Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with venomous status, family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell look-alikes apart.
Afro-Asian Sand Snake
A slim, fast-moving diurnal sand snake distributed across arid regions of Africa and Asia, mildly venomous but not medically significant to humans.
Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake
A slender, arid-adapted sand snake of southwestern Africa distinguished by its bright yellow underside and swift diurnal foraging.
Twin-spotted Rat Snake
A small, slender rat snake from China marked with paired dark spots along its back, well suited to rocky and hilly terrain.
Twin-barred Tree Snake
A small relative of the flying snakes, marked with paired dark bars along a reddish or orange body, native to Southeast Asian forests.
Twin-Spotted Wolf Snake
A small, harmless nocturnal colubrid with paired dark spots and enlarged front teeth resembling those of venomous species.
Common Egg-eater
A remarkable African colubrid that feeds exclusively on bird eggs, using specialized vertebral spines in its throat to crack shells after swallowing them whole.
Black-headed Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African burrower named for its glossy black head and its diet of centipedes.
Cape Centipede-Eater
A small, secretive southern African snake that specializes in hunting centipedes, subduing them with a mild rear-fanged venom.
Bibron's Burrowing Asp
A secretive, venomous African burrowing snake known for its unusual sideways stabbing bite delivered without opening its mouth wide.
Spotted Skaapsteker
A slender, patterned southern African snake whose name derives from a folk belief linking it to livestock, though it is not dangerous to sheep or people.
Common Slug-eater
A small, docile African colubrid that feeds exclusively on slugs and snails, completely harmless to humans.
Duberria Lutrix
A small, harmless African colubrid known scientifically as Duberria lutrix, specialized in eating slugs and snails.
Schokari Sand Racer
A slender, fast-moving desert racer common across North Africa and the Middle East, notable for its speed and daytime hunting habits.
Variegated Slug-eater
A small, patterned relative of the Common Slug-eater, restricted to parts of southern Africa and equally harmless to humans.
Striped Skaapsteker
A slender, longitudinally striped snake found across grassland regions of southern and East Africa, closely related to the spotted skaapsteker.
Mole Viper
A small, cylindrical, burrowing snake with unusual side-swiping fangs, found across much of sub-Saharan Africa.
Desert Cobra
A glossy black, primarily nocturnal elapid found in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, considered venomous and potentially dangerous to humans.
Montane Egg-eater
A small, harmless African snake specialized entirely for eating bird eggs, found in highland and montane habitats of East and Central Africa.
Reticulated Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African snake specialized for hunting centipedes, with a fine reticulated pattern and a mild venom adapted to subdue its arthropod prey.
Rhombic Egg-eater
A patterned southern African egg-eating snake, closely related to (and often considered the same species complex as) the common egg-eater, marked by bold diamond-shaped dorsal blotches.
Calabar Boa
A cylindrical, burrowing boa-like snake from West and Central Africa with a distinctive blunt tail used to confuse predators.
Boomslang
A slender, large-eyed African tree snake famous for its potent hemotoxic venom delivered through rear fangs, making it one of the few colubrids capable of causing severe or fatal envenomation in humans.
Calabar Burrowing Python
A stout, secretive burrowing snake of West and Central Africa whose blunt tail mimics its head as a defensive strategy against predators.
Southern Brown Egg-eater
A harmless, plain brown egg-specialist snake widespread in southern Africa, capable of swallowing bird eggs whole despite its small head.