Identification

[Frontier1]

Hi All,

I found inside our house what appears to be a Golden-crowned Snake or Cacophis squamulosus of the Family Elapidae. However, I was under the impression that they were more Queensland based and I’m on the Central Coast in NSW.

Does anyone know whether it might be more likely to be a Dwarf Crowned Snake, Cacophis krefftii, since this one has the “golden” crown but the body is black rather than the grey body that I have heard the Golden-crowned one has?

I know a photo would help but at the moment I don’t have my camera here. The snake is probably no more than 20-25cm long but seems quite agressive!

TIA for any advice and while I have only just joined, I have dropped in as a guest for some time and enjoy reading the posts.

 

[MrBredli]

Most likely a Golden-crowned Snake, they're very common up that way. What colour is it's belly?

 

[cheyno]

What colour is the Belly? We get golden crowns down here in sydney so it could be either.

Krefft's Dwarf snakes have a cream underside and are usually only around 20cm, max about 30. The crown is usually yellow and only one or two scales wide where it joins across the nape of the neck.

Golden Crowned snakes have a red, orange or pink underbelly, usually with dark spots. And they average 35cm up to about 60cm. The crown is paler, usually creamish, it doesn't normally join across the neck, instead it extends down both sides of the neck and here it is usually yellowish-brown to gold.

Hope that helps.

 

[JasonL]

they would have to be the most common snake on the east coast, and my favorite snake.

 

[Frontier1]

I guess I would say that thye belly is a grey/cream. The crown is more golden than yellow and it also has a "silvery" banding that goes around the eyes, over the mouth and joins at either end of the crown.

Curious, I've only ever seen brown and black snakes raise themselves up like this one does to strike.

Perhaps it's more of a show rather than actual agression. Are these poisionous at all?

 

[JasonL]

yes they are, but it's all show, they rarely open their mouths. I don't know anyone who has been bitten by one.

 

[JasonL]

Juvies show more yellow markings (instead of gold) .

 

[Robg]

Do you even own any Jason L...lol

 

[JasonL]

No?

 

[Frontier1]

Hi Jason,

I've just managed to get hold of an old digital camera so will try and take a pic now. However, it does not look like the pic you had attached.....

Pete'

 

[Just_Joshin]

I'd say a GC snake as well. They are everywhere around my place down here. I find them all the time.

 

[Just_Joshin]

Curious, I've only ever seen brown and black snakes raise themselves up like this one does to strike.

Perhaps it's more of a show rather than actual agression. Are these poisionous at all?

Alot of the small elapids show this behaviour. You'll get the small eyed snakes doing it as well if they get cornerd. I actually found two small eyeds while doing a "snake hunt" for my little cousin on Mothers day and one of them did the display quite nicely. I got a Woeful photo of the display on my Mobile phone camera which i will post up tomorrow.

 

[Frontier1]

Sorry about the quality of these pics, the camera does not allow much flexibility.

 

[MrBredli]

Well, well, well... that's a Krefft's! Nice find!

 

[Frontier1]

Appreciate the "Nice find" although opening my door and seeing this guy on my floor really wasn't much of a stretch. ;-)

So, now what? Are these happy to sit in a terrarium or will I require special needs and why does it look so different from the pic I found at http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/features/snakes/seq/elapidae.asp

 

[Just_Joshin]

Appreciate the "Nice find" although opening my door and seeing this guy on my floor really wasn't much of a stretch. ;-)

So, now what? Are these happy to sit in a terrarium or will I require special needs and why does it look so different from the pic I found at http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/features/snakes/seq/elapidae.asp

So what now would be you releasing your nice find back outside where he belongs!!!

 

[Just_Joshin]

They look pretty similar to me!!!

 

[MrBredli]

The only real difference is the body colour which can vary.

As for next step, well unless you are interested in a large fine you'll need to be letting it go. It is illegal to remove snakes from the wild.

If you intend on keeping it, even though it is illegal, it will need to be fed on small lizards, offered plenty of hiding spots (i.e. logs and rocks) on a sandy soil substrate, and offered some form of heating, probably best done via a heat pad.

 

[Frontier1]

No need for the exclamation marks womanator, I'm more than happy to release it back into nature, although since I would prefer that my young children don't get bitten ( however rare bites may be from these guys), is it OK that I let it go in my neighbours yard instead? :lol:

Anyway, thanks guys, it's great to have a site like this that has such a wealth of expertise available and it was nice to get a confirmation on what we had here.

Cheers, Pete'

 

[JasonL]

For general info; crowned snakes don't like heat, and perish quickly if they can't get out of it. They are nocturnal skink eaters, that are still active in Autumn, in fact, in my area, they are most common in Autumn (goldens). Hope you got some better pics before you released it.