Snake on Bougainvillea

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gerrynag
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Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby gerrynag » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:21 pm

Snake on Terrace
Snake on Terrace
This little fella was spotted on our bougainvillea by one of the dogs.
It was about 80cm long by 2cm diameter I would say.
Any idea what type of snake it is ?
Sorry for the quality of the photo, I didn't like to get too close.....just in case :problem:

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knowal
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby knowal » Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:10 pm

It's coluber hippocrepis, a horseshoe whip snake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_whip_snake

El Cid
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby El Cid » Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:50 pm

We have seen quite a few of these. Pretty little things and they move incredibly fast. When hiding they curl up into a very tight coil. Completely harmless.

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olive
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby olive » Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:20 pm

Yes they do move fast but not as fast as me when I found one in a box of plumbing items in the garage. :lol:

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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby El Cid » Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:39 pm

You wait until you see a 2m Montpelier when you disturb it! You will probably set a new 100m record!

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olive
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby olive » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:57 pm

Yes been there too with the dog investigating “something”. They are long. Haven't seen one for 18 months. Not a fan of snakes. A neighbour had a pair of possibly whip snakes drop on them from overhead grapevines while eating on their patio. They thought they were coupling.

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peteroldracer
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby peteroldracer » Wed Jul 17, 2019 4:47 pm

"They thought they were coupling." What, the snakes thought the neighbours were coupling?
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

olive
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby olive » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:19 pm

:lol:

Hardly dare tell you about me removing a smallish snake from a swimming pool. I copied a method I had seen on tv. String down a pipe and back up to leave a loop. Gently held the snake behind the head to avoid slicing it off. The snake saw a dark hole to escape into - the pipe.

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gerrynag
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby gerrynag » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:55 pm

White Horse wrote:It's coluber hippocrepis, a horseshoe whip snake.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_whip_snake
Someone suggested to me that it might be an Adder, (Common Viper). The pattern on the snake looks in between that shown for the Horseshoe whip and the Adder...so not sure.

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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby El Cid » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:27 pm

A Viper in Spain is very rare and you are unlikely to find one. The markings on the Whipsnake are similar to the Viper but it is so thin to make it obviously a Whipsnake not a Viper (less obvious if you have never seen either). I would think is about 1000:1 that it is a Viper just based on how many Whipsnakes there are compared to Vipers. From my experience the other obvious trait of the Whipsnake is the way it coils up tightly into a very small area.

A Whipsnake has succeeded in crawling under the gap in our kitchen units that a Viper could never manage!

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knowal
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Re: Snake on Bougainvillea

Postby knowal » Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:32 pm

It's a whip snake, 100%. I studied snakes all the years I was in Spain. Never saw an adder as they are not present in Spain.
Sometimes people think viperine snakes, which love water, are adders, but they are certainly not.


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