An attractive yellow to orange snake with black “tiger-stripes” across the body. These are not to be confused with the highly venomous tiger snakes of Australia. The eastern tiger snakes are widespread in the eastern and northern parts of southern Africa, extending into the Kalahari regions. They are generally found in bushveld regions or areas with scattered trees or rocks.
These snakes are common in the lowveld, they are good climbers and often found in trees or climbing face brick walls and in the rafters or eves of buildings. They are slow-moving snakes but are quick to pull back into an s -shape, with the head held off the ground if confronted. They will also flatten the head and may have the mouth agape attempting to intimidate an attacker or threat. They also lunge forward in mock strikes. If handled, they may be quick to bite but usually calm down after a while.
The eastern tiger snake is mildly venomous to humans and bites cause light bleeding and occasionally slight swelling and redness or itching – less than a bee sting.
It is a nocturnal snake that hides during the day in rock cracks or beneath the bark of dead trees. At night they emerge to hunt geckos and other lizards as well as bats.
They average around 60 – 80 cm in length but may reach a meter in total length. Due to the distinct colouration and patterns, they are not easily misidentified. The eyes are golden brown and large, and have vertical pupils like a cat, which allows them to see better at night. There are four species of tiger snake across southern Africa, the other three species occur in the dry western half of South Africa and Namibia.
The eastern tiger snake lays around 3 – 20 eggs in early summer, and the eggs take around 90 days to hatch. The young will measure around 17 – 23 cm after hatching and are perfect replicas of the adults.
These little snakes are commonly encountered and easy to identify with the dark bands across the body. They are not dangerous to humans but best left alone.
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