We found this delightful little guy sunning itself against my son's house on Saturday evening
If you enlarge this photo, you will notice the "red lip" which gives this snake his nameOn Saturday evening we discovered this little snake, a Red-lipped Herald (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia) sunning itself against the wall of my son’s house in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This aggressive but easy-to-tame (don’t tell my 6 year-old granddaughter, she would have it in a box indoors in no time at all!) snake is one of the most widespread in South Africa.
This reptile has an olive to green-black body (approximately 80cm/2 ½ ft long) and is found in savannah and open grasslands (my son's home is surrounded by open veld/grasslands). Its habits are nocturnal but it comes out in the late afternoon (as in this case) to catch the last of the sun. It is also found in gardens.
Regular readers to my blog will know that I do not kill anything in my garden. I always catch and remove snakes from my property rather than kill them. (I take them to the edges of the golf course three doors down the street from me)
It is totally harmless.
For more My World posts click here.
Jo, my middle child, Dillon, loved snakes. We had 3 as pets when he was younger. It was 3 he caught! Glad to hear this on is harmless. ;o)
ReplyDeleteGood that this kind are harmless. Nice post Jo.
ReplyDeleteWhy kill the snakes? They have to be somewhere too. Nice long fella.
ReplyDeleteSo you know which snake is harmless and which one is not... that's a good thing. I would freak if I saw one of those outside my house, but then I know nothing bout snakes.
ReplyDeleteHarmless! Good. These harmless guys can be a shock to the system when a gardener is not expecting them, though! I applaud your removing them from your garden rather than killing them.
ReplyDeleteUh-oh Jackleen, your son sounds like my gd. She didn't know about this snake until she saw it on my camera and then wanted to dash out and save it! Thanks for popping in, (((Hugs)))
ReplyDeleteHi Regina;) thanks for your kind comment. (((Hugs)))
Hi chrome3d;) Yes, indeed, why kill snakes or anything? Thanks for visiting. I'll pop into your blog shortly.
Hi Wolynski;) Yes, we have a stack of books on all kinds of wildlife in South Africa so we are able to identify most of the creatures I come across in my garden. We are not at all irrisponsible about snakes and other potentially poisonous animals and this is why we have the reference books to ID them. Thanks for popping in.
Hi SandyCarlson;) welcome! Thanks, yes,these snakes are frightening and many people rather kill them outright than just remove them. I hope that I am encouraging my gardeners not to kill willy-nilly. Thanks for popping in.
Each creature has a ourpose, unfortunately the snakes we have here are all deadly. Even so I would not dream of killing them as long as they do not come into the house. They are great exterminators of mice and rats, we just insist that in the summertime everyone wears high boots and loose trousers.
ReplyDeleteNice shots.
Amen, Arija; snakes are part of the food chain. Well done on your part in keeping nature in balance. Thanks for visiting. (((Hugs))) Jo
ReplyDeleteI don't kill things, either. Except flies and mosquitoes, but we don't have many of those here.
ReplyDeleteI love it that you take snakes to the golf course. Maybe one day they will be all over the place there!
Your photos are marvelous, I love his red lips! And I do so agree with you and the others, I don't kill anything either -- everything, every creature has its place on our planet. Here in Seattle, WA snakes are not a problem, needless to say, but as chrome3d says, snakes have to be somewhere. I really enjoy my trip to your blog today! Have always wanted to visit Africa. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteHi Louise, our golf course is surrounded by vast grasslands and in the distance a few farm homesteads so the snake can re-locate in his environment! Thanks for popping in!
ReplyDeleteHi Sylvia;) I'm so pleased to hear others don't relish killing things for nothing. As Arija, said, if they come into your house, well, then they're destined for eternity (Ha!) Africa is a wonderful continent and I hope you can visit it physically one day. I also enjoy visiting other parts of the world through blogging and thank you for popping in here today. (((Hugs))) Jo
Jo: I must say I wouldn't even handle a big snake like that. As a golfer, I wish you would have taken it elsewhwere.LOL
ReplyDeleteeeeeeeeeek! scary..i'd be running away from it:) even if it's harmless.
ReplyDeleteHi Marites;) welcome to my blog. Yes, many people are afraid of snakes. Have you seen my previous blogs about catching snakes here in my garden? Thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Fishing Guy;) sorry about that (tongue-in-cheek!) Snakes are always shy and keep away from humans so these will stay in the long grass rather than on the course itself. Thanks for popping in.
My boyfriend got bite by one and im so glad 2 here its harmless...thats a load off!
ReplyDeleteHello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
ReplyDeleteI'll make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I'll certainly return.
Here is my page :: naked girls porn