Copperhead(ed) Racer (Coelognathus radiatus) in the garden

It was a surprise to see a snake pass on the terrace on my quiet Sunday morning of December 1st. The snake is also called the Radiated Racer Snake or in Thai ngu thang maphrao งูทางมะพร้าว. First take a picture to search the internet for which snake it was. This animal turned out to possess a few very nice qualities.

This beautiful, lively snake was about 120 centimeters long, but can reach a length of more than two meters. It is mainly active during the day and then hunts warm-blooded animals (such as rodents) and lizards, strangling them if necessary before eating them. The snake is listed as non-venomous, but it does have venom glands. Maybe they can't be activated? This snake is very common in Thailand, including Northern Thailand. The Copperhead Racer can also often be found around humans.

Two stripes in the shape of a V run from the eye to a ring band around the neck. From there, first a piece of copper-colored skin to transition into three longitudinal stripes across the back. But this fades again and until the end of the tail it is gray in color.

This snake is often used in snake farm shows because of its fierce behavior. In the wild, this snake can also pretend to be dead. The snake lies on its back and the mouth is usually open. In this way it remains quite still for a while and when the "danger" has passed, it carefully crawls away. A number of other snakes can show the same behavior, the so-called suspended animation (thanatosis).

It is well known that the Thais gamble on anything and everything. When I showed the photo taken on December 1, they immediately asked for the house number. Raffle tickets were bought with the numbers of the house because a snake on December 1 at a house brings good luck! (“do you believe it?”)

This week I had bought a pound of smoked eel and I wondered if this could also be done with a snake. But since I hadn't heard anyone talk about it in all those years in Thailand, this seemed like a bad plan to me. Moreover, according to the Thais, the Copperhead Racer was not very popular as a food, unlike the ngu sing, another snake species.

The snake meanwhile had silently continued its journey.

 Source: YouTube and info Sjon Hauser