Please help identify this snake

[NSchmidt]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for taking the time in trying to help me here.

I found this snake dead under my dustbin this morning. I can only conclude that it somehow got squashed. It is about 35cm long.

I cannot distinguish the coloring of the snake. It almost seems olive and gray. There is blue around his eyes and the coloring of his body fades into a light grey olivish color around the tail.

[Hotchkiss]

I'm gonna have to say black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)

[Derek Roddy]

House snake...harmless. You should have plenty of these around...very prolific.

D

[Hotchkiss]

House snake...harmless. You should have plenty of these around...very prolific.

D
Fairly sure it's a Black Mamba...

Wildlife of Zambia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Zambia#Snakes)

[thinkbig317]

Def not a mamba

[Hotchkiss]

Def not a mamba
Wildlife of Zambia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Zambia#Snakes)
I've looked on this list and Mamba seems to be the only one fitting that snake

[Derek Roddy]

That list is 60% incomplete.

D

[mmarchl23]

I'm jumping on the "not a mamba" train also, hotchkiss, please don't try and use wiki as a reliable source. For anything. Those pages are editable by just about anyone.

[StudentoReptile]

The head scalation does not match a mamba. And FYI, there are several species of African house snakes [recently split into different genera], and many of those species are quite variable in coloration and pattern. Plus, there are many species of small African colubrids that are unknown to most folks anyway.

I'm not even in the same station that the "mamba" train is at.

[Hannibalcanibal]

Not sure what it is, but it sure as heck does not look like any mamba i've ever seen.

[Tribute]

Gentlemen, is there anyway you can help me identify a snake my brother just found?
My threads aren't being posted and I need help on how to care for it.

Its currently in a small bottle with some openings.
Do I leave it in the sun, food etc?

[NSchmidt]

Thank you very much to everyone who responded. After extensive research I found that the snake I found is a white lip herald snake. They are non venomous (thank goodness) and apparently they are very common in my area of residence. I originally also thought that it was a black mamba but the inside of his mouth was not black.

Dear Tribute, the snake that you posted is a red lip herald snake, also non venomous and very common in South Africa.

[mistersprinkles]

Gentlemen, is there anyway you can help me identify a snake my brother just found?
My threads aren't being posted and I need help on how to care for it.

Its currently in a small bottle with some openings.
Do I leave it in the sun, food etc?

Everybody is ignoring you because you are either a 12 year old child, or possibly something even more irresponsible. You can't keep a snake in a jar. Moreover, you can't keep a snake in a jar in the sun. It'll overheat. Let the snake go free. It won't EAT for you in a jar because its going to be too stressed.

If we give you the proper name of the snake and care instructions, are you going to follow them? Are you going to go out and buy a heating pad for it? And a proper enclosure? I doubt it. It's just something your brother found and you want to keep it around for sh*ts. That's not what this site promotes and I can guarantee you that everybody here thinks you are a moron.

[poison123]

Everybody is ignoring you because you are either a 12 year old child, or possibly something even more irresponsible. You can't keep a snake in a jar. Moreover, you can't keep a snake in a jar in the sun. It'll overheat. Let the snake go free. It won't EAT for you in a jar because its going to be too stressed.

If we give you the proper name of the snake and care instructions, are you going to follow them? Are you going to go out and buy a heating pad for it? And a proper enclosure? I doubt it. It's just something your brother found and you want to keep it around for sh*ts. That's not what this site promotes and I can guarantee you that everybody here thinks you are a moron.

He already let it go.

[ErikBush97]

Everybody is ignoring you because you are either a 12 year old child, or possibly something even more irresponsible. You can't keep a snake in a jar. Moreover, you can't keep a snake in a jar in the sun. It'll overheat. Let the snake go free. It won't EAT for you in a jar because its going to be too stressed.

If we give you the proper name of the snake and care instructions, are you going to follow them? Are you going to go out and buy a heating pad for it? And a proper enclosure? I doubt it. It's just something your brother found and you want to keep it around for sh*ts. That's not what this site promotes and I can guarantee you that everybody here thinks you are a moron.

that was really harsh... He found a snake for the first time. What do you expect him to know about husbandry?? C'mon.... You don't know husbandry for snakes that are unknown to you either. Really mean reply, definitely wasn't called for.

[mistersprinkles]

that was really harsh... He found a snake for the first time. What do you expect him to know about husbandry?? C'mon.... You don't know husbandry for snakes that are unknown to you either. Really mean reply, definitely wasn't called for.

I don't condone the irresponsible keeping of animals. Apparently he let it go already so it's a non-issue now. He wasn't going to take care of it properly though, and that really bothered me. Sure I over-reacted but I tend to do that on animal related forums.

[ErikBush97]

I don't condone the irresponsible keeping of animals. Apparently he let it go already so it's a non-issue now. He wasn't going to take care of it properly though, and that really bothered me. Sure I over-reacted but I tend to do that on animal related forums.

You could've educated him instead. He was asking for help. Some people ask how to care for a snake, ignore the advice given, and mistreat the animal. He was just asking how to care for it.

[infernalis]

Gentlemen, is there anyway you can help me identify a snake my brother just found?
My threads aren't being posted and I need help on how to care for it.

Its currently in a small bottle with some openings.
Do I leave it in the sun, food etc?

Everybody is ignoring you because you are either a 12 year old child, or possibly something even more irresponsible. You can't keep a snake in a jar. Moreover, you can't keep a snake in a jar in the sun. It'll overheat. Let the snake go free. It won't EAT for you in a jar because its going to be too stressed.

If we give you the proper name of the snake and care instructions, are you going to follow them? Are you going to go out and buy a heating pad for it? And a proper enclosure? I doubt it. It's just something your brother found and you want to keep it around for sh*ts. That's not what this site promotes and I can guarantee you that everybody here thinks you are a moron.

Yo sprinkle tinkle.... get a grip.

The reason his threads were not posting was due to they were sitting in the moderator approval section, rendering them invisible to anyone but forum management.

Get your facts straight before posting this kind of crap.

[infernalis]

I don't condone the irresponsible keeping of animals. Apparently he let it go already so it's a non-issue now. He wasn't going to take care of it properly though, and that really bothered me. Sure I over-reacted but I tend to do that on animal related forums.

You not only over reacted, YOU made an uninformed conclusion and over reacted to something you had no idea about.

The poor guy had posted 3 times asking about that same snake, but since he was a new member with zero post count, all of his pleas for help wer "vanishing" into the great void also known as the moderator approval zone.

Have some facts in hand before making any further conclusions.:mad:

[Mikoh4792]

I don't condone the irresponsible keeping of animals. Apparently he let it go already so it's a non-issue now. He wasn't going to take care of it properly though, and that really bothered me. Sure I over-reacted but I tend to do that on animal related forums.

So was there never a time when you had no clue about husbandry too? Did you always know that most snakes did not need UVB to thrive? Before your first experience learning about snakes did you know how to properly set up or feed a snake? Give first-timers and "noobs" a chance to learn. No need to start negative right off the bat.

[Tribute]

I appreciate the rest of you guys that took more of the facts into consideration before making assumptions. Thank you moderator and the rest of you for understanding.

I really just wanted to take care of it for the day till my brother got home. I moved it into a bigger container and took it out of the sunlight without advice so to speak using common sense.

We released it later that same day into the wild.

Thanks for your guys help and understanding. I appreciate your taking facts into consideration. I just wanted to know how dangerous it was and for interest sakes and safety (even though a snake that small probably wouldn't do much).

Thanks guys!

[infernalis]

Thanks guys!

You are very welcome.

Don't let a few bad replies spoil your experience.

[mistersprinkles]

Ok. Upon further reflection I'm really sorry for my initial reaction. It's based off of seeing too many kids over too many years in my area catch snakes and either kill them for fun or keep them in outright neglectful conditions and kill them that way.

I shouldn't have reacted that way. I should have helped him figure out what species it was. Sorry Tribute. I was a jerk.

[Tribute]

No worries! All is forgiven! :D

[Corey209]

Everybody is ignoring you because you are either a 12 year old child, or possibly something even more irresponsible. You can't keep a snake in a jar. Moreover, you can't keep a snake in a jar in the sun. It'll overheat. Let the snake go free. It won't EAT for you in a jar because its going to be too stressed.

If we give you the proper name of the snake and care instructions, are you going to follow them? Are you going to go out and buy a heating pad for it? And a proper enclosure? I doubt it. It's just something your brother found and you want to keep it around for sh*ts. That's not what this site promotes and I can guarantee you that everybody here thinks you are a moron.

No offense, but you're way too quick to jump on people. Not everyone has the same knowledge you do and need to learn. If you have never held a snake captive or even researched snakes, I doubt you would have set up the perfect enclosure for it. In almost every post I see that has the uneducated you do this. I know you've already apologized but still... I would have left if I were that guy.