The Common Indian Bronzeback Tree Snake
Non-venomous
The Common Indian Bronzeback is one of the slimmest snakes in India. Its
upper body is bronze-brown in color which matches well with the color of
twigs and therefore gives it excellent camouflage.
This is also one of the few snakes with excellent vision. Its large
round eyes are very sensitive to movement. When threatened it inflates
its throat and neck area exposing brilliant blue markings which
otherwise lie hidden in between the regular brown scales. The tongue of
this snake is dark blue which is helpful in distinguishing it from the
bright red one of the Painted Bronzeback.
The thinnest part of this tree snake is its tail which is wire like and
may measure almost one third its total length. Being slender it is
extremely fast and the best way to catch one is to lash out wildly and
grab whatever you can of the reptile! If you miss, you can be sure there
won’t be a second chance.
Once captured, Bronzebacks will thrash around as though electrified.
Still, they are generally mild-mannered snakes and almost never bite. In
fact, the only Bronzeback bite I’ve ever suffered came from one of
thirteen newborns that I got from a clutch of eggs at home.
This slender snake is a frequent visitor to trees, rooftops and other
lofty areas that most other snakes would have much difficulty reaching.
In addition it has the ability to spring from one branch to another and
its notched belly scales are well designed to give it good grip.
Sometimes these diurnal snakes will congregate in a group which will
almost always comprise one big female and two to three smaller males. I
once rescued three specimens together and put them in the same bag. One
of them was much bigger than the other two and I figured that it might
be a female. The next day when I went to release the snakes there were
only two left. I believe the bigger female ate one of the males.
Apparently Bronzebacks will also eat other snakes and nestlings of
birds, but they usually subsist on frogs and lizards.
Being so slim they sometimes enter window frames, occasionally climbing
to the second floor of building apartments. The strangest place I’ve
pulled out four of these trouble makers was from an air-conditioning
system on the first floor of a bungalow in Parra village.
J.C. Daniel’s book mentions that in south India there is a general
misconception that this snake is fatally venomous. In addition ‘it is
believed that the snake, having bitten a person, climbs a tree near the
pyre to watch the cremation and only descends after seeing the smoke
rising from the funeral pyre. A mock funeral is arranged to save the
victim, for it is believed that as the duped snake descends to the
ground, the venom leaves the body of the victim!’
Rahul Alvares
www.rahulalvares.com
