Tiger Rat Snake

We finally met in person: the Tiger Rat Snake.

The Tiger Rat Snake (Spilotes pullatus pullatus) is also a resident of the area Kabalebo. I've seen the Tiger Rat Snake only a couple of times before but our meeting lasted only seconds as they where pretty fast to vanish into the dense vegetation. 

I saw this Tiger Rat Snake by coincidence as I first thought it to be a piece of the water hose, but as I got closer to the 'hose' I noticed that it was moving by itself. Yes, it was a snake. I know that the Tiger Rat Snake is a non venomous snake, but that does not mean non biting. They are quite cautious and alert and also won't hesitate to strike when threatened. As I didn't want the snake to feel threatened I approached it with a lot of patience and taking pictures one step at a time. 

The Tiger Rat Snake is locally known as the 'Sapakara sneki' thanks to its color similarity with the Golden Tegu. As you can also see, the Tiger Rat Snake has those round eyes, indicating it is a day hunter. Lizards, birds, rats, mice, bats, small mammals and even other snakes are on their menu list. 

I 'caught' this Tiger Rat Snake crawling on the ground, but it is also a great climber. I zoomed in on the snake to get a close up picture, but it was not a small one. They can reach a length of the least 2.5 meters. As seen in the picture below.

Even though they move on the ground or between the branches, they somehow manage to keep a shiny 'outfit'. This Tiger Rat Snake moved gracefully between the grass and dry leaves before it completely 'disappeared' into the dense vegetation.

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Common False Coral Snake