Lamprophis
Encyclopedia
Lamprophis is a genus
of colubrid
snake
s commonly referred to as African house snakes. They are small, non-venomous snakes. They exhibit a wide variety of pattern variation, and may be spotted, striped, or solid colored. House snakes are sexually dimorphic, the females grow significantly larger, to approximately 120 cm in some species, some specimens have been recorded over 150 cm, the males only grow to approximately 75 cm.
Albino variants of Lamprophis aurora
have been found.
in a wide variety of habitats, some species are well adapted to living in underground burrows. They are named "house" snakes as they are frequently found around human dwellings, feeding on the rodents that congregate around human waste. They are extremely adaptable snakes, which are found in scrubland, woodland, savannah, and montane regions.
. Despite this, captive breeding of house snakes for color and pattern continues. Few are exported from Africa due to their low market value and the ease of breeding them in captivity.
They can live up to 20 years with proper care. Males are smaller than females and seldom grow longer than 2½ feet. Females can attain lengths of 3½ feet and specimens from the eastern region of Southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal
) are reported to reach lengths of 5 feet or more. These snakes are nocturnal. The female lays one clutch of 9 to 16 eggs in early spring, they are known to store sperm and lay up to 6 clutches per annum in captivity but it rarely happens in nature. Hatchlings are 5 to 7 inches upon hatching.
s until they are powerful enough to constrict mice. Large females are known to occasionally eat weaner rats. Adult snakes get fed weekly. Hatchlings may eat small lizards such as skink
s, geckos and newborn mice. In captivity they can successfully be fed on gecko tails. Larger specimens are also known to take lizards, and in rare cases they will catch small bats. House snakes should be fed alone, their often violent feeding response may cause cannibalism.
in which they are kept in should be of a decent size for the snake to be able to move around freely without problems. Paper towels are okay as well as Aspen shavings for the substrate of the tank. The humidity in the tank should be kept at a higher percentage when the snakes start to shed. They should have objects inside the tank that help them hide or such things as branches for them to climb upon. Lighting is an optional extra, if provided with added lighting, they should not have more than 12 hrs day period and 12 hours night period - keeping the snakes in a room that is naturally lit with sunlight would suffice. They should have a large bowl of water so that they can drink and bathe - females not provided with an egg laying chamber when gravid may use this to lay their eggs. The water should be changed daily.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s commonly referred to as African house snakes. They are small, non-venomous snakes. They exhibit a wide variety of pattern variation, and may be spotted, striped, or solid colored. House snakes are sexually dimorphic, the females grow significantly larger, to approximately 120 cm in some species, some specimens have been recorded over 150 cm, the males only grow to approximately 75 cm.
Albino variants of Lamprophis aurora
Lamprophis aurora
The Aurora House Snake, Lamprophis aurora, is a species of snake in the Colubridae family.-Distribution:Found in South Africa, the southern Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula, east and north to Natal, Lesotho, Orange Free State, Transvaal and Swaziland...
have been found.
Species
There are, as of 2010 only 7 recognized species in the genus Lamprophis:- Abyssinian House Snake, Lamprophis abyssinicusLamprophis abyssinicusThe Abyssinian House Snake, Lamprophis abyssinicus is a small Colubrid Snake in the genus Lamprophis. It was once thought to be endemic to Ethiopia but has been found in Eritrea recently.-Appearance:...
(Mocquard, 1906) - Aurora House Snake, Lamprophis auroraLamprophis auroraThe Aurora House Snake, Lamprophis aurora, is a species of snake in the Colubridae family.-Distribution:Found in South Africa, the southern Cape Province, from the Cape Peninsula, east and north to Natal, Lesotho, Orange Free State, Transvaal and Swaziland...
(LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758) - EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n House Snake Lamprophis erlangeri (Sternfeld, 1908) - Fisk's House Snake, Lamprophis fiskii (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1887), vulnerable (VU) - SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
House Snake, Lamprophis geometricus (SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1827) - Spotted House Snake, Lamprophis guttatusLamprophis guttatusThe Spotted House snake, Lamprophis guttatus, belongs to Southern Africa's seven Lamprophis species.-Description:...
(SmithAndrew Smith (zoologist)Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire...
, 1843) - Yellow-bellied House Snake, Lamprophis fuscus (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1893), near threatened (LR/nt)
Geographic range
House snakes are found throughout all of sub-Saharan AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in a wide variety of habitats, some species are well adapted to living in underground burrows. They are named "house" snakes as they are frequently found around human dwellings, feeding on the rodents that congregate around human waste. They are extremely adaptable snakes, which are found in scrubland, woodland, savannah, and montane regions.
Behaviour and diet
Wild House Snakes are often very nervous, but are not prone to biting. Their first defensive reaction is to flee. They are frequently found in & around human dwellings, where they are avid consumers of rodents, small lizards and even birds. House snakes are prolific breeders and lay clutches averaging 8-12 eggs that hatch after around two months of incubation. Hatchlings are typically around 20 cm long.In captivity
African house snakes are common in the exotic pet trade, the primary species available is L. capensis, others are harder to come by. They are easy to care for and breed readily. Their popularity has declined in recent years due to more interestingly colored snakes, like the corn snakeCorn Snake
The Corn Snake , or Red Rat Snake, is a North American species of Rat Snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. The name "Corn Snake" is a holdover from the days when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a wood frame or log building called a crib...
. Despite this, captive breeding of house snakes for color and pattern continues. Few are exported from Africa due to their low market value and the ease of breeding them in captivity.
They can live up to 20 years with proper care. Males are smaller than females and seldom grow longer than 2½ feet. Females can attain lengths of 3½ feet and specimens from the eastern region of Southern Africa (KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
) are reported to reach lengths of 5 feet or more. These snakes are nocturnal. The female lays one clutch of 9 to 16 eggs in early spring, they are known to store sperm and lay up to 6 clutches per annum in captivity but it rarely happens in nature. Hatchlings are 5 to 7 inches upon hatching.
Food
The main diet consists of rodents, in captivity smaller snakes take pinkie mice, in the wild they more commonly prey on geckoGecko
Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
s until they are powerful enough to constrict mice. Large females are known to occasionally eat weaner rats. Adult snakes get fed weekly. Hatchlings may eat small lizards such as skink
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s, geckos and newborn mice. In captivity they can successfully be fed on gecko tails. Larger specimens are also known to take lizards, and in rare cases they will catch small bats. House snakes should be fed alone, their often violent feeding response may cause cannibalism.
Captive Snakes
Feed snakes in a different tank and watch over them if offered live rodents as the snakes can be injured by them. The vivariumVivarium
A vivarium is a usually enclosed area for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research...
in which they are kept in should be of a decent size for the snake to be able to move around freely without problems. Paper towels are okay as well as Aspen shavings for the substrate of the tank. The humidity in the tank should be kept at a higher percentage when the snakes start to shed. They should have objects inside the tank that help them hide or such things as branches for them to climb upon. Lighting is an optional extra, if provided with added lighting, they should not have more than 12 hrs day period and 12 hours night period - keeping the snakes in a room that is naturally lit with sunlight would suffice. They should have a large bowl of water so that they can drink and bathe - females not provided with an egg laying chamber when gravid may use this to lay their eggs. The water should be changed daily.