Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A few years ago I was in Khao Sok National Park near Phuket in Thailand. While on a canoe trip of a river our guide showed us two snakes in branches overhanging the river. Both were balled up or coiled on the very ends of the branches, one was green with a pattern and the other was a solid orangish red. Can anyone help me identify these?

It sounds like they could be a species of Boiga. Try looking at this website - www.siam-info.de/german/schlangen-boiga.html
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Hmmmmm,......that's an extremely hard call to "nail down" from a discription,but there is a possibility they could have also been a form of "tree viper" from the genus (Trimeresurus), as there are many color variants that would fit that discription in that area.......if the snakes had what are known as "keeled" scales(ridge down the center) giving it a slightly rough apperance, then this type of snake could be a good candidate for what you saw........hope this helps a little.................Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

thanks guys. i think it helps a little. i didnt get a chance to see the head but it was pretty thick. to my untrained eyed it seemed like some sort of constrictor. does that sound right?

The "constrictor" thing doesn't sound likely,as there's nothing anywere in the area that looks "green with a pattern" or "orange" that would be a constrictor in that area.. Young "Green Tree pythons", and young "Emerald Tree Boas" have very distinct heads like you mentioned,as well as having some of the same colors you described,..... but they are from total different parts of the world!!.Do yourself a favor, and do a "Google Image" search on the (Trimeresurus)"Tree Vipers", and see what you think, they also have a very "thick" head structure as you mentioned!!.....good luck!...............................Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!