Venomous Snakes of Udon Thani

[laphanphon]

in reference to the guy who has been bit so many tmes, his body has developed an 'immunity' or enough anti venon propertis to the cobra venon, but it is finally taking a toll on his health. lucked out the first couple bites, then body took over, but his health is sh*t, and he admits it. made his money on shows, but now paying for it. not recommended. and the voodoo cures, think i'll stick with the anti venon if the time ever comes.

as pointed out, most bites are just warnings, as that venon is a precious commodity to the snake, and not to be wasted unless on food or life threatening situation, the voodoo magic usually seems to work ........... though never pointed out, that it was probably never necessary to begin with. if bitten, with venon injected, get your arse to udon hospital, asap.

[fremmel]

I have a problem with a snake that seems to have taken up residence in my utility room. The room only opens to the outside so I'm not worried about it getting into the house but I'm not real comfortable trying to get to stuff in the room. My wife thought she saw a big snake heading toward the room last week and when I was in the room a couple of days ago I thought I heard a sound like a low throaty exhale. Yesterday morning I actually saw the thing. It's about 4 or 5 feet long and it looked like the picture Michael C posted of Naja siamensis - spitting cobra. It was definitely a cobra of some type unless there are other snakes in the area that will stand up and spread a hood.

The room isn't very big, about 1 x 3 meters, and I was able to stand outside the door and drag out most of the stuff on the floor with a heavy garden rake. So the floor's pretty clear except for one end with a good size stack of boxes of spare tiles that I kept after building the house. Unfortunately that was where the snake went to hide. I am not going to go start lifting out boxes of tile with a snake hiding among them.

I'm not sure how to convince the snake to leave. And if it does leave I'm not sure how to tell if it's gone. Yesterday we lit some mosquito coils and turned on a noisy fan to try to make it unpleasant. We sifted flour on the floor to look for snake tracks but couldn't tell for sure this morning if the flour had been disturbed. Since it must have gotten in under the door this morning's project is to loosely tack a flap of plastic threshold on the outside bottom of the door so the snake can push through to get out but not get back in. Any other suggestions?

What with snakes in the utility room, mice eating the wiring in the car and motorbike, wasps contesting the eaves as I put up gutters, etc. etc. critters certainly make life in the boonies interesting.

[laphanphon]

welcome to thailand, oh, and snakes don't have ears and can't here, but the vibrations on the ground may irritate him. once evictded, extend the door to eliminate space to enter room. or buy a mongoose.

agree with MC, the cobra farm/village is disgusting and nothing more than a tourist trap. as much as i hate snakes, i was disgusted about their habitat and care. asked if i wanted a show put on, i passed, no thank you. seen enough. if interested in snakes, the hospital in bkk puts on a nice, educational show, and the snakes are well taken care of. well worth the entry fee if that interest you.

but please, use you damn head, they are wild animals, and at the end of the show, will suggest putting snakes around you for pic opts, please pass, especially if having kids. at anytime they can and will strike, no matter how docile they seem or if freshly milked. the teeth, especially boa/pythons are razor sharp and will leave a nice scar on your or your childs face. you want a pic of wild animals and you........photoshop.

[BobHelm]

mice eating the wiring in the car

I think that is the root cause of your snake problem femmel. The two I have seen in our garden/house have both been within a day of spotting a 'Mouse". I think if you can discourage them (a cat is one way, poison is another - depending if you have animals or kids) the snakes will also stay away....

[fremmel]

I think you're right. I've seen mouse droppings in the utility room and our dogs find mice to play with occasionally. So we brought home a kitten a couple of weeks ago and if we can keep the dogs from eating her we have hopes of it being a mouser. I've also been cutting the field grass back farther away from the house. Ah, the things a city boy who doesn't much like animals has to get used to.

A threshold for the utility room door has been on the list a while but its status has been upgraded as soon as we can be sure the snake is gone.

I knew about snakes not having ears but thought they picked up vibrations in the air and ground to hunt. I thought maybe the fan clattering would be annoying but maybe not.

[laphanphon]

seems like you have it sorted out, hope the kitten makes it, could be a tasty meal in itself

[Michael C]

Fremmel, if you have a problem with a Naja siamensis and you are sure it has taken residence in that room, I would be happy to come and remove it for you. I had cobras coming into my home when I was living in Pathum Thani and as much as I like reptiles and amphibians , I did not like the idea of a cobra loose in my house. If you are interested in this, please contact me by email, so we can arrange a time you are sure it is there.

The snake show at the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute of the Thai Red Cross is the only place that I would recommend for seeing a snake show of any kind. They have recently done a tremendous amount of work, making it more modern and attractive. The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute is where all the antivenin in Thailand is produced and they are all professionals.
The address is: 1871 Rama IV Rd., Thai Red Cross Institute, Bangkok 10330. Tel. 02-252-1061. I think that the price of admission is 200 Baht.

For rats, we use rat traps, which are the box live trapping type. The rats end up as food for some of my reptiles, supplementing my need for rats beyond my own rat breeding (lab rats). Cats are highly destructive creatures, killing everything they can catch, not just rodents or what they want to eat; they are one of the few creatures besides humans that just kill for apparent pleasure/entertainment. Cats have a rough time in Thailand, with all the feral dogs running around everywhere; I rarely see a cat allowed outside that does not have at the minimum a mangled tail. If you are lucky enough to keep it around your house, it should hopefully be safe. We are lucky enough to have a dog that does not pester any wildlife, but will go after rats around the house.

[fremmel]

From my wife seeing it and me hearing it over the course of a week and then me seeing it yesterday the snake appears to at least be on an extended visit, if not living there. I've nailed a strip of plastic on the bottom of the door to act as a kind of flap valve to let the snake out but hopefully not let him back in. But I don't know how often a snake gets hungrey, or thirsty since there's no water in the room, so I don't know if it's cured up in the tiles sleeping it off or has already left to feed and won't be able to get back in. I've sent you a PM about getting together.

We live in the middle of a 30 rai plot well out from the nearest moo baan with the closest neighbors several hundred yards away. Our 2 German Shepherds are big enough to keep any wandering dogs away and the kitten has managed for two weeks not become a meal for them so maybe it will have a chance to grow into being a good mouser. We need something because the dogs definitely aren't keeping the mice away. My wife named it Cheetah because it could run away so fast when it got tired of the rough way the dogs played with it. So maybe it will be just as fast running toward the rodents.

[laphanphon]

The address is: 1871 Rama IV Rd., Thai Red Cross Institute, Bangkok 10330. Tel. 02-252-1061. I think that the price of admission is 200 Baht

that's the one, knew queen's name and red cross where in there somewhere, inflation, but if snakes interest you, well worth it. check the times, and try to begin at a start time, getting a snack of something if having to wait. been a while since there, but well presented.

resident individual cobra, few meters large, a little after show extra for me, as most have departed and was in different section, brought out for a close up. seemed so docile as if a pet, but know better.


here's one Gem wasn't going to let out of her sight, though i was right there if necessary. love the look though. no trust here.


once milked and talked about, a few were set on the ground, with a watchful eye, on edge, but sure conditioned for the daily show. but excellent for close encounter without the extreme danger.



they really are beautiful and beneficial creatures, just a shame kids and venomous one just don't mix well.

[wokkawombat]

I fired a third of a belt of M60 ammunition at one and hit it twice, not real steady hands....

[fremmel]

I'm happy to report that everything is sorted out and I again have access to my utility room. Michael C was good enough to come over this afternoon with his snaking paraphernalia ready to exorcise my utility room. Much to his disappointment, searching the room didn't turn up anything so the cobra must have left last night. Maybe I did manage to annoy him. With the new weatherstripping in place I hopefully won't have any more unwanted boarders in there, rodent or reptile.

Thanks again, Michael.

[JimICT]

Thank you for that information. I had been trying to find out the real story on snakes in and around Udon. I have been thinking about moving to Udon from Pattaya, where I have lived for 5 years with my Thai girlfriend. Her family is up there and she is owner of a small rice farm (She has spend no time there till recently). I asked her about the snakes up there and she insisted that there were no snakes. I told her that she was wrong. She finally admitted that she had always been a city girl in Udon and had never seen a snake in the home. I showed her the pictures and the information you gave here and it was eye opening to her

I guess one should at least wear boots when stomping through the jungle and be aware of your surroundings. This was a great wake up call for her.

[Billg]

Hi guys would i be right in saying that this is a painted bronzeback that disapeared with my pet frog "lucky" on saturday lunch time??

[Billg]

oops probs loading pic

[Michael C]

Yes Billg, that is a Painted Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus). I think that one was right in front of my house yesterday, from what my wife described. They feed primarily on frogs (as pictured) and lizards. I see them quite often in this area. They should be considered harmless.

[Fawn]

They should be considered harmless.

Unless your name is Kermit.

Great photo, BillG.

[polehawk]

Another snake story. No picture taken because the camera wasn't handy and I thought it was another rat snake.

Our Thai ridgeback (dog, not snake) started barking last night in the adjoining room outside where we keep the unlocked dog cages. Our pit bull was outside in the yard wandering around. Whenever the ridgeback barks I take notice and check it out. The pit bull barks almost constantly so she gets ignored a lot. Went out to the cages and the ridgie was acting funny, like there was something underneath her cage where she had been sleeping. Figured it was a scorpion or a snake so I pulled the cage to the middle of the floor and, yep, there was a snake tightly coiled into a ball with its head up and flicking towards me. Grabbed my bamboo stick and flipped the snake out the door where I got a better look at it under the lights. It was about a meter long, thin with markings similar to other rat snakes I'd seen around the property. Fought the dogs inside the house and when I got back the snake was gone. Both dogs went out later and found the snake clinging to the underside of a seat of the salah and the battle was on between the dogs, snake and me. The ridgeback grabbed the snake a couple of times near the head, shook it violently and flipped it into the air. The pit bull charged in whenever she saw an opening. Dark surroundings but I was trying to make a weak attempt to get between the combatants and flip the snake over the wall with my bamboo cane. The dogs won this one with the snake bitten in half. Peace and quiet had returned to the Ponderosa for the night.

This morning our nephew showed up to mow the lawn, took a look at the dead snake and got rid of it. He claims that it was a poisonous one and calls it what sounds like "ngu pao eelawk". Looked through the snake links and pictures but couldn't find it. Michael C, are you familiar with the ngu pao eelawk?

[laphanphon]

ok, what's up, heavy rainy season or what. you got more snakes in 9 months than i had in over 8 years. think they like you, keep the doors shut.

[polehawk]

Well, that door has to stay open somewhat so the dogs can get in/out during the night to do their business. Didn't think there were snakes dumb enough to come in that door with the dogs inside. We did put in a sliding gate out front recently but that's only left open during daytime so maybe that's how this snake got inside the property.

You're right, LA. We have had more than our share of snakes inside the walls and the heavy rainfalls could be the reason. No certifiable poisonous ones that we know about until the nephew's claim about this one. My novice guess is it was another rat snake.

[laphanphon]

sliding gate out front recently but that's only left open during daytime

i'd say that explains it. i kept the place buttoned up pretty good, garage and main door tight, all day/all night. think the ones i got fell in off the bamboo in the back during wind, or couple small ones might of made it in at that low spot in wall in back, that was exposed for short period. but i usually did a walk around the wall, especially lower end, just for that reason, on weekly, cut the grass day. check if any access points. neighbor kept his stuff fairly trimmed, and the west wall, need to make sure those are trimmed so not to overhang, as they drop in now and then. but maybe 3 large and 2 small in 8 yrs. all looking a bit lost and trying to figure out '----, now how do i get out of here', especially when spotted by me, as they seemed to know, oh sh*t, slither faster, i'm screwed.