Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

It is not often that i post, but i'm in need of some info.

Visiting my local herp dealer the other day, i came across a very unusual looking snake, supposedly a sand snake.
I snapped it up. It is beautiful.

Looking on the web, it turns out to be a so-called olympic/olympia snake (dromophis ssp)

Any one had any experience with these funny snakes?? In 15yrs of snake keeping, i had never heard of them.
Any info would be great!!

I'll post pics when i get the chance.
Thanks,
Dave

Hey Dave-
Branch in Snakes of South Africa provides only a couple of paragraphs of the genus. He mentions three or possibly four species. Of praecornatus , he only states it is restricted to West Africa; Senegal to Central African Republic.

Branch says of D. lineatus , (assumedly similar) that it "diurnal, forages in rivers and swamps for frogs and mammals, is gentle and rarely bites."

The Sub-Family Psammophinae includes Bark Snakes, Beaked Snakes, Skaapstekers, Sand Snakes and the Malpolon . Of the family, Branch states "All possess large back fangs, some have toxic saliva, although only a few species are clinically dangerous. Serious envenomation has been reported for the Mediterranean Malpolon and mild envenomation for some local Psammophis ", (Sand Snakes).

That's not much info, but good luck, use care and lets see some pics!

Thanks a lot indeed, Bill.

It is a lovely snake. Hopefully it will take pinkies to stop any hassle of finding frogs.

Well, i will take some pictures tonight and post them up.

Thanks again.
Dave