More Records Of House Wolf Snake

Lai Chien-Houng opened the door and a House Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) fell onto the floor. This snake is THAT common (relative to other species) in buildings, probably because their food, geckos, are also abundant in this type of habitat. However, this species is still rarely encountered by people because of their secretive nature. Fortunately to us, it is neither venomous nor dangerous. This encounter, occurred in the TMSI (Tropical Marine Science Institute) compound at St. John's Island on 24 September 2007, made our day. We took some photographs and released it soon after that. The following photographs were taken by Lim Swee Cheng.

Photographs from top to bottom: A small individual (probably a few weeks old) in my hand; Right side of head; Dorsal side of head.

There were more photographic records of this snake in the past year, most of which occurred in buildings. I am glad to know that the harmless snakes were either left alone or released after cautious handling, instead of killed at first sight.

Matt Tench found this snake (pictured above), with an estimated body length of 8 inches, in the bathroom of Bungalow 53 at St. John's Island on 22 April 2007. He got it onto a long handled dustpan and set it free in the wild.

Peter Karlsson found this snake (pictured above), with an estimated body length of 40 cm, at Serangoon Gardens on 10 March 2007. The snake was under some rooftiles that were placed on the floor. He left the snake alone.

This snake (pictured above) was photographed by Ron Yeo at Pulau Hantu on 4 March 2007.

A friend of Gail Q, who lives near Kent Ridge Bus Terminal, found this snake (pictured above) at the doorsteps of his house on 18 October 2006 at about 6pm. He kept the snake in a pail because he wanted to know its identification (after consulting me) before releasing it.

A cleaner found this snake (pictured above) in the NIE (National Institute of Education) canteen on 1 September 2006. He picked it up with a thong, kept it in a plastic bag and passed it to me. It was released.

More records of this snake here and here.

Another Snake Roadkill

Another roadkill sighted by Norman Lim on The Singapore Offshore Island. This House Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) was found lying on the side of the road on 10 August 2006. It was not flattened but has some scratches. Perhaps it was abandoned after being attacked by a predator (e.g. bird)? Nobody knows.

SLOG had already documented 6 other snake species from this locality, most of which are thanks (oh well ...) to roadkills:

Keel-bellied Whip Snake (Dryophiops rubescens) 20 May 2006
Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus) 21 May 2006
Common Malayan Racer (Coelognathus flavolineatus)27 June 2006
Painted Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus)27 June 2006
Equatorial Spitting Cobra (Naja sumatrana) 27 June 2006
King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) 27 June 2006

I am sure there are many more out there ...

House Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus)

Dionne Teo found a dead House Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus) along the roadside of Florissa Park on 12 June 2006 at 8.15 am. The snake was in an awkward position, biting on its own mid-body. No injuries were detected. I wonder what is the cause of the mysterious death!

This nocturnal species (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992; Cox et al., 1998) is commonly found in buildings (Lim & Lee, 1989), and also inhabits dry forested areas and cultivated areas (Cox et al., 1998). It possesses remarkable climbing abilities, and often lives in cracks and crevices of walls or timber (Lim & Lee, 1989). It’s favourite prey is geckos (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992), but it also feeds on other lizards and frogs (Cox et al., 1998). The prey is seized by the head and held in the snake’s coils till it is finally subdued (Lim & Lee, 1989). This non-venomous snake (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992) is generally quite inoffensive (Lim & Lim, 1992).

House Wolf Snake lays clutches of 3-11 eggs (Lim & Lee, 1989; Cox et al., 1998), and the young hatch from the eggs after an incubation period of 11/2 months (Lim & Lee, 1989). It can reach a length of 76 cm (Cox et al., 1998).

This species occurs throughout Southeast Asia (Cox et al., 1998).

From left to right: Dorsal side of head; Ventral side of head; Inside of jaws; Right side of head; Dorsal side of body; Side of body; Anal Plate; Ventral side of tail.

Sivasothi reported on 1 July 2005, that a House Wolf Snake resided on Hopea sangal wood slices he had left out to dry.

Kctsang caught a House Wolf Snake in a ladies toilet on 26 May 2003, and has some good photographs of the animal here.

“Exploration Trails Gallery” has the photograph of a House Wolf Snake sighted in Pulau Hantu.

* All photographs from Ms Dionne Teo

REFERENCES

Cox, M. J., van Dijk, P. P., Nabhitabhata, J. & Thirakhupt, K., 1998. A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd, p. 12.

Lim, F. L. K. & Lee, M. T. M., 1989. Fascinating Snakes of Southeast Asia – an Introduction. Tropical Press, Kuala Lumpur, p. 30.

Lim, K. K. P. & Lim, F. L. K., 1992. A Guide To The Amphibians & Reptiles Of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre, p. 147.