Help needed to identify snake skin

[farmerjoe]

Hello everyone. We live on a wooded property in the hills West of Lismore, Far Northern NSW. We often see, and have become friends with carpet pythons. Recently however my wife has found a 'different' snake skin in her craft room. Can anyone help with its identification?? At first we thought it might be a brown snake, which we often see in the paddocks here, but the scale count is wrong.

The skin is 1.5M long. Scale count in the middle is 21. Caudal scales are divided and count 75 from the anus to the (almost) tip. Any ideas anyone?

 

[woody101]

pics would be helpful

 

[Wallypod]

Yeah pics would help, try to get the head to

 

[BigWillieStyles]

That would worry me if I found a snake skin in my house. What types of carpet snakes do you get around the house?

Post a picture up of the skin.

 

[Wallypod]

Scale count is a little low for a python from memory they start at 31
If I'm wrong some one correct me please.

 

[HILDY]

coastal taipans have divided subcaudals 45-80 and midbodies 21-23

bit low down, but they are found in northern nsw

 

[farmerjoe]

Pics link

Here's a link to three pics in my picassa album. Please let me know if they are not clear enough . Many thanks for your help

https://picasaweb.google.com/Scenartherapist/17Apr2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCO-mp9y_oMDp3QE&feat=directlink

 

[eipper]

farmer Joe,

Brown tree Snake,

Cheers,
Scott

 

[GSXR_Boy]

Maybe a tree snake.

 

[Wallypod]

A better shot of the head would be good as this would show if its a elapid or a coloubrid

 

[farmerjoe]

Divided

 

[HILDY]

if theres no loreal scale youve got a elapid

 

[farmerjoe]

Here's another of its head.https://picasaweb.google.com/Scenartherapist/17Apr201102?authkey=Gv1sRgCM23-dfOqs6bXw&feat=directlink

@ Hildy, what's a "loreal scale?"

 

[HILDY]

Loreal scales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there u go

 

[-Matt-]

As Scott has said, it's a Brown tree Snake.

 

[farmerjoe]

Thanks. No, there are scales between eyes and nostrils.

Thanks everyone. Not many brown trees around here, but I'll keep an eye out for its snakes. Seriously, thanks for your help.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

The characteristic that makes this ID so obvious is the hexagonal row of vertebral scales, which is also shared with Dendrelaphis. Boiga's have a higher midbody scale count though.

 

[HILDY]

cool, didnt know that, thought their subcaudals were much higher

 

[snakelady-viper]

Tree snake

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Look at the eyes.... Brown Tree Snake.