Snakes (12)
Sand Boa
Eryx Jaculus or Anguis Jaculus ~ The Sand Boa is also known as the Javelin sand boa. It is a species of snake in the Boidae family, or Giant Snakes.
It can reach a length of plus minus 80 centimeters, so it's the kid brother of the Boa Constrictor, which can be 5 meters in length. Most visitors of Corfu consider that as a benefit.
The coloring varies quite. It's back is mostly sand colored, but can also be grayish, tawny, brownish, or reddish, with darker blotches or bars in an irregular patchwork. It usually has a dark streak from the eye to the corner of the mouth. The belly side is whitish or yellowish. It is heavy-bodied and has a short blunt tail.
Characteristics
The Sand Boa lives preferably in dry, sandy areas, definitely not in forests or meadowland. His aversion for abundant vegetation lies in the way it hunts. The snake digs itself in and waits in ambush for prey to come. Because of its camouflage it will not be noticed by many of his favorite snacks. When a small mammal, a bird or a lizard comes by, not aware of the danger, the snake comes up with the speed of a skyrocket and grabs this tasty bite. Is it a small portion it will be swallowed alive. When the victim is bigger than, let's say, a hamster, it will be strangled before it will sink into eternal darkness.
Nose Horned Viper
Vipera Ammodytes ~ Caution is the keyword if you come across one of these snakes as they are venomous and very dangerous with a particularly long strike. They are easily identified because of pronounced horn near the tip of their noses. They grow to around 2 to 3 feet in length. As with all snakes it will avoid coming near to humans if at all possible and will only be aggressive if it feels threatened, however we would advise viewing at a distance of 10 metres at least and never corner them.
Corfu’s only poisonous snake. Adults can reach lengths of 24 to 32 inches, it gets its name from a fleshy horn on its snout, coloration is light slate-brown body with a pronounced chain of darker lozenges down the length of its back. Usually found in rocky habitats and sea shores but dislikes sandy terrain. Hibernates in groups where the males emerge in march or April with the females appearing a few weeks later. Mating occurs in may and after a gestation period of about four months up to 20 live young are born approx. 7 inches long. Diet includes lizards, small mammals etc. Although this species is poisonous it won’t attack unless provoked and in fact it shuns human contact. If found ALWAYS view from a distance as it has a long strike.
Montpellier Snake
Malpolon Monspessulanus ~ This is a large heavily built snake of up to 2 meters long. It is mildly venomous, but not dangerous for humans. Although there once was a case of envenomation of a human being. It occurred when a dumb ass inserted his finger into the snake's mouth.
I have my doubts about this guys mental condition. For those people who have the same urge, I have some free advise: don't do it. Although not deadly, the Montpellier Snake's bite is very painful and can lead to swelling and nausea.
Characteristics
Coloration is dark brown, but can vary to dark green. It owes its name to (a Latinized form of) Montpellier, a city in southern France. This snake moves very quickly and may rear up like a rattlesnake or cobra if cornered. Don't play games with this grumpy fellow! It can be pretty aggressive.
Their biotope consists of fields and meadows with some vegetation, but sometimes they also pay a visit to ruins, which often shelters small reptiles and other food. The Montpellier Snake feeds on lizards, small mammals and amphibians. Every now and then they can appreciate a fellow snake.
Leopard Snake
Zamenis Situla ~ Also known as the European Ratsnake. This is a species of the non venomous Colubrid, or smooth scaled snake.
The Leopard Snake is mostly gray coloured with dorsal reddish/brown transverse blotches with black borders. On each side is a series of smaller black spots, alternating with the dorsal blotches. The underside is white, checkered with black.
Adults Leopard Snakes may attain 90 cm in length. They experience the sunny side of life, lying on stoney places and cairns enjoying the heat. They love the summers on Corfu, just like most people.
Their natural habitat is shrubby vegetation, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens. There they prey on small mammals and birds, killing them by strangulation.
The propagation of the Leopard Snake is, from our point of view, bizar. When mating, the male bites the female in the head or neck. Then, as an atonement, he wraps his body around his wife. How sweet!
Grass snake
Natrix Natrix ~ This snake is sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake. It's a non-venomous and harmless snake which rarely bites. Sometimes it will rear up if threatened. Defending method is to play dead with its mouth open.
It is often found near water. That's probably the explanation, Natrix is probably derived from the Latin expression "to swim". It's typically dark green/brownish in colour with a characteristic yellow collar behind the head. That might explain the alternative name Ringed Snake. The belly is whitish with irregular blocks of black. The larger copies can reach up to almost 2 meters in length, but this is pretty rare. Females are considerably larger than males (approximately 50 centimeters) when fully grown.
Characteristics
Grass snakes prey mainly on amphibians, they love toads and frogs. You can often find this snake on watersides, searching for prey. They use their sight and sense of smell to catch their prey. Occasionally the Grass Snake eat small mammals and even fish. But it's a picky character: dead prey items are never taken.
Grass snakes are strong swimmers and can be found close to lakes, ponds and brooks. Though most of 'm prefer to be in open woodland.
Glass Lizard
Pseudopus apodus ~ The Glass Lizard or Glass Snake is a so called Ophisaurus (from the Greek word snake-lizard). Officially it is not a snake, it's a reptile species that resemble snakes, but are actually lizards. Although most species have no legs, their head shapes, movable eyelids, and external ear openings identify them as lizards.
These animals are also known as jointed snakes. They reach lengths of 1 meter or more, but that's only because they have a very long tail (approximately two-third of the total length).
The name Glass Snake is because their tails are easily broken, just like lizards. The tail can break into several pieces, like glass. When attacked by a predator, they drop off a part of the tail, and away they go, leaving the assailant in confusion. Bye sucker!
The Glass Lizards diet consists primarily of arthropods, snails and small mammals as well as insects, spiders, small reptiles, and young rodents.
Some Glass Lizards give birth to live young, others lay eggs. That's weird!
Four-lined Snake
Elaphe Quatuorlineata ~ This is Europe's largest non venomous snake of the Colubrid family, or smooth scaled species. Their territory is mainly Southern Europe, and so you can meet them during a walk at Corfu.
This huge snake - they can reach length of 2.5 meters - is non venomous. It's a fairly placid snake although it can bite. Hey, you would be grumpy too when someone steps on you during your siesta! Still it very rarely attacks and has been known to be handled easily. Though we wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a confident snake handler like Andrew Gray, the guy you can watch in the videos beside this article.
Here's a link to an article in National Geographic about the clash between our cat Demon and a 4-lined snake.
Characteristics
Adults are yellowish brown with four dark stripes lengthwise, to which the specific name refers. Sometimes there is some confusion about the design. Juveniles (the header photo of this article) namely have a dorsal series of dark brown blotches (diamond shape) with alternating dark brown spots on the sides, all on a pale brown background.
Adults can reach lentgh up to 260 cm, sometimes even longer. It occurs in varied habitats. This snake lives by day, unfortunately for itself. It will try to avoid high temperatures and that can be a challenge during the Corfu spring and summer.
Mainly it hunts on the ground, although it's a good swimmer too. Sometimes it climbs on trees and bushes to get a tasty meal. It feeds on small mammals like mice, rats and unexperienced rabbits. But it's not a choosy kind, if necessary it will also eat birds, lizards, amphibians and eggs.
Once we were so privileged to have one in our house. Check here the short video that I made...
Dice Snake
Natrix Tessellata ~ This is a European non-venomous snake belonging to the family of Colubridae, the so called Smooth Scaled type. It is not only found in the Balkan and mainland Greece, among others, but on Corfu too.
Dice snakes prefer water as a home. With their slender body and a triangular, flat head with pointed snout, they can swim very fast. Which is a benefit for the hunt. Not weird that They usually eat fish, although sometimes they eat amphibians like frogs, salamanders and toads. Who wouldn't when you're able to get them for free?
But they are ambhibious so sometimes you can see them in woodland or at a plain. As long as there is some water nearby.
Preferably they stay into dry holes next to the water.
Characteristics
The colours are olive green to dark brown (almost black), although it can be greenish gray too. Males will be less than a meter, females can grow up to 1.3 meters in length.
It's a shy species, so they definitely won't visit you at your apartment or hotel, nor will they bother you when you are walking. Still you can meet them sometimes but it won't bite. They have different ways to defend themselves. One of the tactics they use for defense is playing dead. Another way is to let out a very bad smell when chased or attacked. So you better not grab a 'dead' Dice Snake or you will be avoided for the rest of you Corfu holidays.
Dahl's Whip Snake
Platyceps Najadum Dahlii ~ This snake lives among others in Mediterranean areas. So you will find it on Corfu.
This beautiful snake is an elegant and slender type with a length up to one and a half meter. The color of the dorsal side is light brownish with a reddish tinge. The front of the body is a bit dark, with bluish/gray spots with white edging. The ventral side is pale yellow.
This is a fast-moving snake, doing its activities by day. It feeds on lizards and small rodents. The breeding period is in May/June. The Young ones hatch in August or September. Their habitat is found in dry, stony or rocky environments with sparse grass and shrubs, sparse forests. Commonly found in walls of ordinal stone, like a fortress wall and more.
Cat Snake
Telescopus Fallax aka Tarbophis Fallax ~ This snake belongs to the family of smooth scaled snakes (Colubridae). When mature they reach a length of one meter.
When looking it in the eyes, you know right away why it's called a Cat Snake. The striking large eyes have vertical pupils, just like the Felix Domesticus. If it starts to purr when you pet it is not known. Despite they are not venomous for humans, you better not try to find out.
This species is not aggressive, it's not even shy for humans. They like to crawl around through gardens and meadows, enjoying the grass and the flowers. They will start to hiss if you try to step on them. Sportive, no?
The colour of the skin is brownish with symetric dark spots on the back.
Habitat
The Cat Snake loves heat, so you will find it at rocks and cairns, lying in the sun, working at their tan. They love Corfu, that's for sure!
It feeds on lizards and gecko's. As opposed to most of his congeners, the Cat Snake hunts at night. It is helped by some kind of a heat detector with which it can track down pray. Remarkable: It won't catch rats or mice. The venom that's injected will not kill rodents, just lizards and gecko's. So humans don't have to fear the Cat Snake because of its venom.
More...
Caspian Whip Snake
Dolichophis Caspius aka Coluber Caspius ~ This species of whipsnake is also known as the Large Whipsnake among other species in the family Dolichophis/Coluber. It's at least one of the largest snake species in Europe. Typically it grows to around one and a half meter in length, though some of the guys may exceed a length of two meters or even more.
Characteristics
The Caspian Whip Snake is not venomous. But beware! It bites without a warning. This species can be very aggressive and you will regret it when it bites. The bite is very painful and you will probably shit your pants by the terror of the attack.
The colour of the skin is brown/olive with markings which are distinctive in juveniles but fade when they get older. The belly is cream/yellow coloured. The head is joined to the body by a thick neck. It is mostly active during the day.
Habitat
This species live in grassy, open areas with sparse shrubbery. But you will find them also in open, bushy areas. It lives on small mammals, lizards, birds, and ... colleague snakes. When they feel like it they may consume a small rodent for desert.
Balkan Whip Snake
Hierophis gemonensis, also known as Coluber gemonensis ~ This is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. Its natural habitat is shrubby vegetation, pastureland, plantations and rural gardens.
The Balkan whip snake is slender with smooth scales. Usually the're under a metre long, only by exception they reach a length of 125 cm.
Characteristics
The head and front of the body are olive-grey or yellowish-brown with dark spots separated by paler areas. There are small white spots on some of the scales. The Balkan Whip Snake eyes are prominent in the head with round pupils.
Behaviour
The Balkan whip snake lives by day, sleeps at night, so it got some human behaviour. It prefer to stay ground level, although they don't mind to do some climbing through low vegetation to get something to eat. This fast and agile snake feeds on lizards, insects such as grasshoppers, tiny birds and mammals.
During wintertime it stays in rock fissures, animal burrows or abandoned buildings. It's a social, or shall we say, economic snake, often it will share their hibernating site with other snakes.