Prepare for Herald Snakes’ return in your gardens

With the warmer weather, reptiles and insects are going to become more prolific. Having discussed the Spotted Bush Snake in a previous article, I thought that I would introduce you to the second most common seen snakes in gardens in the Durban area, the Herald Snake.

READ: Don’t be alarmed when you notice a Spotted Bush Snake

The Herald Snake is also known as the Red Lipped Herald, or the Red Lipped Snake, however most specimens that I find in the Durban South area do not have any colour on their top lip.

The Herald Snake averages around 70cm in length, with a maximum length of one metre. Their main diet is frogs and toads; this makes this snake very useful to keep around in the garden to help control the frog numbers.

When threatened these snakes put on quite a show, flattening their head (almost like that of a cobra), hissing and striking out viciously. But other than striking fear into the heart of a possible enemy, these snakes are completely harmless to humans and pets. While they do have fangs and venom, that venom only has an effect on frogs and toads, some people claim to get a headache from this snakes bite, but most snake catchers like me will attest to this being all in one’s imagination. I have been bitten by these snakes before and never experienced adverse effects.

Sadly many of these snakes are miss-identified by people as being Black Mamba’s, Cobra’s or even Night Adders and subsequently killed without mercy. However the Herald Snake is very easy to quickly identify if you know what to look for. While the body of this snake is grey/brown, similar to that of a Black Mamba, the colour of the head is what quickly tells this snake apart. The Herald Snake has a distinctly darker (Often Black) head when compared to the rest of its body. Very often the Herald Snake also has white speckles on the body and a pearl white underbelly.

I hope that this helps you to tell the difference between a harmless Herald and a deadly Black Mamba the next time you encounter a grey snake in your garden.

Snakes were not created for us to fear, however they were created to have a vital part in the food chain, without them we would be over-run by genuine pests. No snake, venomous or not, ever deserves to die. If you see a snake in your garden please do not kill it or touch it unless you know exactly what it is, in most cases it is quite aright just to leave them in the garden where they belong. However, if you would like to have a snake that you have seen identified and or removed (Small call out fee to cover petrol may apply) please WhatsApp pictures to me or call me on: 0722110353

WATCH: fascinating Herald Snake sheds skin