Ahaetulla prasina (Classified by Shaw, in the year 1802) Photo of a brown hued Ahaetulla prasina shot by Tom Charlton shown here with permission:

27 Sometimes they are brown. Juveniles are usually brown. Photo of an Ahaetulla prasina Ahaetula mycterizans, very similar to A. prasina I found on a hike: Ahaetulla mycterizans Venomous Not Dangerous Oriental Whip Snake Videos: Another of the same type of snake just further up the trail, different day: