Things have been getting better and better here in South Thailand, thus, I have doubled my efforts and boy, has it paid off! Even though this post is from mid/late january to the end of february, the amount of time spent in the field to snakes found ratio is great and we may have only come back unfulfilled one or two nights.
I guarantee there are some snakes in here that you have never seen on the forum before and I have been trying to better my photography. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy. 
First up, hatchling Mangrove Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila melanota), plucked off a tree overhanging a river during a sunset walk (I had to climb it, actually). 
And no, it wasn't the way the yellow rings that transgressed to red at the tail which I found so interesting...
...nor was it the fact that he was incredibly placid (disproving what I had previously thought of these snakes)...
...but in fact it was where we found him! Right in the expanse of Trang's paddy fields there are three, small, lonely karst hills with a river running along the bottom. I found it quite fascinating that this species of jungle dwelling snake has survived in this tiny, heavily disturbed pocket of habitat for so long. Also, finding a hatchling means that there are not only some breeding adults, but a few other little b. d. melanota are around.
Anyway, lovely little snake!
By the time I wrapped up the photos, the sun had set and it was time to night cruise the paddy fields! First up was this tiny Malayan Pit-Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) which still had the caudal lure:Calloselasma are definitely the most commonly encountered snake while night cruising.
It wasn't long until another snake was spotted: Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris) I wanted to get some photos of the snake overlooking the paddy fields so we took the snake home and headed back out the next day.
It took a while but I got two shots; this one came out best......but I like this one because it has one of the previously mentioned karst formations in the background:
Field guide style photo:
We had obviously been playing with this snake too long and it must have got tired because, as I was trying to focus a macro shot, the snake yawned! I didn't want to miss the opportunity so, even though I had not focused it properly, I still got a cool shot.
It had not rained in a week so I suggested that we try out a couple new 'jungle' roads that I scoped out on Google Maps. One of them led for about 1.5km through some nice, well watered, lowland forest so we hit it and it wasn't long until I spotted this little gem, cruising over some leaf litter.
Hatchling Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea), even smaller than that b. d. melanota!
Finding one of these, all the way down in Trang, was quite surprising as I had read that it's most southern range was Phuket and Surat Thani provinces!
This macro shot is very popular:While the B. d. melanota hatchling was calm and gentle, this stunning snake was very nippy. Luckily, I learned the signs that tell when he was about to have a chew and later found that I can use this for all Boiga, as they behave quite similar when in-hand.
The next night we were checking out another road but had got out the car to have a poke around. There was a small pile of rotten wood and I took it upon my shoe to have a kick at it. After the first kick some shiny orange scales caught my eye, I gave my dad a shout and proceeded to pull the wood away. I was expecting this semi-fossoral snake to have slipped deep into the pile but in fact it was nestled under the piece of bark I saw it slip under. It appeared to have sustained a flesh wound (more like a scale wound, actually) and was acting a bit dopey (I was expecting this little elapid to be very wriggly). It's not uncommon to encounter an injured snake in the wild because, as we all know, they are very persecuted by other animals. Anyway, sorry, Speckled Coral Snake (calliophis maculiceps): This snake is considered too small to be dangerous (mine was about 25cm), however it is still advised to treat the small Calliophis with caution as there venom, coupled with the lack of antivenin, can be extremely dangerous. However, these snakes rely on striking colours to deter predators, rather than those tiny fangs.
Another escape attempt... This was my first asian coral snake so I was sad when I had to wish it a good recovery and head home.
With the imminent arrival of my aunt and her boyfriend, I knew the next night was going to be the last night-cruise for a good few days. Therefore, I made sure we hit the road at 6:30 and spent a couple hours around the paddies. After two Malayan Pit-Vipers, I was happy to see a different species of snake materialise in the headlights. We didn't take any photos at the time, just firmly secured this semi-fossoral serpent in a box and brought it home. It was a good way to introduce the relatives to how it's gonna be in our house.
A snake I had yet to see in Thailand: Red-Tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis rufus) - subadult.
Weird little things, Pipe Snakes! Y'know, with the off-the-scale cultivation in South-East Asia, the Red Tailed Pipe Snake is one species which has benefited hugely by agriculture. Most know that Pipe Snakes are very hard to find in there natural habitat and are restricted to small pockets to suitable lowland habitat. However, with the introduction of rice paddies to the landscape, these mud-lovin' snakes can thrive without much human contact (being nocturnal and secretive). If you didn't know already, Pipe Snakes are non-venemous, gentle and shy, perfect snakes for people to hold without getting too unnerved.
As I said, a few days were spent doing touristic stuff with the relatives, however, Cherry and Terry (Aunt and boyfriend) booked a one night stay at Koh Kradan, one of the local islands. I thought it would be worth tagging along as I was hoping to find a Sea Krait, as I heard they are abundant around these islands.(En-route Koh Kradan)
Alas, travel on the island is really hard and I had a hard time finding someone who understood I wanted to see snakes, let alone someone who would know a good beach to look for Kraits.
No way was I gonna let this stop me making the most of my time on the island, though. So that evening I went off on a night walk and it didn't take long for me to find one of my targets for the island. I had to chase him into the jungle but, luckily, he started climbing; if he had not, I'm certain I would have lost him in the undergrowth.
Adult Island Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucintus): These guys aren't actually restricted to Islands but it is certainly easier to find them on the islets.capucintus was high on the Thailand 2013 hit-list so I was chuffed to tick this off.
The rest of my aunt's stay went slowly and instead of herping I spent some time with my Trang friends. However, for my Aunt's last night, they (My father, my aunt, Terry) wanted to take a trip to Krabi and really wanted me to come, I said 'of course, but on one condition...'
We arrived at Khao Phranom Bencha National Park as the sun was setting.We were greeted by Gliding lizards, Agamas and, when we took a walk up to one of the higher levels of the waterfall, turtles! I had never seen a native turtle in the Asian jungles before, but thats not surprising as sightings are very rare. I waited ages for one (there was two of them) to come to the surface and it was practically dark by the time I got this single shot. I think they were juvenile Broad-Backed Terrapins (Notochelys platynota) but I could use some suggestions.
After dinner, I suggested to my Dad that we walk this dry riverbed that I had seen a Dusky Gliding Lizard (Draco volans) fly across, at sunset. We had only gone about 20 minutes up when he started complaining about his 'bad' foot. A couple days ago he had cut it on the moped peddle-thing and after stumbling over boulders in the dark, it had become too painful and he 'had to go back'. You could call me a wuss for not going off into the jungle alone but sorry, it's creepy as sh_t and herping alone, especially at night, is not advised. Therefore, I was feeling flat out depressed once we returned to base. Just then, a small crowd of people ran up to me...
It's hard to explain what happened but it turned out that one of the 4 Czechs was the Reptile Keeper at Prague Zoo, another was an expert on Malaysia's spiders and the two girls were casual snake keepers, as well as avid naturalists! They had heard from the Parkie that I was trying to catch snakes and next thing I knew, five of us were out in the jungle. I had never herped with people who are anywhere near as enthusiastic, or sharp eyed as me so this was an amazing experience.(The Czechs)
It was amazing how much you turn up with this many people and we were finding skinks, agamids, geckos, gliding lizards and bird eating spiders with ease.Many Lined Sun Skink or Eutropis multifasciata (Common sight but it's hard to get pictures like this as they usually scuttle off).
Formosa Gliding Lizard (Draco formosus), this large species of draco was only recently classified as a species of it's own.
Cnemaspis spp. I somehow spotted against a tree. I don't expect anybody to know which (out of the many) species this is but if you do, feel free to mention it.
Beautiful Bent-Toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus pulchellus) that someone spotted. I am very familiar with these guys and already got awesome pictures so I just took a voucher shot.
While on the rock path up the waterfall, I was proud to spot our first snake of the night, sleeping 50cm off the ground on a fern growing out of the rocks on the waterfall edge.
Malayan Vine Snake (Ahaetulla mycterizans). This is an uncommon, lowland forest dwelling species of Ahaetulla which is often mistaken for the common Ahaetulla prasina. The most distinguishable features of mycterizans is the larger eyes, blunter snout and entire anal shield.(in situ)
We agreed on being especially pleased that it was a brown one, as all the Ahaetulla we had (individually) seen before had been green. Oh, unlike prasina, this snake was incredibly snappy! Whack, whack, whack, whack! We got tired of it quickly and boxed him.
When we took a 'torches off' rest at the top of the waterfall, the girls announced they wanted to go back to camp to get some sleep, but forgot the way. I had already walked it a couple times and, as I felt accomplished for the night, thought I could do with some rest, too. I offered to take the girls back while the guys headed further into the jungle. We took our time walking and I went back to scrutinising every plant in the thick undergrowth. As the past neared the headquarters I suddenly stopped; it looked like some kind of plant had grown and curled itself along a head high branch. But even though I was thinking 'It's just a plant', I kept staring until I noticed that it got thinner the further along the branch you looked and that it had a head, about 5cm from my nose (I was on tip-toe). I was very proud of this spot as this snake has some of the best twig camouflage I have ever seen, right down to the horizontal scales.
Unusual, uncommon snake, especially in Thailand: Blunt-Headed Slug Snake (aplopeltura boa) Huge one, too! It's not often you find snakes near to their longest recorded length but this must have been close. The girls were pleased with this slow and timid species which, if surprised by any sudden movement or bright light, starts spinning until it's head is firmly hidden within it's coils! It's really quite a spectacle.
Once the lights go out, though, this silly serpent will slowly peak it's head out and, if the coast seems clear, will unravel and head for the hills.
Fantastic, adorable little thing!
The next day was the eve of Chinese New Year and we spent the enjoying the celebrations around Trang, which has a high Chinese population.
On New Year's Day (Year of the snake, if you didn't know), I forced the family to accompany me to this waterfall in a nearby National Park called Khao Pu Khao Ya, one that looked like it had potential. As it was New Year's Day, the Waterfall area was packed with people so I crossed the river and walked down a wash until it reached a boulder-strewn stream. The area looked great so I began the search by using the boulders as stepping stones to travel up the stream. I hadn't even made it 10 metres before I saw the pale venter of a snake, cruising over the stream where two small trees bridge. It was low enough to be in arms reach so, after some unraveling, the snake was pulled down.
At first it flared up and was even more stunning than usual, unfortunately, by the time my camera was out, the snake had calmed. When it saw the lens though, it formed an 'S' with it's fore-body. Needless to say, I snapped away.
Oh before we get into pictures, it would hard to imagine how excited I was to find this rare snake! My hands were literally trembling upon capture!
ANYWAY, Speckle-Headed Vine Snake (Ahaetulla fasciolata) - absolutely stunning!
It was about a 100cm long. This photo was taken at the top of the wash, where I walked to (with the snake) in order to call my family. My favourite photo
Habitat:
Snake AND Habitat: Overall, successful afternoon!
Hyped up by the recent success, the fact that my dad and co. didn't want to do any herping the next day was not going to stop me from heading out. Also, I had recently acquired an obsession with Kraits (Bungarus) so I headed out at 4:00PM on the Moped in search of an area that could have Bungarus candidus potential.
After a while of unsuccessful scouting, I knew I had to get out of the sun. I shot down a little road until I spotted a spot where I could possibly spot something. The road was lined by light vegetation and there was frogs calling from the fields behind. I parked the bike, hopped off and started a gentle stroll, where the aim is to scrutinise every twig and branch along both sides of the road. Dendrelaphis pictus was in mind but I certainly was not disappointed when some green scales caught my eye. Indeed, I had caught all three of South Thailand's Vine Snakes (Ahaetulla) within a week!
I was expecting a rough time trying to get photos of this adult snake on my own, however, perseverance and patience paid off.
Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina), a common snake not seen since my first visit to Thailand:
Habitat, bike and snake (red circle is where I found it):
Very un-agressive species, however, this isn't always a good thing as this snake would prefer to head up into the tree used to photograph it, rather than face me.
Beautiful snake with spectacular eyes!
I eventually let him ascend the canopy, into which he disappeared...
Cooooooooool
After admiring the snake as it slowly disappeared, I began my victory walk back to the bike. That was when I saw, a few meters behind the bike, a snake crossing the road. The Vine Snake had been released where it was found (remember the picture?) so I had to leg it in order to catch the snake before it disappeared off the road. Unsurprising find, as the habitat was perfect:
Another sub-adult Rainbow Water Snake (Enhydris enhydris), really cool snake, but I didn't spend any time trying for photos as this specimen was particularly dull.
Red circle is where it was caught:
Two days later my father and I decided we should do another National Park trip, the destination being Thung Song, South-West Nakhon si Thammerat Province. However, we did not take into account that the rain that was hovering over Trang, may also be hovering over Thung Song, which was closer to us than I remembered. We stayed one night but didn't even bother doing any walking as the trails had been turned to mud and I seriously doubted there would be any snakes around. It was still raining the in the morning which spelt 'goodbye' to Thung Song, although it certainly wasn't the end of our trip. Indeed, I had been wanting to check out the Phattalung (Province that borders East Trang) headquarters of the National Park (Khao Pu Khao Ya) where the Speckle-Headed Vine Snake (Ahaetulla fasciolata) was found. We arrived to SUN and the area looked glorious for snakes! It was the first large expanse of flat, swampy, lowland forest I had seen in the South Peninsular, where all the non-hill gets cut down for plantations.
Unlike the Trang side, Phattalung had accommodation so we booked two nights. At 3:50PM we drove straight to a Waterfall, also part of this park, so I could hunt for Snakes at my favourite time of the day. The waterfall was where a Li-Chi/Durian plantation merges with some lowland forest, there was also large and small boulders all over the sapling covered area...perfect!
I was dying to go crashing into the jungle while, on the other hand, my dad wasn't. He proposed that he should walk the road while I walk parallel on a tiny path running along a boulder encrusted stream in the jungle. We did this and after a few minutes a small snake appeared in the middle of the path. It should have escaped into the dense undergrowth/leaf litter, but luckily there were two small boulders on either side of the snake. Thus, this wholly terrestrial snake tried to get up the rock...but failed...
I thought it was going to be Macropisthodon flaviceps, but it turned out to be an even more unusual critter. I called out that I had caught a snake and fought my way through the undergrowth and up to the road.
Malayan Many-Toothed Snake (Sibynophis melanocephalus) - a rarely seen skink eater due to it's secretive, leaf litter dwelling lifestyle. Surprisingly pretty, too. I would guess that it mimics Bungarus flaviceps or Calliophis birvigata flaviceps, two of the most stunning snakes ever:
Sub-adult specimen of about 35cm. Very docile, too.
I made a mistake with my camera by not realising auto-stabliser was off, and I don't have the steadiest hands....
I really needed a hair cut, but after seeing what 'they' did to my friend Nick, I kept putting it off. I forgot to mention, according to iucn, this snake had not been recorded as far north as Hat Yai (Songkla), so finding one in North Phattalung is a considerable range extension!
I had downloaded some google maps while in Thung Song town and it showed a large lake by the park, we drove to it just in time for a stunning sunset!
Khao Pu Khao Ya National Park, 2013. Highest peak is only a little less than 600m...
After dinner we returned to the park to get our stuff together. In the visitors centre I noticed some Snakes preserved in jars, turns out these were all snakes that they had found DOR on the road into the park (only 1/2km of jungle). There were the usual Ptyas korros (one of them was huge), a Cave Racer and, surprisingly, an adult Red-Headed Krait (Bungarus flaviceps)! I wouldn't have thought many jungle snakes would cross the road leading to the park, since it is very wide and only has jungle on both sides for 1/4km (one side has jungle for 1/2km), but I was proven very wrong because as we began the drive to that same waterfall, I saw a snake on the hard shoulder! Even from the car, it's length, slenderness and pattern meant it could only be one thing:
Adult Jasper Cat Snake (Boiga jaspidea) - an even rarer sight in Thailand than in the rest of it's range!
The flat, thickly vegetated, peat swamp habitat it was crossing from was perfect for this particular species and, like I mentioned before, very hard to find due to cultivation.
The redish orange that lines it's postoculars and other head scales make it look like there is lava running between each scale! The detail on the head is just jaw-droppingly exquisite...
Stunner!This snake was calm from the start and co-operated nicely for photos, although, I thought that my camera didn't like the colour of this particular Boiga species...
Really great find!
After letting the snake head back into the forest, we continued onto the waterfall where we found that Sibynophis earlier. It didn't take much walking until I spotted some black and white bands. It wasn't a Krait, but another unusual Snake that shouldn't be this far north!
Hatchling Scarce Wolf Snake (Lycodon effraenis):
My field guide by Indraneil Das doesn't even note it's range to extend into Thailand and when I looked it up online it said it was only recorded in Southern Songkla, Pattani and the provinces bordering Peninsular Malaysia!
Very small too, there's a reason I said 'hatchling'. It was found on a fern about 30cm off the ground.
As we were taking photos, the heavens opened but as I was confident I had what I needed, we returned to base so I could do my write ups for that day's finds. The rain ended shortly but, as my dad didn't want to head back out, I decided to follow suit and enjoy the day's success.
It also showered in the morning so we waited for that to finish before we headed out for breakfast and a look around Phattalung town, which wasn't so different to Trang. By the time we got back to the park it was after 3:00PM and since the morning's rain was still evaporating, it was cooler than it should have been...time for a walk! We (well, I) decided to walk the concrete path that leads 2km to a cave. It looked good so I devised a strategy of walking along the sunny side, scanning every plant along the way, while my father kept an eye on the road and did whatever he liked. The path looked like this and dad would be at least that far away for the whole journey.
I knew that if I scrutinised every plant, it would eventually pay off so, sure enough, I spotted some kind of Bronzeback about 1.5km in! Knowing that these snakes are fast, agile, skittish, as well having my last Bronzeback escape, made me waste no time in taking one stride to grab him.
This was a more aggressive capture than usual and he let me know by sinking those vicious choppers into my index...twice. This was also when I realised I was holding Thailand's rarest Bronzeback and the most beautiful snake I had (and still have) EVER seen!
Striated Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis striatus) - approx. 50cm specimen:
My father wasn't too sure about holding him after seeing my blood drenched finger...
I would guess that one of the reasons why this snake is so rare is because it's a 'lowland forest only' species, and, as I have already said more than once, that particular habitat is SO uncommon!
Also, should I start watermarking my photos? I always thought they weren't good enough but since I'm finding all these rarely photographed snakes? Could people using them without permission be a problem?
This is what my finger looked like after being cleaned, imagine taking a bite like that off a 150cm caudolineata, rather than a 50cm striatus? The mark on the top of my finger is his top teeth and vice-versa...Anyway, unforgettable snake.
After dinner we decided to try and night-cruise that striatus path but that turned out to be a bad idea as it was covered in twigs and other crap, therefore giving my eyes a real hard time. We did see a snake though, although it was the only snake we saw in Phattalung which we had seen before...many times before...
White-Spotted Slug Snake (Pareas margaritophorus) - tiny, harmless and gentle:
After enduring that headache of a night-cruise, I was dying to get walking at the waterfall. We arrived and after going ten meters further than where the Lycodon was found, I saw something large, resting on top of a mass of saplings. Dad was at a better angle on the path so I gave him a shout and he confirmed it was indeed another snake. It looked like a juvie Boiga cynodon but after I crashed through the undergrowth to get it, it didn't look right. After a few minutes of scratching our heads, closer inspection showed some white spots along the flanks.
Yay! Another species of Cat Snake I hadn't seen!
White-Spotted Cat Snake (Boiga drapiezii) - a snake that comes in all sorts of patterns and colours: This male was digesting a meal which explained why it didn't look as slender as drapiezii usually is.Decent size, too. Up in strike pose:
That concluded our Phattalung trip, six snakes in two nights, five of them being species we hadn't seen before, not bad...not bad at all.
After two nights of doing nothing we headed straight out to the Trang headquarters of Khao Pu Khao Ya, as the area had been very successful. We walked this concrete path until my father finally spotted a snake, a big snake!
The sixth species of Cat Snake (Boiga) found within 30 days. This gentle giant was a pleasure to handle but a handful to photograph, I eventually got a couple pictures I liked thanks to some lighting help by a random Thai guy who turned up on a motorbike and didn't know a word of English.
Dark-Headed Cat Snake (Boiga nigriceps) - apparently the most venomous species of Boiga: Oh, I also got a new lens for these photos. Nothing flashy, just a 18-55 standard. SOOO easy to use compared to the 18-200 Zoom lens I took most of the previous photos in this post with (some were with a cheap macro)! I used to sweat for hours with the previous lens, holding my breath and twiddling with the manual focus but with this one you pretty much point and shoot. Well, of course there is more to it than that, but still, it seemed so easy.
Anyway, that is all the common (some uncommon) Cat Snakes ticked off, just two extremely rare ones remaining...
I realise this post has gone on for far too long so I'm gonna skip the next week where pretty much all we did was four night cruises but found no new snakes. Then it was my birthday weekend (during which it rained the whole time) so no herping got done then either. On tuesday night, however, I was itching for snakes so at 6:30PM I took the moped to the outskirts of Trang to have a poke around.
First up was this tiny Yellow Spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus) - a speedy, semi-aquatic and diurnal snake that I had been wanting to photograph for a while! Only a titchy 13cm...
Next was a brown, juvenile Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina), seen sleeping during my walk. In-situ (sleeping):
Awake!
I also saw a Malayan Pit-Viper on the way home.
I had named this post 'Kraits, Corals, Cat Snakes and much, much more!' before I had found a Krait and I made the deadline to find one the 28th of February, otherwise the thread title would be changed. I thought I was on for a Krait earlier but no, we kept on finding more and more different species with no sign of Bungarus! I knew things had to change so I called up Krabi based herper Vern Lovic http://www.thailandsnakes.com and we arranged a to meet at a resort in Krabi on the 27th to hunt some snakes!
In the time while we waited for the big guy to arrive, I had another stroke of good luck and met a German photographer named Frank, who happened to be also looking for snakes. He told me he had been at the resort three days and seen nothing so, of course, I invited him on our night walk with the promise of at least one snake because when you have the numbers, you get the serpents.
Vern arrived, we all got introduced and headed at 7:00PM, just when it gets dark.
Frank, Vern and I got on like wildfire so the first walk was an absolute blast, with the first snake being seen by myself.
Adult Mangrove Cat Snake (Boiga dendrophila melanota), cruising through the trees:
We had some laughs but the funniest moment, by far, was when I tonged a Homalopsis buccata out of the water but whist attempting to deposit the writhing snake away from stream bank, I tripped on the uneven ground, kicking the the other tongs out of Vern's hands and sending the snake flying back into the water... This also happened to be the exact same spot that Vern, two weeks before, had tripped and fallen backwards into the muddy pond, whilst catching a buccata!
However, we returned after dinner and snagged this funny looking adult:
Puff-Faced Water Snake (Homalopsis buccata): When you take a closer look at the face it almost seems like they're giving you a toothless grin.
Not the prettiest of snakes, but I heard the red bands are very pronounced in juvenile specimens.
The best was still to come, because, as Frank and I snapped away at the snake, Vern (having seen tons of these) had headed downstream a little and disturbed us by the welcome shout of 'KRAIT!'
That single, one syllable word made us completely forget about the water snake in front of us and we all went charging across the stream to where Vern, although I thought it was too good to be true, was trying to tong an adult Malayan Krait (Bungarus candidus)!
However, this snake was clever and whenever he got it with the tongs, a part of the body would manage to hook onto a this branch. After an extremely exciting 30 seconds, we had ourselves a big Bungarus candidus, the most venomous land snake in Southern Thailand and #7 in the entire world! Although on a website I looked at today it said candidus was number 3. I think they must have mistaken it for multicintus though, as Vern told me that one had the most potent venom.
Krait and crew!! Left to right: Frank, Rachael, Richard (Dad), Vern and Andy.It was Andy and Rachael's last night in Thailand and they showed great interest in our photos so we offered to take them out. Safe to say they had a blast and were very fun people to hunt with and introduce to the world of snakes. I made sure they got a hands on experience, as that is always the most memorable.
Andy (UK) and extremely venomous elapid:
I got nice and sweaty whilst helping to control the snake, not to mention trying to get good photos at the same time. This picture sums it up pretty well:
An awesome end to an unforgettable night!
Vern went home, Frank and the others went to bed and I thought this would be a good place to end but, for you lucky people, there was another day left of February, which can only mean one thing... more snakes!
We captured this gorgeous colubrid whilst it was attempting an assault on one of the manager's (Mr. Son) prize singing birds, which hang in cages around the restaurant area.
A snake I have been dying to see for ages - Red-Tailed Racer (Gonyosoma oxycephalum):
Extremely slow (despite the name 'racer') and gentle, with no signs of aggression from the moment it was captured. This snake certainly has the best 'pet' potential out of any South-East Asian snake; placid, slow and beautiful but gets big enough to be impressive, it is also easy to feed. Despite the temptation, I refused to break my personal rule of never keeping a pet snake for personal enjoyment, especially if it is wild caught.
I also got that hair cut, well, not much of a haircut - more of a trim. I told them 'nit noy' (just a little) and just a little was what I got.
Of course a crowd of fascinated farangs appeared (not Frank, he was already there):
The rest of the rainy day was spent lazing around and eating pizza but as soon as the clock turned 7:00PM, we hit the man made stream with the intention of catching a Mangrove Cat Snake for Frank to photograph because the one in the tree last night had not been sufficient. Sure enough, after watching a Homalopsis buccata catch and swallow a fish, I spotted the same big (160cm) adult from the night before, swimming in the shallow water along the bank. I tonged the big guy out of the water but only used my hands to handle him once the snake was on land. I spent most of the time helping frank get shots of the snake with it's mouth open and in strike-pose so, in return, he let me borrow his expensive macro lens:
I also took a couple with the Standard:
After that my dad retired for the night but Frank and I took off into the jungle, with the first find being a stunningly yellow Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla prasina):
I used my own macro lens for this picture: Good times...
And finally, on the way back, this sub-adult Krait was tailed whilst foraging for other snakes in the grassy bank of a natural stream. Two in two nights!
Frank had said he wasn't happy with his pictures of the big Krait (malfunction of some sort) so I, again, handled this active snake while he got some wicked photos. By far the most interesting thing about this encounter was, while I lifted it up for pictures......the scared snake grabbed hold of some foliage and, to our upmost fascination, climbed directly up it! I never though these terrestrial elapids were so adept at climbing but it went straight up into the dead plant. Amazing.
Well, shortly after that, the clock struck 00:00 which meant this post was officially concluded. I finished with 25 different species of snake (22 featured) and about 40 total snakes found, just in the last 39 days - quite a few of those days weren't spent in the field, though.
Vern made a write-up on his website (http://www.thailandsnakes.com) about the few hours he spent with me and I was totally flattered. I couldn't believe that someone so experienced would have such a high opinion on an amateur like me and I can't wait to go on another herping adventure with him.
Notes:
I was explaining the fastest way to tell a juvie Malayan Krait from a White-Banded Wolf Snake.
It was actually full-moon that night.
My pictures were only from the last 4 months, but I have spent 6 months total in South-East Asia.
I actually have found a new species of Cnemaspis but only when I can stomach creating a Holoype and know how to write a description will I return to the spot, where they are always found, and collect one.
'Herping with Rupert Lewis'
"Yesterday it rained a bit, and had been raining the previous few days. That would be good for snakes, I thought. It was set to be a near-full moon night, and that wasn’t so great for snakes, but I was eager to get back out to see what I could find. The last time I was out herping was 2-weeks ago. I saw a couple cool snakes, and then while trying to get photos of a Homalopsis buccata I fell backward into the mud and water at the edge of a stream. It was late at night, I was soaking wet, and I had a 15 km motorbike ride home. Not so fun, but definitely funny after I quit swearing at my misfortune (and the broken concrete which sent me over backwards).
I got a message from Rupert Lewis from the UK about herping sometime. He said he’d be staying in Trang, and if I wanted to go out, he’d be keen. I wasn’t keen at first. You know, I get about 5 of these requests per month from people that see ThailandSnakes.com or some of my videos online. I just don’t have time to go out with everyone that writes, but more importantly, it just doesn’t make sense most times.
Though sometimes I’ll go out with someone that doesn’t have a clue about snakes, just to be able to introduce them to snakes and teach them a little of what I know. Usually though, I like to go herping with people that I can learn something from… whatever it is. It might not even be about herping. If someone from Tasmania wrote me (and he already has), and wanted to go out – I’d go in a second. Why? I want to find out about his country, the wildlife, the snakes. If a herpetologist (biologist) or other serious enthusiast with a lot of experience writes – I will usually go out.
Rupert is a 17 year old that appeared to have little experience herping in Thailand or anywhere with venomous snakes. He had a real interest, and I figured I’d go sometime after April when the snake-finding activity picked up a bit, as is usual at that time.
As it turns out he contacted me again recently and would be nearby. He sent me a link to his photos, and I was blown away. He has already, in about 6 months, found MANY Thailand snakes and even some that I’ve not seen here before – 2 cat snakes that I really want to find. (nigriceps and jasperidae (spelling?))
So we met up last night and the kid is brilliant. I’ve seen only two other people know southeast Asia snakes to the level of depth Rupert does, and of course that’s a subjective statement. Suffice to say, he impressed the hell out of me with what he knew. I thought he’d be asking questions like, “what do snakes eat”. Instead, he’s explaining to me the difference between the Malayan Bridle Snake and the juvenile Malayan krait. He is almost an encyclopedia of snake knowledge. It was awesome to spend time with him as we picked each other’s brains about snake habits, appearance, and defensive behavior. We found 5 snakes too – near-full moon be damned.
Rupert wants to make snakes his life… I have no doubt that if he sticks to it, he’ll be THE snake authority in Southeast Asia. He’s a sponge with facts. He knew tiny details about snakes that only someone that lived here or studied the place for years knows.
He may have even found a new species of gecko already – I saw photos. We walked around until about 1:30 AM and found the Mangrove Cat Snake (B. dendrophila) Puff-faced Water Snake (H. buccata) – three of them, and the ultimate southern Thailand find, or one of them, the Malayan Krait (B. candidus).
Anyway, kudos to Rupert… I do hope he goes far in the field and makes a real difference. If he knows this much at 17, it’s scary to think what he’ll be like in a couple years of living in the region! Scary in a good way.
Cheers Rupert, keep it up man, you’re well on your way.
Vern"
I doubt I'll get much herping time this March, but what I do find will be up here before the 26th March, which is when I leave for a 4 week herping trip to Malaysia.
Thanks for looking,
Rupert
Statistics: Posted by Ruxs — March 2nd, 2013, 7:06 am