ANIMAL:Cape Brown House Snake Boaedon capensis
Type of Animal:
Lamprophiid
Habitat:
Usually near human habitations
Location(s):
Southern Africa
Appearance:
Uniform red-brown, small body scales, older snakes darker, 2 pale yellow streaks on side of head. Different morphs/mutations occur (some only in captivity), 1 morph occurring in Springbok area of N Cape resembles striped house snakes.
Food/Diet:
Lizards, bats, birds, eggs, rodents, amphibians, other snakes, shrews, insects
Status in Wild:
Stable
Conservation:
Breeding in herpertoculture
Lifestyle:
Solitary
Additional Info:Called:
Male
Female
Young: Snakelet
Group: Solitary
Weight:
Male: 5.3 oz
Female: 10.6 oz
Gestation:
2-3 monthsLife Span:
20 years
Body Length:
Male: 2-2.5 ft
Female: 4 ft
Young: 1 ft
Tail Length:
Male: 5.59 in
Female: 5.55 in
Main predators are larger snakes (females sometimes eat smaller males), mongooses, monitor lizards, button spiders, raptors, domestic/wild pigs, & felids.
These snakes are nocturnal.
Uses constriction to kill prey.
Fairly slow-moving snakes.
Usually eat once every 2 weeks.
Get their name from preference of being near human habitations.
Beneficial to humans since they eat rodents.
Males sexually mature at 4 months, females at 6 months.
Eggs highly adhesive, w/ clutches firmly sticking together.
Fun Fact(s):
Known to be voracious eaters, eating entire nests of rodents.
Common misconception that South Africans introduce snakes into homes to eat rodents when in fact they’re already there.
Breed very easily in captivity, sometimes up to 6 times a year. Usually breed 2 or 3 times a year in wild. Females lay 5-20 eggs per clutch.
Known to be good pets & easy to care for.
Though fairly docile, they may bite if provoked.
Sometimes mistaken for young Egyptian cobras.
