Diademed Rat Snake

Spalerosophis diadema

Also known as: Diadem Snake

Geographical Locale

• The diadem snake has a relatively large distribution, occurring throughout northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and south-west and central Asia, as far as Pakistan and India.

Appearance

• The diadem snake is named for its distinctive head markings, consisting of a dark band, which runs across the head between the eyes.
• The background colouration of the head and body varies between individuals and subspecies, but is usually greyish, yellowish, sandy-beige or reddish. A series of dark brown blotches runs down the middle of the spine, which fuse into a dark stripe at the neck. In addition, the flanks are marked on either side with a row of smaller dark spots.
• The head is elongated and slightly triangular, with a rounded snout and large eyes featuring circular pupils.
• While there are several different geographically separated forms of the diadem snake, which vary in size and exhibit different colouration and markings, the taxonomy is disputed; hence the exact number of subspecies is unclear.
• It can reach a maximum total length of over 130 cm.

 Behaviour

• The diadem snake is typically found in arid and semi-arid areas, including stony and sandy desert, and frequently occurs in cultivated areas and palm groves surrounding oases. It can be found from lowland regions to elevations of up to 2,000 metres.
• The species is a rapid, terrestrial species; diurnal in cold periods of the year, nocturnal in the hot ones. Its food consists mostly of small mammals and birds. Lizards are also consumed mainly by juveniles.
• Due to the fact that it preys upon rodents, the diadem snake is recognised as being beneficial to cultivation. 

Bite & Venom

• Its fangs are very small and at the back of upper jaw. The toxicity of its venom is low so not effective on humans and its preys. The prey is killed by strong body coils as seen in other Colubrid (whip) snakes.