[supremeBaleno]

From today's Malayala Manorama newspaper - a guy in Alappuzha popped the seat of his scooter to check fuel level, only to see this Russels viper curled up. Don't know about him, but if it were me, I would've freaked out.



Wonder what would've happened if he had just sat & drove off ? The reptile would get crushed & might bite in response ?

The accompanying news item :

[supremeBaleno]

From today's newspaper - a python looking for a quick charge from a transformer @ Vyttila, Kochi (KL). 😊



With monsoon setting in, leading to their dwellings getting flooded, we can expect more reptiles to come out into human habitats.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Hi All Experts!

Need your advice on what type of snake is this?
This guy decided to pay a visit to my neighborhood home early this morning. This snake has bitten the lady at home and is currently at hospital under observation. Doctor mentioned that the blood has started to thin up.

Unfortunately, before we came to know, the house owner had already smashed the poor snakes head.

Need your help in identifying which snake is this and is it really venomous?



Mods: I tried uploading the same image sometime back. However it did not appear. If this thread is duplicate, kindly delete it.

[DragonHawk]

With monsoon in full swing in my hometown and its time to welcome some uninvited guests in my farm. This time however was bit different, usually while we begin the yearly monsoon routine of cleaning the bushes in my farm, we generally encounter vipers and occasionally rat snakes but this time I had the privilege of welcoming a 6ft Rock Python.

This guy was hiding near the base of the coconut tree and with its bigger tummy it looked as if it had a feast previous night. Luckily for my worker who was cleaning near the tree immediately noticed something cushy as he was standing on it and just managed to jump out. With its tummy full, this guy had no mood to attack us and being heavy it took us some time to finally put it in a gunny bag and left it into a jungle some 20kms away in my car.
One thing I got to know about the python is, you can`t tolerate the smell of python urine. It stinks in such a way that I had to put two bottles of ambi pur in my car and still it smells.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

Need your help in identifying which snake is this and is it really venomous?

Looks like a trinket snake. Am no expert but have seen Trinket snakes and their tails look like this. They are non-venomous

Hope a few experts here will have a look and confirm

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Looks like a trinket snake. Am no expert but have seen Trinket snakes and their tails look like this. They are non-venomous

Hope a few experts here will have a look and confirm

Appreciate your input! I did a Google search on Trinket snakes and this one does look like one of them!

Wonder why the doctor is misleading us. Will need to get to the root of it.

[SJM1214]

Cobra Gets In A BMW Car

A cobra snake ended up in a BMW car. In a viral video, a cobra is seen being pulled out from a BMW 3 Series 320d GT. It took quite a while for the snake handler to pull out the cobra from the car, at a BMW service station in Madhurai, Tamil Nadu.

Apparently, the car ran over the cobra while it was travelling to Madhurai for a wedding function. The two businessmen inside the car thought the snake was killed or left injured. But little did they know that the cobra would end up in the car!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TonPWVDNW9g

News & Video Source.

[SmartCat]

Today, I almost lost one life (out of my 9) - just when I was about to get into the car, I saw spotted this about 3 feet from me. This is right outside our compound and second spotting this month. Probably means this guy stays in that drain culvert (pictured)





This is apparently the Russell's Viper

Called up BBMP wildlife rescue volunteer Deepak and this is what he says:

1) They come to 'rescue' the snake only if they are inside the compound/ home. If its outside, they just let it be.
2) Russell Viper spottings are quite common in Bangalore because this is mating season.
3) Males are aggressive and females are docile. Even the males warn with hissing sound before striking.
4) They are nocturnal. This guy asked us not to venture near the drain (and also leafy areas inside the compound) after sunset
5) Russell's viper is extremely poisonous. Unlike other poisonous snakes that bite without releasing poison (called dry bite), Russell Viper delivers maximum venom every time.
6) Even if anti-venom treatment is done, kidney failure is likely for many victims.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Today, I almost lost one life (out of my 9) - just when I was about to get into the car, I saw spotted this about 3 feet from me. This is right outside our compound and second spotting this month. Probably means this guy stays in that drain culvert (pictured)

That's dangerous! Can anyone suggest how to tackle such situations? We have a big field infront of our apartment. I have heard of snake spottings from a few people here. Wonder what can we do to tackle this problem.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by saket77

That's dangerous! Can anyone suggest how to tackle such situations? We have a big field infront of our apartment. I have heard of snake spottings from a few people here. Wonder what can we do to tackle this problem.

We stay at NAGARABHAVI area in Bangalore - it literally means "Well of Snakes" in Kannada. I personally spot a snake atleast once every 6 months. What I do is keep "scanning" for snakes every single time I'm close to leafy areas. Thanks to this encounter, from now onwards, I intend to switch ON my smartphone flash light after dark. I would have spotted this viper much earlier if the area was lit up.

General thumb rule about snakes (from my personal experience): Non-poisonous snakes flee (at heart attack inducing speed, especially rat snakes) pretty much immediately after they spot humans. Poisonous snakes are more likely to stay still

[condor]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Thanks to this encounter, from now onwards, I intend to switch ON my smartphone flash light after dark. I would have spotted this viper much earlier if the area was lit up.

Poisonous snakes are more likely to stay still

Thanks for that tip !

One suggestion for you: When parking at that spot after dark, can you park in a way that you alight away from the drain and toward the centre of the road ? You would need to have your passengers alight before you park.


And here in JP nagar, we sometimes get cobra's in our compound. Sometimes babies, other times we have had the big guy visit us.


But the more odd news was a peacock in the hood earlier this year. Could have come from Bannerghatta. Didn't know he'd fly this far - considering they are not long-distance flyers ?

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by condor

One suggestion for you: When parking at that spot after dark, can you park in a way that you alight away from the drain and toward the centre of the road ? You would need to have your passengers alight before you park.

aah yes, I do this pretty much all the time so that I exit by the road, instead of leafy area. This was an oversight. Passengers are always dropped inside the compound after dark.

One more thing (for Bangaloreans): Russell's Viper looks fat enough to be mistaken for the Indian python. But Deepak says python has not been spotted in Bangalore city for over 10 years now. If it looks like a python, it is very likely to be Russell's viper or Saw scaled viper

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by saket77

That's dangerous! Can anyone suggest how to tackle such situations? We have a big field infront of our apartment. I have heard of snake spottings from a few people here. Wonder what can we do to tackle this problem.

In the dark, if possible, carry a stick (like Gandhiji used to) and keep hitting it in the ground with every step. The vibrations are supposed to keep the snakes away as they sense the movement towards them.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by condor

And here in JP nagar, we sometimes get cobra's in our compound. Sometimes babies, other times we have had the big guy visit us.

For some reason, I thought cobras would be black in color. But no! Cobra's skin tone is just like that of rat snake's - yellowish brown. I blame it on National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet - they always show big black King Cobra with hood raised. And that's the first thing that comes to mind when somebody says 'cobra'. So summarizing (for Bangaloreans again):

Indian Cobra (don't expect hood to be raised when you spot this):



King Cobra (eats other snakes):



Shelby Mustang Cobra (primary diet straight empty highways):

[condor]

Is the Snake-Guard stick available in the market now ? It's a like a walking stick, which is stuck into the soil. The stick emits a sound-wave periodically and this keeps snakes away from the area around it. ( It is a recent Indian invention)