Feb 18, 2017- Stiletto Snake with Brent on Bushwalk
Channel: Safari Chey
Date: 18/02/2017

Feb 18, 2017- Stiletto Snake with Brent on Bushwalk.
 It may seem odd, but this snake which is named after a woman's shoe, is responsible for more body mutilations than any other snake in Africa.  What makes this reptile so dangerous?  For one thing, it has the longest fangs of any snake species (in ratio to its head at least) and these fangs are not hinged like a regular snake.  Rather, they are pointed backwards.  This gives the Stiletto Snake a distinct advantage in that it does not have to open its mouth to deliver a venomous bite, but rather it stabs its victims by trashing its head from side to side.

This means that the snake can literally bite something behind its head and that it is impossible to hold like a normal snake.  To top things off, the Stiletto Snake preys on mammals like mice and other small rodents and therefore, its venom is specially designed to break down and digest mammalian muscles and bones.  There is no anti-venom.


Courtesy of WildEarthTV, Djuma Game Reserve , Arathusa Game Lodge , Cheetah Plains Lodge and Chitwa Chitwa Lodge