Long-tailed Garter Snake
One of the larger Garter snakes that averages 50 cm but may reach 1 m in length. It is confined to the wetter central eastern parts of southern Africa and is active at night.
One of the larger Garter snakes that averages 50 cm but may reach 1 m in length. It is confined to the wetter central eastern parts of southern Africa and is active at night.
A small adder that averages 30 – 40 cm, but may reach up to 75 cm, with characteristic clusters of horns above each eye. This is a common snake in Namaqualand and extends into southern Namibia. Though largely active at night, it is fond of basking during the day. It favours rocky areas and gravel flats. This little adder is often seen crossing roads in summer and many individuals are killed by passing vehicles.
This is the smallest adder in the world, averaging around 15-20 cm in length. It occurs in coastal dunes in Namaqualand and southern Namibia where it feeds on lizards and rain frogs. It is preyed upon by a variety of small carnivores and predatory birds as well as other snakes, but the biggest threat comes from habitat destruction, crossing roads and illegal collecting for the pet trade.
A secretive snake that spends most of its life underground in the cooler regions of coastal KZN and the Eastern Cape. This snake may be found under rotting logs or when doing excavations, otherwise it moves about slowly on warm, overcast days. It is also a good swimmer. The Natal Black Snake feeds on frogs, legless lizards and small rodents and is known to take carrion.
A small adder that averages 25 cm in length. This is a desert specialist that inhabits the soft wind-blown dunes of the Namib Desert.
A small adder averaging 30 cm with a maximum size of 35 cm. This endemic snake is listed as Endangered in the current Reptile Atlas. It is largely limited to grasslands above 1,500 masl in the Sneeuberg range and the surrounding mountains of Graaff-Reinet.
The Snouted Night Adder is very similar to the Rhombic Night Adder in appearance and behaviour, but is much smaller, averaging 35 cm, with a maximum length of 43 cm. It generally occurs further east than the Rhombic Night Adder, but their distributions do overlap.
A small adder averaging 28 cm with a maximum length of just over 40 cm. It has a limited distribution in low-lying coastal Fynbos in the Western Cape where much of its habitat has been destroyed. The Southern Adder is listed as Vulnerable in the latest reptile Atlas.
A smallish nocturnal snake that averages 40 – 45 cm in length and with a maximum length of 65 cm. It spends most of its time foraging in loose sand in search of small mammals, frogs and especially legless lizards, using its large rostral scale as a bulldozer.