SUMMARY
VENOM: Very mild - no known danger
PREVALENCE: Common
ACTIVE PERIOD: Active during the day
KEY ID FEATURES: Long slender body, highly patterned with yellow and black flecks on the body. Heads have black and yellow bands.
BEHAVIOR: Largely arboreal, will leap from branches in order to escape attack.
SIZE: Small - ~1m
OTHER: Rear fanged and technically venomous but not known to be dangerous to humans
QUICK ASSESSMENT 0-10
GALLERY
IMPORTANT: Many snakes have significant variance in coloration and pattern even within the same species. There can also be extreme differences in appearance from juveniles to adults so it is important to never assume you have properly identified a snake.
DESCRIPTION
The ornate flying snake is a member of the Chrysopelea genus, a group of animals known as ‘flying snakes’. This particular species is patterned with black and yellow/green flecks running the full length of the body. The ventrals are yellow/green wiht black spots running down either side.
BEHAVIOR
Ornate flying snakes, as their name indicates, are largely arborial, spending most of their life in trees and cruising shrubs in search of prey. The most distinguishing behavior of these and other snakes of the same genus is their ability to leap off trees, flatten their bodies out and glide to adjacent trees in order to escape predation and pursue prey. The ornate’s ability to flatten its body is less extreme than other members of hte genus, but they nevertheless demonstrate the same behavior. As with most snakes they can bite and musk defensively if handled or attacked, though neither is of much consequence to people given the dimunitive size of this species.
HABITAT
Due to their largely arboreal nature ornate flying snakes are generally found in forested areas, often close to some water source. They have also been observed in more open areas like fern groves and public gardens.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
NO SNAKE SHOULD EVER BE HANDLED BY ANYONE BUT EXPERTS: The ornate flying snake is a relatively uniquely patterned snake and is difficult to mistake with other species, but could be confused with the paradise flying snake, another species from the genus Chrysopelea.