Amur snake size and weight characteristics. Why is the Amur snake or Schrenck snake dangerous for humans? About the Schrenk runner
The Amur snake, which in Europe and America is more often called the Russian snake, is a prominent representative of the fairly numerous genus Elaphe. It is often kept in terrariums by lovers of these animals. It attracts with its beautiful coloring, special grace of movements, non-aggressiveness, ease of maintenance and breeding. In Korea and China, rural residents keep this snake (as well as the slender-tailed snake) in their homes for rodent control.
Description
The Amur snake, the photo of which you see in our article, is, according to many, one of the most beautiful snakes on our planet. In size it resembles a four-striped snake. There are individuals up to 230 cm in length, but more often at home they grow a little more than a meter. These snakes have become the heroes of many feature and popular science films.
The adult individual has a black or dark brown upper body. Against this background, bright yellow stripes that bifurcate on the sides look very impressive. This coloration adds similarity to the Amur snake with some types of exotic snakes. Sometimes, although much less frequently, there are individuals that are completely black in color.
Other snakes are often much more modestly colored to blend in with their surroundings. The Amur snake has a protective color - bright stripes on its body do not allow a potential predator to perceive it as a whole. When it moves, spots and stripes flash, and this disorients the enemy. Typically, the Amur snake has a black head with yellow labial brushes. Black stripes extend from the mouth and eyes. The abdomen is yellow, but quite often black spots are visible on it.
Young animals are significantly different in color from adult animals. The upper part of the body is brown, with wide transverse stripes of a darker shade. Each stripe is framed by a black border, and separated from the adjacent stripe by a narrow white ribbon. A young Amur snake has a complex pattern on its head. It is formed by dark and light stripes. Such patterns help to camouflage on the ground and in the crowns of trees and on the ground.
Amur snakes are very mobile - they climb trees very well and crawl very quickly. They easily rise to a height of up to ten meters, and also dive and swim perfectly, covering quite long distances. Interestingly, no matter where they swim, snakes always return to their home. Under natural conditions, the Amur snake has its own territory. Snakes adhere to their boundaries for many years. Snakes may leave their territory in search of a mate or to go to winter, but in any case they return.
Habitat
The Amur snake lives in China, Korea, and Mongolia. In Russia, it is distributed in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. The western part of the range reaches the Lesser Khingan, and the northern border reaches Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Gender Differences
It is quite difficult for a beginner to distinguish individuals by sex. And experienced terrarium keepers know that males have a longer tail. It has a characteristic thickening at the base. Females have a shorter tail. It has no thickenings.
Amur snake at home
Today this snake is not uncommon in home terrariums. Many people who want to get one are interested in the question: is the Amur snake poisonous or not? We can reassure you, these snakes are not poisonous. They may bite, especially while feeding, but this is not dangerous to humans.
It is necessary to install a cuvette with water in the terrarium, where it would be comfortable for the snake to swim and stay during molting. Shelters can be of any shape - shelves, houses, etc. There should be a ditch with sphagnum in the warmest corner of the shelter. This will help maintain moisture and allow the snake to burrow. The shelter should be completely dry in a cold corner. You can put various driftwood and branches in the terrarium, along which your pet will willingly crawl.
In a terrarium, soil is not necessary, but if you really want, you can use gravel, coarse sand, coconut substrate, or cover the bottom with filter paper. Do not forget to spray the terrarium with warm water once a day; the sphagnum moss should always be moist. The terrarium can contain one Amur snake or a group of animals.
What to feed your unusual pet?
The Amur snake, a description of the species and photos of which can be found in many publications for terrariumists, in natural conditions feeds on mammals (small and medium-sized), birds, as well as their eggs, and sometimes frogs. Juveniles consume small rodents, chicks, mollusks and frogs.
At home, the Amur snake happily eats laboratory mice, hamsters, rats, quails, chickens, as well as bird eggs. Young snakes will enjoy newborn mice.
Pets are fed approximately once every four to five days. They drink water often, so it should be changed regularly. Along with the feed, the snake should receive mineral supplements. They can be crushed eggshells and calcium. Sometimes you can add mineral water to the drinking bowl, preferably Borjomi.
Give vitamin supplements with food once a month. Balanced feeding is given strictly in accordance with the instructions.
Breeding
After wintering, snakes must be irradiated and fed with supplements containing vitamin E for about 2-3 weeks. Then the females and males are combined. The duration of copulation is up to 3 hours. After 40-55 days, females lay eggs. It is necessary to prepare a container with sphagnum moss for them in advance. The clutch is placed in an incubator in which the temperature is maintained at +27... +29 °C. One clutch can contain up to 30 eggs. The cubs will hatch in 55 days.
Daily and seasonal rhythms
During the period of activity (from spring to autumn), the length of the day (light) and, accordingly, the duration of daytime heating is 12 hours. Irradiation with UV lamps should be carried out throughout the day. Special erythema lamps are suitable for the same purpose. They should work for 15 minutes three times a day. When irradiating, the skid should be in a dry corner.
During the winter months, the snake goes into a dormant state. To do this, it is necessary to very gradually reduce daylight hours and heating operation over the course of twenty days. When daylight hours are reduced to eight hours, feeding of the snakes stops and the night heating is turned off. With a four-hour day, you can also turn off the daytime heating. From this point on, the runner is placed in a ventilated, light-proof cage with sawdust. During wintering, the temperature should not exceed +16 °C.
In one corner of the cage, the soil must be sprayed once a week to maintain moisture. Wintering lasts about two months. Snakes are brought out of this state in the same mode, gradually increasing the heat and daylight hours. With an eight-hour day, the night heating is turned on and the runners begin to feed.
The Amur snake is one of the varieties of snakes that are often chosen for keeping in a terrarium. In our article we will tell you what a snake looks like, where it lives in the wild, and also how to keep it at home.
Characteristic
In order to have an idea about the Amur snake, we suggest that you read its description.
Appearance and color
In European countries and America, you can often hear another name for the snake - Russian snake. In the wild, its length can reach 230 cm, but when kept at home, the size of an individual does not exceed 1 meter.
Important! During the mating season of snakes, you should be especially careful, as at this time they can be quite aggressive.
The surface of the body in adult individuals is black or dark brown. The yellow stripes located against such a background are visible especially clearly, and you can also see how they bifurcate on the sides.
Because of this coloring, the Amur snake is often confused with other exotic snakes. It is rare, but you can find individuals completely black.
Video: about the Amur snake Thanks to the bright stripes, the snake can defend itself from predators, since during its movement the spots flash and disorientate its enemies. The most common species are those with a black head and yellowish lip brushes.
A branch of black stripes can be seen from the mouth and eyes. The belly is usually yellow, but sometimes there may be black spots on it. The young have a completely different color.
The surface of the body is distinguished by a brown color, on which wide transverse stripes of a darker shade stand out. Each strip is framed in the form of a black border, and they are separated by a narrow white ribbon.
Young animals are characterized by the presence of a complex pattern on the head, which is represented by dark and light stripes. Thanks to this color, the snake is successfully camouflaged in trees and on the ground.
Is there a danger to humans
Many people are interested in the question of whether the Amur snake is poisonous or not. The snake is not poisonous and is distinguished by its calmness, so it can get along with humans. 
However, if you drive it into a corner, then, of course, the snake will defend itself by hissing, and in some cases it may even bite. A snake that has just been caught immediately curls up into a ring and can rush at its offender.
But he can calm down very quickly if you carefully hold him in your hands. Even though a snake bite is not poisonous, if such an incident occurs, you should still go to the hospital as soon as possible to treat the wound.
Life in the wild
Let's look at where you can find the Amur snake.
Habitat and lifestyle
Various natural areas are suitable for individuals to live. They can settle in steppe regions; coniferous and mixed forests can become their home. Their habitat is the Far East, Northern and Northeastern China, Korea, Mongolia, and some regions of Russia. 
The Amur snake is active exclusively during the daytime. It is quite mobile, skillfully crawls through trees and can rise above 10 meters. In addition, individuals can dive and swim.
Snakes are able to crawl far from their habitat, but always return. They set the boundaries of the territory they move through and spend their entire lives on it.
They can leave their habitat only if they are looking for a mate or for wintering. For life, the snake chooses the ruins of stumps, hollows, crevices between stones, nests and burrows of various animals.
Did you know? In China, when a son moves into his home, the father gives him an Amur snake, thereby honoring the tradition, since it is believed that the snake is the guardian of the house and savings.
If it lives near humans, it most often spends the winter in heaps of garbage. For wintering, snakes gather in groups that include up to 30 individuals.
What do they eat?
Representatives of this species are predators. They love to feast on small prey - invertebrates, as well as birds, frogs, lizards, and mice. Large snakes can swallow an entire rat or rabbit at once. 
If the snake comes across a large prey, it first strangles it, but swallows the small one completely. They love Amur snakes and bird eggs, and they do not spit out the shell - it is ground in the esophagus.
Reproduction
With the arrival of spring, meetings of adults begin to occur. Males try to attract the attention of females using a special ritual - they stroke the female’s head.
After the end of the mating season, the males crawl away, and the females remain in place to bear offspring. Most of the time they rest and are in a relaxed state.
Around the second ten days of July, females begin to lay eggs. Their diameter is approximately 2 cm and their length is about 5 cm. One clutch can contain from 10 to 30 eggs.
The larger the female, the more eggs she can lay. For laying, they look for loose substrate, hollow or moss, rotted foliage. Sometimes females can unite, forming a collective clutch of up to 110 eggs. 
The size of the newly hatched cubs is quite large - the length is about 30 cm. The babies feed on chicks, young rodents, and shrews.
Often, due to cold weather, most of the young animals do not survive their first wintering. Individuals become sexually mature after 3 years. Amur snakes live for about 11 years.
Features of keeping at home
Often the Far Eastern snake (as it is also called) is kept at home. Let's look at how to set up a habitat for a snake, what to feed it and what to pay attention to.
Terrarium
If you plan to keep one snake, you can purchase a terrarium with the following dimensions: 80x50x70 cm. It is important to ensure that the temperature in it is maintained at 25 °C at night, and 32 °C during the day.
It is also necessary to take care of a container with water - it will be able to swim and just rest in it when the molting period comes. So that the inhabitant can bury himself, it is worth purchasing a ditch with sphagnum: a warm place is suitable for placing it. 
You can put twigs and driftwood in the terrarium - the snake will move along them. It is not necessary to add soil to the terrarium, but if you still want to do this, it is better to give preference to coarse sand, coconut shavings, and gravel.
Important! Despite the fact that the snake is not poisonous, it has long, sharp teeth that can leave deep wounds on the skin, so if possible it is better to avoid encountering a snake in the wild.
It is important to ensure that the sphagnum moss is always kept moist; for this purpose, the terrarium is sprayed daily.
Feeding
The diet of a domestic snake should include mice, hamsters, quails, rats, and chickens. Feeding is carried out once every 4–5 days. It is important to ensure that there is always fresh water in the terrarium, as snakes love to drink.
Pets should be provided with mineral supplements: eggshells can be used for this purpose. Once a month it is necessary to give the snake vitamins, which can be purchased in specialized stores. 
How to breed
It is best to breed the Amur snake in early spring. At this time, it is necessary to give him special medications, which include vitamin E. This course should last about 2-3 weeks.
After its completion, it is necessary to unite males and females. On average, copulation lasts up to 3 hours. After about 40 days, the females lay eggs. It is necessary to prepare in advance a special container in which the sphagnum will be located.
Then the clutch should be placed in the incubator and ensure that the temperature is maintained in the range of +27–29 °C. After 50 days, small snakes will begin to hatch from the eggs.
Daily and seasonal rhythms
The activity of the Amur snake falls in spring - autumn, so it is important to provide it with 12 hours of daylight. An ultraviolet lamp is used for this. 
In winter, the snake is in a dormant state. In the last 20 days of the activity period, it is necessary to gradually reduce the duration of daylight hours and heating. As soon as the daylight hours last for 8 hours, it is necessary to turn off the night heating and stop feeding.
During hibernation, the pet should be placed in a place with good ventilation. In winter, the temperature in the terrarium should not exceed 15 °C. In winter, it is necessary to maintain soil moisture - for this purpose it is sprayed. Wintering lasts about 2 months.
Did you know? The longest Amur grass snake can wrap itself around a person at least three times.
The recovery from this state should occur slowly: the length of daylight should be increased and heating should be done gradually. As soon as it reaches 8 hours, you need to turn on the heating and start feeding your pet.
Precautions
In most situations, the snake does not attack first. She can only bite if she feels threatened and needs to defend herself. 
To prevent such situations, we recommend using a few simple tips:
- Having noticed a snake, you should not try to catch it, you should not follow it, or try to kill it - the snake itself will calmly crawl away from you, otherwise expect aggression from it.
- Try to walk so that your steps are heard - he will hear a rustle and immediately crawl away, and you will not even know that he was nearby.
- Quite often, snakes crawl into tents and sleeping bags to keep warm. In this case, there is no need to move sharply - the snake will understand that it is not alone here and will calmly crawl away.
- If a bite does occur, you should not drink alcohol, as it dilates blood vessels and, accordingly, the snake’s saliva, poisonous or not, will be absorbed into the blood faster.
- Despite the fact that the Amur snake is not poisonous, if bitten, be sure to go to the hospital as soon as possible.
The Far Eastern snake is one of the most beautiful snakes on the planet. If you encounter one in the wild, remember that it will not attack first, remain calm and do not try to harm it.
In America and Europe, the Amur snake is called the Russian snake - it is an expressive representative of a rather significant genus Elaphe. Snake lovers often keep it at home in terrariums. It attracts with its unusual coloring, grace of movements, calmness, ease of maintenance and breeding.
Main characteristics of the Amur snake
The snake lives in northern and northeastern China, Korea and Mongolia. In Russia, it can be found in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. In the west the range extends to Lesser Khingan, to Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the north.
Lives in any forests, meadows, but can also settle next to home buildings, in vegetable gardens, orchards. These snakes are not at all afraid of humans.
Color
Color of an adult Amur snake rather resembles the color of exotic snakes:
- the upper part of the body is dark brown or black;
- very bright yellow stripes run along the sides of the snake;
- the belly is yellow and often with black spots.
The head is usually all black, and the lip brushes have black or yellow stripes. There are also black stripes from the mouth to the eyes. Sometimes in nature you can meet a completely black snake.
This color of the snake is considered protective. So, thanks to its bright coloring, predators cannot perceive it as one whole. When he moves deftly, all these bright stripes quickly flash and the enemy is lost.
The color of young animals differs from adults:
- the upper part of the body is brown, with transverse stripes of a darker color;
- all stripes along the contour are black and separated from the adjacent strip by a thin white section;
- on the head there is an interesting pattern of dark and lighter stripes.
This color of the young allows them to perfectly camouflage themselves from potential enemies on the ground and in the crowns of various trees.
Character traits
These snakes are quite large and massive, can reach a length of 3 meters. But even these parameters do not prevent him from quickly and deftly escaping from the enemy. It happens that he is unexpectedly noticed, then he begins to hiss strongly, can rush at the enemy and even bite him.
Like all snakes, the Amur snake is not poisonous. However, its jaws are very sharp and if it bites a person, the sensation will be unpleasant and painful. In captivity, he very soon gets used to people and stops attacking and biting.
Amur snake in the wild
The Amur snake has excellent contact with humans and lives next to them, but its main habitat is wild nature, in which it lives, gets food and reproduces.
Lifestyle
These runners lead active life only during the day. They are very mobile, crawl well and move excellently through trees and are able to climb to a height of 10 meters. In addition, they dive and swim excellently.
A long distance is not a barrier for them, but no matter how far they crawl, they always return to their place of residence. So, according to the results of the experiment It was found that the Amur snake is capable of covering 8 km per day.
Throughout their lives, snakes move around a certain territory, the boundaries of which they set themselves. Only in some cases do they leave their places when they go in search of a mate or crawl away to spend the winter.
Snakes hide in the ruins of stumps, in hollows, cracks between stones, in nests and burrows of other animals. If they prefer life next to a person, then they spend the winter in a pile of garbage. They winter in groups, so one group can have up to 30 snakes. The duration of the hibernation period depends on the weather, and especially on the air temperature.
Nutrition
The Amur snake is a predator. Its diet includes both small prey - invertebrates, and larger ones - birds, frogs, lizards, mice. A larger representative is capable of eating a rat or even a hare.
As a rule, it strangles large prey, but swallows small prey whole. But it also willingly feasts on the laid eggs of birds, and does not regurgitate the shells, like most snakes. The snake's esophagus is designed in such a way that it allows the shell to be ground.
Amur snakes are often kept as pets in China. There these snakes help with household chores. But sometimes, snakes in search of food, crawl into home areas and behave like robbers. They eat poultry and their eggs.
Reproduction
In early spring, adults are found in the same place every year. Males seek the females’ favor in every possible way and are almost always with her. The main ritual of courtship is the male stroking his chosen one with his head. When the mating season ends, all the males crawl away, but the females remain to bear future offspring. During this period, they are completely relaxed and resting. Usually they gather in this area not only female snakes, but also representatives of other snakes.
In mid-July, females lay eggs with a diameter of 2 cm and a length of 5 cm. The number of eggs in one clutch is 10–30. Larger females lay more eggs. The clutch is formed in a loose substrate, in a hollow or moss, in rotten leaves. It happens that females create collective clutches. In such a common nest there can be up to 110 eggs.
The eggs hatch into large babies, often their length reaches 30 cm. The food of children is more varied than that of adult Amur snakes. They eat chicks, young rodents, and shrews. Due to frost (it is difficult to find frost-free shelter), most of the young animals die in their first winter.
Puberty occurs after 3 years. Life expectancy in the wild is 11 years.
Amur snake at home
The Amur snake is not uncommon in home terrariums. This is what most people choose for home breeding. Sometimes he inhabits home sites. Often people are not against such a neighborhood, since it copes well with the functions of a cat . These snakes do well in captivity adapt to humans, take food from hands and are even capable of reproduction.
Home terrarium
- at night - 25 degrees;
- during the day – 32 degrees.
A ditch with water is also a required element. The snake will swim in it and just lie down during molting. Shelters can be purchased in different types and shapes (houses, caves, shelves). In order for the snake to burrow, a ditch with sphagnum is needed. It is better to place it in a warm place in any shelter. The terrarium can also accommodate various snags, branches along which the house snake will crawl.
Soil for the terrarium is optional, but if such a desire arises, you can use coarse sand, coconut shavings, gravel, or simply lay filtered paper on the bottom. Sphagnum moss must be constantly moist, so the terrarium is sprayed once a day. To keep two or several individuals, the terrarium should be enlarged.
Feeding
At home Amur snake fed on mice, hamsters, quails, rats, chickens. Young animals will like small mice.
Feed the pet once every 4–5 days. The water needs to be changed regularly, as they drink very often. Mineral supplements are also necessary. They can be obtained from ordinary egg shells. Vitamins are added to the feed once every 30 days. All feedings are given only according to instructions. For good digestion of the snake, you can add Borjomi mineral water to the drinking bowl.
Breeding
Start breeding snakes maybe after winter. During this period, it is necessary to give medications that contain vitamin E, the course is 2-3 weeks. Then the males and females are combined together. Copulation time is 3 hours.
After 45 days, females lay eggs. For eggs, you should prepare a special container with sphagnum moss in advance. The entire clutch is placed in an incubator, where a constant temperature is maintained from 27 to 29 degrees. One such clutch can contain up to 30 eggs. After 50–55 days, babies appear.
Daily and seasonal rhythms
The Amur snake is active from spring to autumn, so the daylight hours should be 12 hours. Almost the entire day is irradiated with an ultraviolet lamp. . When exposed to lamp, the runner should be in a drier place.
The snake goes into a dormant state in winter. Therefore, over the course of 20 days, daylight hours and heating should be gradually reduced. When the shortening of the day reaches 8 hours, the night heating is turned off and feeding of the pet is stopped. If the day is reduced to 4 hours, then daytime heating is also not needed. During the hibernation period, the runner is placed in a well-ventilated place with sawdust. Wintering of the pet should take place at a temperature no higher than 15 degrees.
Soil during wintering sprayed to maintain moisture. This time lasts about two months. It is also necessary to bring the snake out of hibernation gradually, increasing daylight hours and increasing heating. When the eight-hour day is reached, the night heating is turned on and the Amur snake begins to be fed.
The Far Eastern or Amur snake is one of the most beautiful snakes on our planet. It is these snakes that are often filmed in documentaries and feature films, decorated with photographs scientific and popular magazines are with them.
Strictly speaking, snake is the name of various types of snakes. All of them belong to the family Colubridae, to the genera big-eyed snakes, scaly-fronted snakes, climbing snakes, slender snakes, hyerophys, Zamenis, Dolichophis, and others.
Let's look at some types of runners. Let's start with representatives of the genus Dolichophis.
Genus Dolichophis
Yellow-bellied Snake
The yellow-bellied snake, also called the Caspian snake, is a fairly large snake, but it is known not for its size, but for its aggressive behavior. The yellow-bellied snake can attack a person and bite until they bleed, but it is worth remembering that the bite of these snakes is not poisonous.
This species of snake is one of the largest European species. There were specimens two and a half meters long, although usually a large snake does not exceed two meters in length. Representatives of the population of this species, living on the islands of the Aegean Sea, are smaller than their continental relatives and do not exceed a meter. Male yellow-bellied snakes are longer than females.
The head of the Caspian snake is small, slightly separated from the body. The muzzle is rounded, the eyes are slightly convex with a round pupil. There are yellow circles around the eyes. The color of the upper body of an adult snake can be yellowish-brown, reddish or cherry-red, olive-brown. Individuals with an almost black color are rarely found. The scales of this species of snake are very smooth.
The Caspian snake belongs to the genus Dolichophis (Latin), to which our next “guest” also belongs.
Red-bellied Snake
The red-bellied snake is a species of the genus Dolichophis. Until recently, these snakes were not identified as a separate species, but were classified as a subspecies of the Caspian snake. It differs from the latter species in some color features, primarily in its reddish belly.
The red-bellied snake lives in the Caucasus, Turkey, and northern Iran; it is also fashionable to meet it in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan.
This species of snake lives in a variety of places. It can be found along the coast of valley rivers with dense coastal vegetation, in juniper forests and orchards, on xerophytic mountain slopes at an altitude of 1000-1500 m above sea level.
The red-bellied snake is active during the daytime. After hibernation, it wakes up in March. The mating period lasts from mid-April to mid-May; from mid-June to early July, the female lays 6 to 11 eggs. Young snakes are born in September and immediately reach approximately 33 centimeters in length.
The main prey of this type of snake is lizards; it can also hunt small birds, rodents, and other species of snakes. It tries to hide from enemies in rodent holes; if the snake is unable to hide, then it actively defends itself, making throws towards the enemy and trying to bite him. These attacks are accompanied by a loud hissing sound.
The next species in this genus is Dolichophis jugularis.
Dolichophis jugularis
This species is common in the territories of Southern Europe and the Middle East, namely in Albania, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, the islands of the Aegean Sea, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan.
Representatives of this species can reach 2.5 meters in length, but usually an adult is 1.5 meters long. The color of the species is brown or black with a yellowish tint. Adult representatives of this species have faint lines along the back. Young snakes have short transverse stripes on their backs.
It feeds on lizards and small mammals. It is mainly found on the ground, but also crawls well in trees. It is found in dry places, in fields or on hillsides at altitudes up to 2000 meters above sea level.
Genus climbing snakes
Now representatives of this genus are very widespread: in North and Central America, Southern and Central Europe, and Asia.
Let's look at some species from this genus.
The island snake is found only in Japan and the island of Kunashir. Representatives of the species reach a body length of up to 1.3 meters.
This species lives on the seashore, among stones or surf debris, and can also be found in bamboo thickets or the litter of coniferous forests. This species swims well in both fresh and sea water.
It hunts birds and small mammals; due to hunger, it can also attack Far Eastern frogs. The victim is strangled by wrapping rings around her body and squeezing her, like a boa constrictor.
The most serious enemy of the island snake is the European mink, which was artificially introduced into Kunashir in 1985. Also, active construction leads to a reduction in the species’ natural habitats.
A species of snakes up to 80 centimeters long, lives in the south of the Far East, the northern border of the range reaches approximately Khabarovsk and in the northwest to the Burei and Zeya rivers.
It is found along overgrown banks of rivers and standing reservoirs. It swims and dives well, which is reminiscent of a snake. This species is absolutely harmless to humans.
The species is ovoviviparous; the female gives birth to 8 to 20 cubs up to 20 centimeters long at the end of September.
Patterned snake - this species lives in the vast expanses of Asia. It can be found in Mongolia, Korea, northern China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, Transcaucasia and further to the northern part of Iran.
The patterned runner reaches a length of one and a half meters. The peculiarity of this species is its very variable coloration. There are monochromatic individuals (melanists), which were previously distinguished into separate subspecies. But as a result of research, it was proven that such color variants are only variants of population variability within the boundaries of one species.
It lives in a wide variety of conditions, it can be found in deserts, steppes, coniferous or mixed forests, juniper woodlands, orchards and vineyards, river valleys, swampy areas, rice fields, and so on. Swims and dives well, climbs tree branches.
The patterned snake's diet is quite varied; it can eat insects, fish, amphibians and other snakes, not to mention small mammals. This species has known cases of cannibalism, in which the victim is swallowed from the head.
In general, the patterned snake is a special forces species in the genus “climbing snakes.”
At the same time, the patterned snake itself can become prey for small predatory mammals, and it can also be eaten by birds (in particular, the steppe eagle). The snake tries to hide from the enemy in a shelter.
In the photo: Anastasia Poklontseva, an employee of the Institute of Ecology of the Volga Basin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a snake nursery with her pet - a patterned snake.
The length of representatives of this species does not exceed 150 centimeters. The head is slightly elongated, the body is slender, and the tail is short. Among the representatives of the species there are melanists, that is, darkly colored individuals. There are 4 distinct dark stripes on the sides of the body, but they are absent in melanists. The belly is olive or pink, in melanists it is dark gray with a metallic sheen. Young snakes of this species have a brown color and a clear contrasting pattern that disappears with age. The iris of the eyes is dark red, while in melanists it is black.
The small-scaled climbing snake lives on the Japanese Islands and on the island of Kunashir. It can settle in a wide variety of places: on the seashore, in thickets of bamboo, on the slope of a volcano, near geothermal springs, and so on.
It feeds mainly on frogs and snakes, including an individual of its own species, and sometimes preys on small rodents or birds.
The four-striped climbing runner is a fairly large species of runner and can reach 260 centimeters in length. The species lives in the northern and eastern Mediterranean, the steppes of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia and Iran.
It feeds on rodents, can eat a young hare, and if lucky, feeds on birds. Juveniles feed on lizards. Easily moves in tree branches in search of bird nests.
It poses no danger to humans and is trying to avoid a meeting. But if she is caught by surprise, she behaves very aggressively, makes sharp lunges towards a potential enemy, trying to bite, and at the same time hisses loudly. The eastern subspecies of this species is the most aggressive.
The Amur snake is one of the most spectacular species of snakes living in Russia.
The back color of adult individuals is dark brown or completely black, often with a bluish iridescent sheen. Against this background, there are rare narrow, oblique, forked stripes of white or yellow color on the sides. The ventral side of this species of snake is yellow, often with dark spots. There are completely black individuals of this species.
The Amur snake lives in a wide variety of natural zones, from steppes to mixed forests. Found in the Far East, Mongolia and Northern China and Korea.
The Amur snake preys on mice, small rats, can catch a bird, destroy a bird's nest and eat eggs. There are known cases when the Amur snake made its way into the chicken coop and ate chicken eggs. Small snakes also eat shrews and mollusks.
These snakes do not shy away from people; they can live in gardens, vegetable gardens and attics of residential buildings.
This is not a conflict snake and, in case of danger, tries to escape, but when driven into a corner, like other types of snakes, it hisses loudly and attacks. An adult large snake can bite seriously.
This snake gets used to people, eats from hands and reproduces in captivity.
Genus Lepidoptera snakes
Representatives of this genus, up to 160 cm long, live in North Africa and Asia from the Arabian Peninsula in the west to Pakistan and northern India in the east. The range of the genus covers Central Asia and the south of Kazakhstan, where one species of this genus is widespread - the scaly-fronted (or striped) snake, common in the Karakum Desert.
Genus hyerophys
This genus includes 3 species.
Usually the length of the Balkan snake reaches one meter, rarely 1.3 meters. The color of the snake is olive-brown with dark spots, especially visible in the front part of the body.
The Balkan snake is common in northeastern Italy, Greece, and on the eastern coast of the Adriatic (Albania, Croatia, Montenegro).
It lives in dry rocky places, feeds mainly on lizards and large insects, and less often on small mammals and birds.
Striped snake
The striped snake lives from South-Eastern Kazakhstan to Korea and Southern Primorye. It is also found in China and Mongolia. There have been several sightings of this species near Khabarovsk, but they are considered an accidental introduction.
It can live in a variety of places: from deserts to sea coasts. Like many species of snakes, it feeds mainly on lizards. The striped snake is included in the Red Books of Russia and Kazakhstan.
The yellow-green snake is a fairly large species and can reach a length of 2.2 meters, although the average adult size is 1 meter. It lives in northeastern Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and also on the island of Malta.
The color of this species corresponds to its name; it is green or yellow with dark transverse stripes on the back and sides. These stripes are wide and uneven, and on the tail they already have the appearance of intermittent, torn ribbons. In some areas of Italy (particularly Sicily), limited populations of completely black individuals live.
The species prefers dry places to live. The diet of the yellow-green snake is practically no different from the diet of other species of snakes.
