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how to avoid snake bites

Effects of a Snake bite

Snakes and Vipers

There is one common misconception when most people talk of snakes, you will probably think it too or know of some one who thinks it." the Snake is Poisonous" However this is not true no snake was ever poisonous, they are venomous.Poison relates to something inhaled or eaten. Snakes inject their toxin through their fangs and by this action A snake is venomous.

Most experts will use latin scientific names when relating to species of snakes,however for the man in the street to remeber them would be somewhat of a task therefore because I am trying to relate this topic to the man in the street I will as much as possible refer to common names of snake. there are three family species of venomous snake in the world, the philippines has snakes belonging to all three families, though i am not an expert I will give a brief outline of the differences of the three families which are Elapids, Viperids and colubrids.Each snake will fall into one of these families so the species will be indexed according to the family it comes from.

VIPERID'S

True vipers,and pit vipers including rattlesnakes and adders, these snakes have hinged front fangs that fold out from the mouth when attacking the fangs are normally large for the type of snake as the toxin it injects is hemo toxic and generally attacks the blood and tissue systems of its prey, these bite are often deep bites and the bite area will suffer severe tissue damage.

Colubrid's

Most of this species are harmless, others do have toxic saliva but apart from five species are unlikely to cause human fatalities. The principal rule if you are not knowledgable about snakes is keep your distance.

Found in Luzon,Mindanoro and Visavay Islands.Native to the Philippines this cobra has the ability to spit its venom up to 3 metres.Their diet is chiefly that of small rodents, frogs and small mammals. the Philippine cobra grows to an average size of between 1.5 - 2 metres long they look a stocky snake for their size.Abite from this snake can kill in around 30 minutes, its venom is among the most toxic of any snake 

 front and rear view of  the philippine Cobra

The Southeastern Philippine Cobra

found in Mindanao, Samar,Leyte,Bohol and Camiguin it may also be found on other nearby Islands

  A south eastern Philippines Cobra

King Cobra

The largest venomous snake to be found in the Philippines their size can be around 3metres in length,it is found in dense jungle areas often near water.Its colour can vary greatly

generally it is a shy species that will avoid contact with the human but if cornered or its nest is threatened it will become aggressive.The nest will often be made up of dead vegetation, soil and bamboo thickets.It is considered highly dangerous to humans due to it's size and potencyof venom.

 frontal view of a King Cobra

The Golden Spitting Cobra

Adults are uniformly black except for the head which is normally yellowish, as the name suggest's these cobra have the ability to spray their venom as a defense. the venom can blind if not treated quickly.

Found in Palawan and Calamianes

image needed.

Peters Cobra

like all cobras it is highly venomous and has been known to cause deaths in humans,

No Information found so far descriptions and images to follow

Oriental Coral Snake

also known as the asian coral snake and red banded coral snake 

Banded Malayan Coral Snake

A small but very venomous snake,it inhabits forest areas and sometimes overgrown areas of parks and gardens.Aground dweller feeding on mainly other snakes when threatend it will turn over on to its back to reveal its bright white and black colours the tip of its tail is bright red. This snake can be found in the Philippines among other areas of South East Asia.It loves hiding in leaf litter.

top and bottom view of banded malayan coral snake

Sea Krait

The Sea krait grows to around 1 metre long, it mostly feeds on eels around coral reefs,on occasion it will rest or lay eggs on beaches with nearby rocky areas.It will also enter mangrove areas.It has striking banded patterns of blueor bluish grey bands. The sea krait is a highly venomous snake but has a gentle nature and has rarely been known to bite a human.

image to follow

Amphibious Sea Snake

The Amphibious sea snake is a sea krait , it is not a true sea snake as it frequently comes ashore especially in breeding season

Yellow Bellied sea Snake

information and image to follow

Marbled Sea Snake

It is worth mentioning all sea snakes are venomous. the marbled sea snake inhabits shallow waters and coral reefs feeding almost exclusively on fish eggs, it can sometimes be encountered some distance up mangrove inlets, like most sea snakes it can be found throughout tropical waters including the pacific ocean. A point worth noting about all sea kraits and snakes is when beached they may appear to be dead, this is not always the case and great caution should be taken, avoid handling them always.

a marbled sea snake looking like it has been washed up( notice how it looks dead)

Spiny Headed Sea Snake

information and picture to follow

Stokes Sea Snake

A larger member of the sea snakes with a yellowish brown colouration and marked with dark brown spots.It has a large muscular body and broad snout and a barely evident neck, when swimming is very powerful but is slow and laboured when on land. a docile type snake prefering coral reefs and near shore marine habitats. it feeds entirely on fish.its venom is highly potent and a bite could be lethat within 5 hours.

Found throughout southeast asian waters.

picture to follow

Jerdons Sea Snake

Information and picture to follow

VIPERID'S

Batanes Pit Viper

Considered to be one of the rarest snake species in the philippines, these endangered snakes are endemic to Batanes. These small vipers live on trees producing its young from eggs that hatch within its body. they are typically green in colour but some species have yellow, black and orange or red markings. these snakes are caught mostly for its medicinal value though there have been recent reports of black market trading of these vipers.

Endangered Species Known only to be found in Batanes

A Batanes pit viper this one a yellow colour

Wagler's Pit Viper

The wagler's pit viper is probably the most well known of the green pit vipers, it lives in Primary forest and secondary forest and mangrove areas. It is active at night and normally lays coiled up in trees through the day. It can be identified by its triangular head, juveniles are mainly light green with narrow pale bands.Adults are dark green and carry a thicker yellowish banding.The wagler's pit viper can be found throughout Southern Asia,In the Philippines it is found on the more Southerly Islands.

Adult Wagler's Pit Viper

Habu

A viper to be treated with considerable caution, it has a enlarged and angular head set markedly off from the neck and a body that looks relatively heavy.

Native to the Philippines and other Island areas of southeast Asia including Japan.

information and images on this group of snakes will follow shortly.

The list of snakes for all three catagories is nowhere near completed, I have more to find.If you know of any Snake or Viper Species living in the Philippines that is not mentioned here, Please Contact me (click here) and let me know its common name and/or its latin name if known and I will include it. Please remember I am only interested in Snakes and vipers indegenous to the Philippines.

I do not claim to be an expert on snakes or any other species of animal that will be related to in this website, the main reason I had for including this study into the site was to give people some insight into Dangers they may well encounter whilst living or touring in the Philippines. Where possible I have placed a picture of the particular type of snake for the purpose of identification as to what the snake looks like. These picture where not taken by myself , No copyright breach is intended full links to the origin sites are given in the LINKS section of this page.