Herping Yesterday - I Wore Stilettos

Myself and a friend decided to go for a quick mission in northern kzn yesterday. Despite cooler temps at night we found some decent stuff.... a lot of DORs but thats ok....they are still important samples.

Active searching during the day also proved fruitful....sun killed us..but all in a decent days herping.

Snake list for the day:

Forest Cobra- Naja melanoleuca
Stiletto snake- Atractaspis bibronii
Mozambiquan shovel snout- Prosymna janii
Schlegels blind snake- Rhinotyphlops s schlegelii
Common egg eating snake- Dasypeltis scabra
Puff adder- Bitis arietans
African rock python- Python natalensis
Vine snake- Thelotornis capensis
Olive whip snake- Psammophis mossambicus
Short snouted whipsnake- Psammophis brevirostris
Herald- Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia

and one that got away...pretty positive was a Marbled tree snake- Dipsadoboa aulica


This is a stiletto snake....notorious for many herpers bites here in SA. They are a inconspicuous, harmless looking snake but hide a secret. they have the largest snake fangs in the world in proportion to head size. They are also pointed backwards which make them impossible to hold in any way...you can't even tail them as they can swing in any direction jabbing you with a fang. A potent cytotoxic venom that is tissue destroying and extremely painful. Many people have lost fingers to these guys. I managed to get a rare shot of their fangs that are usually hidden out of sight...gnarly looking! So enjoy!


and for bonus...a shot of me collecting data and DNA from a puff adder:


was a fun day indeed.

 

Yikes I have never heard of anything like that before, thanks Devon!

 

Cool pics! That sounds like a great herping expedition!

 

Lovely pictures! You, however, must be crazy! I'm so glad that you share your adventures so us layabouts can live vicariously!

 

Good work! If only I had the time and money, I'd be out there with you. I'm jealous!

 

Wow it's a real life sabre tooth! Great finds though and thank god that little toothy dude didn't get you hahaha.

 

very awesome pictures, thanks for sharing. Never knew about stiletto snakes before.

 

A guy i know got tagged by one.... he was on that show "I was bitten" on Discovery channel in the USA not so long ago. Try and check it out...and see what I mean about losing fingers

 

I saw that episode-- very nasty wound from that snake. I knew about the fangs but I did not realize they were so long. Thank you for sharing, I wish I was there.

 

Wow, that is an amazing photo! How did you get it right to pose him like that?

 

I saw the "Bitten" episode too! You know him? UGH! He was in so much pain! He seemed to want to learn all that he could from the experience, despite the pain.

 

That's what I was thinking Merlin. Awesome pics as usual Dev.

 

Very cool! Crazy, but cool! I'd love to be there with you on these finds --- but behind a camera with a LONG lens!

I do very much enjoy you sharing your pics and adventures with us -- thank you!!!

 

awsome pixs

 

Man, look at that thing's fangs, dude! I'm guessing that's why it's called a stiletto?

 

Yep. That's why.

 

Yep, spot on Blitz.

A stilletto is a long pointed dagger used as a stabbing weapon. That is exactly how these guys bite. They stab over and over again with one fang protruding...jabbing backwards into their victim.
A stilletto knife is the perfect image to compare them too....its why i like that name.

The other common names for this genus are Burrowing asps and Mole vipers. Here in south Africa Stilletto is the name most used...

 

I think I need to do some herping when I go back to South Africa next year Looks way cooler than what I find here in WA