Help me possibly work out this snake?

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Sam Spencer

New Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Hi there,

Wondering if you could help me possibly get an idea of what snake this could be. Unfortunately I don't have a picture.

So had to step outside for a minute this evening. On coming back in I noticed that a small snake followed me back in. It would have been around 40-50cm, had yellow on what looked like the top of its head, and was a dark colour.

It reared back in an S shape and looked at me before escaping into a pile of shoes which I immediately swept out the door.

Unfortunately I'm not 100% sure it went out with the shoes and am now freaking out that it might still be in the house.

Have been doing some investigating on what it could be but most pics and info are of adult snakes so it's tough to tell.

Thanks so much.
Eseles
 
Bl69aze's question is because an exact geographic location can often be invaluable in determining IDs.

From your description of appearance and behaviour it sounds like a Golden Crowned Snake Cacophis squamulosis. Here are a couple of photos of that species from the net…
upload_2017-11-23_2-9-41.pngupload_2017-11-23_2-10-0.png

If not this species, did the “yellowish colour on the head” extend right across the neck? If so, did it also extend down the sides of the head, like in this species? Was underneath grey or yellowish in colour?
 
@Bluetongue1 I don't usually contradict you on anything Mike but from the vague description given and the "S" shape warning sounds more like boiga irregularis ( night tiger/brown tree snake )

ndemx0bziv-gif.322035

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling-
 
Hey there. Sorry on the vagueness.

Location: coorparoo, QLD. It's near a reserve and we see a few rats/mice near the yard.

To be honest with you I'm not sure on the pattern underneath. From memory it did have some yellow colour but was mostly a very dark blackish colour. I believe it had an arrowhead like head.

The first pic of the golden crowned snake does look similar, but I recall the patch of yellow being on the very back of the head.

Thanks for the help so far all!

Eseles
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a white/gold crowned snake.
Just looking and it seems to be the only snake in Queensland with any colour at the back of the head :/




Ones a yellow crowned and ones a white crowned snake. Look familiar?

Edit: take your street name out, no one needs that info only the state and a vague location in that state as it IS A privacy risk :(
 
Last edited:
Cheers! That first pic has got to be the one! Saw a lot of the white variant online, never saw the yellow one in my searching.

Also thanks for the heads up. Having one of those days, didn't even realise I put it there. :(

Thanks for the help everyone!
 
The one you identified it as is a Southern Dwarf Crowned Snake Cacophis kreftii. It has yellowish ventrals with dark markings, so that reaffirms the ID. The White-crowned has dark ventrals. The Dwarf Crowned is venomous but not considered dangerous (unless you suffer from allergic reactions to toxins – like some people are allergic to bee stings). So not a dramas.

I figured it had to be one of the crowned snakes, but the initial description seemed closer to a Golden Crowned, and why I added a few questions.

Good job @Bl69aze!
@Bluetongue1 I don't usually contradict you on anything Mike but from the vague description given and the "S" shape warning sounds more like boiga irregularis ( night tiger/brown tree snake )

ndemx0bziv-gif.322035

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling-
G'day Ron. Mate, feel free to contradict me whenever you see fit. I'm far from fallible and have made some basic errors at times in the past. Much better to be corrected and have the right information go out. While you are there, can you explain to me how to send PMs on this new software? It has the better of me, being a technology dinosaur.
 
The one you identified it as is a Southern Dwarf Crowned Snake Cacophis kreftii. It has yellowish ventrals with dark markings, so that reaffirms the ID. The White-crowned has dark ventrals. The Dwarf Crowned is venomous but not considered dangerous (unless you suffer from allergic reactions to toxins – like some people are allergic to bee stings). So not a dramas.

I figured it had to be one of the crowned snakes, but the initial description seemed closer to a Golden Crowned, and why I added a few questions.

Good job @Bl69aze!
G'day Ron. Mate, feel free to contradict me whenever you see fit. I'm far from fallible and have made some basic errors at times in the past. Much better to be corrected and have the right information go out. While you are there, can you explain to me how to send PMs on this new software? It has the better of me, being a technology dinosaur.
It is named 'Start A New Conversation'. You will find it in your inbox at the top of the page
 
You can also click a users name, and “start a conversation”.
The one you identified it as is a Southern Dwarf Crowned Snake Cacophis kreftii. It has yellowish ventrals with dark markings, so that reaffirms the ID. The White-crowned has dark ventrals. The Dwarf Crowned is venomous but not considered dangerous (unless you suffer from allergic reactions to toxins – like some people are allergic to bee stings). So not a dramas.

I figured it had to be one of the crowned snakes, but the initial description seemed closer to a Golden Crowned, and why I added a few questions.

Good job @Bl69aze!
G'day Ron. Mate, feel free to contradict me whenever you see fit. I'm far from fallible and have made some basic errors at times in the past. Much better to be corrected and have the right information go out. While you are there, can you explain to me how to send PMs on this new software? It has the better of me, being a technology dinosaur.
i tried :) I did a little bit of research based on the information he gave to your questions!
 
@Scutellatus, @Pauls_Pythons. Thank you kindly for the help. I was aware of the facility but thought conversations might be accessible to others as well. I question my understanding of how things work here because I came across two short messages to me weeks ago, but have not been able to find them since. I thought they might be in a separate PM section. And the 'shout box' does not operate the way I thought they were supposed to.
 
@Scutellatus, @Pauls_Pythons. Thank you kindly for the help. I was aware of the facility but thought conversations might be accessible to others as well. I question my understanding of how things work here because I came across two short messages to me weeks ago, but have not been able to find them since. I thought they might be in a separate PM section. And the 'shout box' does not operate the way I thought they were supposed to.
Those were probably profile posts, not necessarily meant for conversations but asking quick questions or sending a thanks or something like that :)

Like you wouldn’t ask for something private but you might ask if someone has something in stock still.
 
No worries Bluetongue1. Just to add further to the PM's. You can also have multiple people in the one conversation. Which saves on private messaging people separately when sending a message to several people.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top