Copper headed Trinket Snake
NON VENOMOUS
Coelognathus radiatus
At hatching 250-300mm (10-12in) Adults 1500-1800mm (59-71 in) Maximum 2300mm (91 in)
Description
Grayish-brown, fawn, or yellowish-brown back with four black stripes on the forebody (sometimes also midbody). Upper stripes broad, outer pair usually broken into elongated spots. Head copper brown with black line across nape and three black streaks from below and behind eye permost streak joins black line on nape). Underside uniform yellow or gray.
Scalation
Scales in 21 or 19: 19:17 rows, weakly keeled on back in adults. Ventrals 207-250 with strong lateral keel: anal entire: subcaudals 80-108, paired. Supralabials 9 rarely 8 (4 to 6th or 3 to 5th touching eye); preocular 1: postoculars 2; temporals usually 2+2.
Diurnal. Though terrestrial, climbs and swims well. Found in open areas close
to forests. Eats small mammals, lizards, birds and occasionally frogs. Breeds throughout the year in warmer parts of range: lays 5-15 eggs. If cornered, inflates forebody vertically, forms a series of S shaped curves and lifts off ground in defense. Also may open mouth, hiss, and strike.
Distribution
India: Uttaranchal (Dehra Dun) to Arunachal Pradesh (Miao) along the Himalayas, parts of Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat), Chattisgarh (Bastar), Orissa (Cuttack), West Bengal and Sikkim. Also Bangladesh, Nepal and throughout most of Southeast Asia. Found up to 1480m (4855ft).
Carbon copies
Other trinket snakes.
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