The short-snouted grass snake

THE short-snouted grass snake, also known as a short-snouted whip snake, is an uncommonly seen snake in the upper Highway area.

Despite that, they’re not considered a rare species as such, they just don’t often venture into suburbia.

What do they look like? Short-snouted grass snakes are brown in colour, with a somewhat stripy appearance. A dark, broad band runs along the whole length of the body. In between that broad stripe, runs a thin, lighter-coloured stripe, which runs down the body, along the spine. Underneath, they’re bright yellow in colour, which can be seen when looking at their bottom jaw. They can grow to just over a meter long.

Similar species. An adult short-snouted grass snake could be mistaken for a Mozambique Spitting Cobra, just because of its size. Unlike the cobra, the body is striped, and the head is also much more narrow and pointed. It may also be confused for a harmless Brown House Snake, but the yellow belly/jaw line is a dead giveaway.

What do they eat? Mainly rodents and lizards. Like a lot of snakes, they act as nature’s free pest control, so it’s best to leave them to do their job.

Are they venomous? Yes, they do possess a mild venom, which is meant for its prey, not us. The venom generally doesn’t cause many symptoms, if any at that. It may at most cause a slight burning sensation and a bit of swelling. It certainly isn’t life-threatening at all. However, with snakebites, people can react differently, so it’s best to seek medical attention/advice. Rather be safe than sorry.

Are they aggressive? No snake is aggressive unless threatened without anywhere to escape. If picked up, it probably will bite you, like most snakes. So rather leave them alone. They will always attempt to get away from you. These snakes are good at that.

Lightning-fast snakes.

The Black Mamba is known as the fastest snake in the world, but the Grass Snake must be level with it. I was recently called out to remove one from a man’s garden. I tried approaching the snake slowly, but it wasn’t going to let me get close. It bolted, heading to the nearest patch of bush, which was about fifteen meters away. I chased after it, but he was winning with ease. I could not believe how fast this snake was moving, it was just a blur. As it was reaching the bush, its last hurdle was a drive-way. I dived, fully stretched-out (quite like how Jonty Rhodes used to do), and grabbed him just before he made it onto the driveway. Its speed was boosted by the fact that he had spent an hour out in the sun, basking, which had him fully-fuelled for flight. What an incredibly fast snake. They use this impressive speed to move away from humans, not to chase us down. So it’s a snake that would probably never bite you, because even if you wanted to catch or harm it, you’d probably fail.

‘Death-roll’

Most of us know about the crocodile’s characteristic ‘death-roll’, in which they spin their body and head around to rip off bite-sized chunks off their food.

Well, the short-snouted grass snake uses a similar tactic, but not to rip its food apart. They use it as a defence-mechanism. If a predator, or human, grabs hold of their tail, the snake spins around at great speed, and the tail will break off, giving the snake a chance to escape. It’s quite a similar system to geckos, who also drop their tail. This behaviour, the dropping/shedding of the tail, is known as autotomy. Unlike the geckos though, Grass snakes do not regrow their tail. The wounded tail does heal though, and the snake can live without the tip of its tail.

For snake removals/emergency rescues you can contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806, or for snake awareness/educational work, e-mailnickevanskzn@gmail.com or visit www.kznamphibianreptileconservation.com.