Posted by Jonathan Crowe on September 12, 1999 at 19:10:30:
In Reply to: Re: Need help identifying a snake collected in Spain posted by Torsten on September 07, 1999 at 14:35:20:
Coluber hippocrepis: Horseshoe Snake in English; Couleuvre fer-à-cheval en français.
: : Can someone help me identify a snake I found in Spain. It has a grey background color with saddles / circles all the way down its back. The saddles are black with a brown outer edge. The belly has a orange hue. It is not poisonous...I'm stll alive and it did bite me when I caught it but has now mellowed out and tolerates handling. It appears to be a rat snake of some sorts but I would like a positive ID if possible. Any info you can provide will be appreciated.
: I think I can, your description sound like a Columber hippocrepis / Hufeisennatter (sorry, dont know EN name), a quite common snake in spain, especially in teh southeast where i live.
: it reaches app. 1 m in lenght
: to be totally sure if it is a C.h, please send me a picture of it and i will tell you if it is or not.
: greetz
: Torsten