NEWS
Beware this mole snake lookalike
W
hile the snakebite
season is now in
full swing, a
number of serious snakebites
have already occurred in
Gauteng, says the African
Snakebite Institute.
Many bites from deadly
snakes are difficult to prevent
as people accidentally stand
on snakes, especially at night.
But the snake that has been
biting lots of people recently is
the poorly-known Stiletto
snake, also known as the
Side-stabbing snake.
It is a small nondescript snake
growing to 30 ~ 40 cm in
length, dark brown to blackish
in colour and spending most
of its life underground. It
usually emerges in the early
evening, especially after
summer rains, and often ends
up in swimming pools. For
some reason people mistake
Stiletto snakes for Mole
snakes, even though they are
far too thin to look like one.
The big danger is their fangs
Bibron’s Stiletto Snake (Atractaspis bibroni) , sometimes mistaken for a
mole snake. Picture copyright Johan Marais
7
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and potent cytotoxic venom.
If grabbed behind the neck
the snake will twist its head
sideways with one fang
protruding and will stab it into
a thumb or finger. Otherwise,
if caught at midbody, the
snake will thrash around with
its fangs sticking out and the
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