[WATCH] – Shedding light on harmless house snake
Like most snakes there is quite a bit of colour variation and very light brown as well as brick red individuals are also encountered.
The brown house snake (boaedon capensis) is one of Southern Africa’s most widely distributed harmless snakes. It is a useful snake that is fond of rodents and lizards and they are often found near human dwellings. They are active at night and are regularly encountered while hunting for food.
“Most individuals are medium to dark brown with a mother-of-pearl coloured belly and two light lines on either side of the head. One from the nose through the top of the eye to the back of the head and the other from the back of the eye to the angle of the jaw,” said Ashley Kemp of the South African Snakebite Institute.
Like most snakes there is quite a bit of colour variation and very light brown as well as brick red individuals are also encountered.
“These snakes are completely harmless to humans and rely on muscle power to constrict their prey. They average between 60cm to 90cm in length, but specimens along the coast have a maximum size of around 1.5m.”
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