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[Valley Reptile Supplies]

The crowned snakes are some of our most beautiful reptiles. The three named species, the Golden Crowned snake Cacophis squamulosus, the White Crowned snake C. harriettae and the Dwarf Crowned snake C. kreffti all occur on the east coast of Australia. All are found in our region although the White Crowned [pictured] is at the very southern limit of its distribution in far northeast NSW and is listed as a Threatened species in NSW.

The three species can be distinguished by their size and the shape and colour of the “crown” marking around the head. They range in size from around 20 cm [total length] for the Dwarf Crowned, to around 50cm [total length] for the Golden Crowned.

While all three are venomous even the larger Golden Crowned is not considered dangerous. When threatened all three put on a spectacular show of bluff, with the head held high and pointed toward the ground they will strike repeatedly in an attempt to ward off potential predators. However the two smaller species are reluctant to bite at all and rarely open the mouth in defence.

Crowned snakes are nocturnal and prefer moist habitat with plenty of ground cover vegetation and leaf litter. They will eat lizards and frogs as well as other prey, which suits their size. They are all very secretive snakes and given the right conditions the two smaller species are able to survive in built up areas. Both turn up occasionally in backyards in parts of Southport where the house blocks are the older ½ to 1 acre size.

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