Anybody know what this is???

by **Kevin & Denise** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:44 pm

This guy came to me as an Egg Eater, obviously not what it is. Have had a few guesses on the species, but wanting to know exactly what it is. FYI, it is not with me, as where I live we are not allowed venemous reptiles. It is at a reptile zoo now. Thanks...

Kevin

p.s. Sorry about the picture quality, he was not the most cooperative subject at the time...

by **alexander** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:17 pm

That looks like a Western Stripe-bellied sand snake (Psammophis subtaeniatus), if its indigenous to SA.

by **Zeek** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:31 am

If you want my opinion its not a Western Striped Bellied Sand Snake because it does not have the distict yellow/white stripe running down on it's belly.My opinion is Short-snouted sand snake (Psammophis brevirostris)

by **alexander** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:42 am

yah, i can't seem to id it, brevirostris has got different markings on the back, unless the two white stripes have turned to yellow on the belly

(you can see the hairline), Possibly exotic to SA
Where did you get it from?

by **froot** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:38 am

Looks exotic to SA to me too. Possibly Psammophis sudanensis.

by **apartje** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:43 am

My first thought was that is a Thamnophis

picture from: http://www.discoverlife.org

but most Thamnophis have a stripe on the spine, that is what i miss on the pictures of your snake.

Edit: Maybe i am totally wrong, but if you want to know more about the thamnophis, take a look at this site, it contains lot's of info.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpeto ... uritus.htm

by **Masticophis** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:48 pm

It's a Psammophis for sure. Only don't know the species....

regards

by **bugs** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:12 am

Can you perhaps post a head shot?

by **Contortrix** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:29 am

Quite hard to tell from those pictures but it resembles Psammophis sibilans but hard to tell but as said earlier defenetly some species of Psammophis.

by **bugs** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:53 am

Thats definitely a fork marked sandsnake Psammophis leightoni trinasalis

by **MrG** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 12:08 pm

Psammophis trigrammus

by **Mongoose** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 4:23 pm

That is Psammophis trinisalis - Forked-marked sand snake.

by **Graeme** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:07 pm

no its not.

by **alexander** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:59 pm

Oh i see the stitch marks down the back now.
Although i don't know any of the exotic species if it is.

by **Bushviper** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:07 pm

Graeme I am inclined to agree with you. The species mentioned above are all suggestions and the chances that it is South African are pretty slight. If a local is going to smuggle a snake to the US or Canada they will more than likely know what it is and inform the importer. If it left legally the name would be on the export permit.

All that we can be 100 percent sure of is that it is not an Egg eater and rather one of the Psammophis species. Either way it is purely academic at this stage because it is at a reptile zoo and the chances of it getting a mate are probably zero.

Anybody know what this is???

Anybody know what this is???

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