snake species and their temper

[Jeroen Speybroeck]

Is Elaphe quatuorlineata always calm and sauromates always the opposite?
Is Rhinechis sweet by night but a terror by day?
Is ursinii placid and calm as Arnold says?
Do Natrix species never bite?
Is Coronella girondica nice but austriaca a angry critter?
...

Let's hear your experience and thoughts!

[Berislav Horvatic]

Elaphe quatuorlineata is always calm, unless you do something really bad to it. (Or if you name is F....
See viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2234&p=21756#p21756)
Actually, even if you mistreat it, it just shows (understandable) anger, but still doesn't bite.

In my experience, V. ursinii is by no means as placid and calm as Arnold says, at least those in Croatia.
They fight, they strike, they bite like devils... they even jump. But that might as well be the question of
the subspecies (or population) - in Kiskunsag in Hungary I freely handled the rakosiensis without gloves,
as everyone else did. Even the Hungarian president of the republic, once, by (his own) mistake (or whim)...
(There's a nice movie showing that terrible moment - he was to release the first viper into a newly established
habitat, he was given gloves, but as he had seen the others handling them barehanded, he just removed the
gloves and did the job barehanded - to the utmost terror of all the assembled herpetologists. Noone knows
what his bodyguards & other security felt at the moment, but the staff of the Centre were frozen to death...
All went well.)

I've heard that Natrix natrix can be prone to biting at night, never by day. (A personal communication by
somebody - I've forgotten whom - who got bitten three times in a single night, but never by day.) Maybe
they just feel more insecure & endangered by night, and therefore get more "nervous" - I don't know, but
I'd very much like to now.

Don't know about girondica, but austriaca is certainly not an angry critter - they do bite, but quite "calmly",
and when they decide to do so, they give one a discrete warning in advance about their decision, a really
gentle one, which is fascinating to watch. You know you're going to be bitten within a second, but you are
prepared and you don't take offence... I'll describe it sometimes if noone has before.
(Of course, this observation applies only to handling a coronella rather gently, not to grabbing it fiercelly or
"torturing" it in any way...)

Regarding Hierophis gemonensis, it really loves to bite, quite fiercelly, but not forever... Thomas Ott (from
Switzerland) taught me the trick: You catch a gemo with your gloves on, and let it bite them at will, till it
gets enough of it. Then you can safely remove the gloves and handle it barehanded, provided you do it gently
enough, without any sudden and "threatening" movements. It does work, and I taught that to everybody else.
Thanks, Thomas, that makes life much easier, especially at taking photos (without gloves - what a relief!)

[Kristian Munkholm]

My - very limited - experience with handled quatuorlineata goes against all received knowledge.

I have caught and handled one juvenile myself - very calm and placid, as they should be.

The only other specimen I have seen handled was caught not by me but by a co-herper. He bagged it and placed it in the shade for five minutes, until I showed up. I did not see him catch or handle the snake but based on my knowledge of him I find it hard to believe he mishandled it. According to himself the circumstances of the capture were entirely normal and undramatic.

It was a different story entirely when we took the snake out of the bag immediately after I came over. The snake - an adult male - thrust out both its hemipenes and started bleeding from its cloaca. It then reared up, hissed loudly, spread its nape, lunged forward and struck incessantly. We never managed to get it to calm down before letting it go.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=441

[Berislav Horvatic]

My - very limited - experience with handled quatuorlineata goes against all received knowledge.
....
He bagged it and placed it in the shade for five minutes, until I showed up. I did not see him catch or handle the snake but based on my knowledge of him I find it hard to believe he mishandled it. According to himself the circumstances of the capture were entirely normal and undramatic.

I do believe that, as most of us (indeed all of us here, I strongly hope...) would never molest an animal.

It was a different story entirely when we took the snake out of the bag immediately after I came over. The snake - an adult male - thrust out both its hemipenes and started bleeding from its cloaca. It then reared up, hissed loudly, spread its nape, lunged forward and struck incessantly. We never managed to get it to calm down before letting it go.

What could one say - even that is possible, but highly unlikely. You must have had bad luck with a pervert... or a sick animal, or...?

Once I tried to make photos of a Zamenis longissimus, which constantly attacked me quite furiously, trying to drive me away,
instead of just taking cover in the vegetation left and right of the path. It tried to chase me down the path instead of retreating.
It was a funny situation, and my friend Ivo Peranić had a good laugh and took some unique photos of my ordeal... Finally I just
had enough of that "uneven fight" and gave up, the snake having won (over my nerves). But something like that has happened to
me only once.
We were all taught that all animals are (normally) higly pragmatic, in order to save energy, which is costly, but sometimes they
just seem to forget their evolutionary priorities... That would be another interesting "thread", more for the "Theoretical section"
than for the "Fielherpers' cafe"... I have a crazy story from this spring, of a pissed off adder taking revenge on us (the "molesters")
by attacking and biting (several times!) my camera case lieing on the ground several meters away from the "crime scene"...
Can an angry viper really "take revenge" by deliberately attacking something inanimate that belongs to its "molester"??!! I mean,
something meters away from you, not gloves or shoes or anything you have on...

[Carl Corbidge]

I had a grass snake draw blood on one occasion, but this was the result of an open mouthed strike, however I felt it would have had a nibble given the chance. Montpellier snake and Caspian whip snake are probably the two non-viper species that seem to like a good bite and chew more than any other species ive encountered, Dahl's as well but their bite is weak. The interesting/puzzling thing to me is what is the evolutionally advantage of not biting?, why if a potential predator grabs you do you not give it a good chew in the hope it drops you?

[Berislav Horvatic]

The interesting/puzzling thing to me is what is the evolutionally advantage of not biting?,
why if a potential predator grabs you do you not give it a good chew in the hope it drops you?

Beats me, just as it does you. Anybody, somebody...?

Montpellier snake and Caspian whip snake are probably the two non-viper species that seem to like a
good bite and chew more than any other species ive encountered, Dahl's as well but their bite is weak.

Malpolon is a rear-fanged venomous snake, so it should have a very good reason to chew and not let go
too soon. But regarding D. caspius, and H. gemonensis, I have no idea. My (rather painful) experiences
are limited to H. gemonensis - one just has to suffer and wait - much too long! - till it gives up and releases
its grip. It's particularly entertaining when you are encircled by a team of pals, encouraging you to "grin
and bear it" and taking funny photos of your ordeal...

[Julius Zidorn]

I can share some experience of my Andalusia/Portugal trip:
Rhinechis: one adult found around 3 pm under a stone, it was extremely calm, not even hissing
Malpolon: five seen , no chance to catch the adults but two young ones: the first one very calm (it was 10 meters away from the Rhinechis, so maybe it was a place with a very relaxed atmosphere but the other one quite bity..
Hemorrhois : four seen, by far the most aggressive! Not that hard to catch, but maybe thats just my experience ... but verrrrry aggressive and hard to photograph except one
Coronella: I got bitten once or twice by an austiaca, but I would not call them "aggressive". The girondica we found was a very nice one.

By the way, a friend of mine got bitten by a N.tessellata at night, but only one animal and one bite

Cheers,
J.

[Berislav Horvatic]

a friend of mine got bitten by a N.tessellata at night, but only one animal and one bite

By a N. tessellata?! What did he do to provoke something like that? OK, maybe it's the same
as with N. natrix, who alleggedly bite at night (only?)...

[Kristian Munkholm]

I've handled a couple of N. natrix at night - haven't found them to behave any differently than in the daytime.

[Borji Heras]

I was bitten by girondica (shedding) some days ago ...first time ever