How to differentiate venomous and nonvenomous snakes in SA

Unfortunately, there are plenty of misconceptions about the differentiation between nonvenomous and venomous snakes – and we’re going to explore this process in detail below!

The basics

For starters, it’s worth noting that this process is far more complicated than most people believe. There aren’t any actual quick rules of thumb to see whether a snake is venomous or nonvenomous in Southern Africa.

There are plenty of people each year that receive a bite from snakes they’ve mistakenly deemed harmless. This is what we’d call “learning the harder way”.

While the best possible thing to do would simply be to stay in areas that are clear of snakes; that’s not always possible while traversing South Africa.

Luckily, in this day and age, the internet represents a positive treasure trove of all kinds of information regarding snakes; their usual habitats, as well as the kinds you should stay away from – all with pictures and videos so you can see which types to stay away from.

Keeping this in mind, though – we’ll dispel some of the worse misconceptions regarding snakes in South Africa!

Snake eyes

As we’ve mentioned, you can find information on pretty much everything regarding the differentiation of nonvenomous and venomous snakes online. And that wealth of information is bound to breed some issues; namely, the fact that almost anyone can publish an article online these days. And that is a great source of many misconceptions – which, in the case of this particular topic, could prove to be quite dangerous.

For instance – one piece of information which is usually quoted when it comes to snakes is that you can differentiate them based on their eyes. More specifically, if they have round pupils, they’re considered harmless; while those with a more elliptical shape (akin to a cat) are supposed to be venomous. We cannot stress this enough – such information is completely false, specifically for South Africa.

There is only one thing you can learn from the shape of a snake’s pupils; whether they’re diurnal (awake and active in the daytime) or nocturnal (awake at night). A quick look at some of the more venomous South African snakes is enough to let you know they have extremely varied pupil shapes; regardless of their threat level. Plus, let’s not disregard an important point – if you’re close enough to a snake that you can see its eyes clearly; you’re definitely too close to it if it’s a dangerous one! So, this is a trial you should avoid altogether.

Snake head shapes

Next up, we’ve got another brazenly touted misconception about snakes; the fabled rule that all snakes that are venomous have adder-like triangular heads. This is false, additionally because many snakes that aren’t venomous will imitate dangerous adders by striking out emptily and making their heads flatter. The herald snake and the rhombic egg eater are completely harmless, and yet exhibit such behaviour.

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