The snake has a scary name and resembles a poisonous snake but is harmless

In Vietnam, there is a species of snake with a scary name and an appearance identical to a venomous snake, but in fact this is a benign and completely harmless snake. What kind of snake is that?

Six Lords - A snake with a scary name

The snake species mentioned above is the king green snake (scientific name Gonyosoma Oxycephalum) , also known as red-tailed snake, green rat snake . This is an endemic snake species in Southeast Asia, distributed in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The king green snake has a blue body and red tail, making many people mistakenly think this is an extremely poisonous green snake (Photo: iStock).

In Vietnam, king vipers are distributed from the North Central region to the South. This snake often lives in high trees and in hollows, always trying to hide from humans, so it is very difficult to find.

The green king's favorite food is animals that live in trees such as birds, bird eggs, lizards, bats. in addition, this snake can also eat mice and some rodents.

King vipers often live in trees and always find ways to hide from humans (Photo: Animalia).

The king viper is a large snake. Adult females can reach a length of up to 2.4 meters, while males are slightly smaller. When in danger, this snake can raise its head and bulge its neck to threaten its enemies.

Self-defense posture of king viper (Photo: AZAnimals).

The reason the king viper is said to have a scary name is because its name is a combination of the viper and the king tiger, two snakes that possess deadly venom.

Green king - This snake is often confused with the extremely poisonous red-tailed green snake

Not only does it have a scary name, the king green snake also has an appearance very similar to the red-tailed green snake, a snake that possesses dangerous venom. This causes king green snakes to often be "unjustly killed" when encountered by people because many people mistakenly think that this is a poisonous snake.

The king viper has a head and body that are not clearly distinguished (Photo: Animalia).

While the red-tailed viper has a triangular head and is clearly distinguished from the neck (Photo: SIFASV).

The king viper has a green body and a long red or brown strip at the tip of the tail, these are familiar characteristics of the red-tailed viper. However, in reality, the king green snake and the red-tailed green snake are two different species, unrelated to each other.

To distinguish between the king green snake and the red-tailed green snake, we rely on the size and shape of the head . The king viper is much larger in size than the red-tailed viper, and the king viper has a head that is not clearly distinguished from the neck. Meanwhile, the red-tailed viper is smaller and shorter than the king viper, has a triangular head and is clearly distinguished from the neck.

An identifying feature of the green king is that this snake possesses a rather impressive blue tongue.

Is the king viper poisonous and dangerous to humans?

Despite its large size and appearance like a venomous snake, the green king is actually a member of the water snake family and does not possess venom. As mentioned above, the green king is a very shy snake, always trying to hide from humans, so clashes between this snake and humans do not often occur, despite the green king's wide distribution range. wide.

The king green snake possesses a unique blue tongue (Photo: AZAnimals).

Because this snake is harmless and has eye-catching colors, the green king has become the pet of many snake and reptile lovers. In captivity, king vipers can feel stressed, causing them to become aggressive and temperamental. King vipers can attack humans in captivity.

King vipers are chosen by many people as pets (Photo: Getty).

The bite of a king viper is not dangerous to humans, but this bite can lead to infection because the mouths of snakes in general contain many bacteria. If bitten by a king viper, wash and disinfect the wound thoroughly to avoid infection.