Part of a series on Dangerous Snakes of West Africa
Part of a series on Dangerous Snakes of West Africa
The Blandings Tree Snake is also commonly known as Blanding’s cat snake and Blanding’s tree snake. A very large tree snake found in rain forest canopy reaching 3.0m in length. Males are black and yellow while females are olive green. The head is very broad and quite distinct from the neck. T. blandingii is a long and slender species, the longest specimen measured by Boulenger (1896) had a total length of 2.2 m.
The Blandings Tree Snake is found in Ivory Coast & Senegal. Also found in W Kenya, Uganda, Republic of South Sudan, Angola, Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo (Brazzaville), Zambia.
The preferred natural habitats for the Blandings Tree Snake are forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 2,200 m. However, it is also found in gardens, parks, and in and around houses.
The Blandings Tree Snake is an arboreal and nocturnal snake. A strong climber often found as high as 30 metres above the ground when in tall forests. During the day it generally hides in tree hollows or leaf clumps. At night it slowly moves through the trees investigating any hollows in search of prey. If prey is detected it will make very slow and careful progress toward it before striking. If threatened it will inflate its body, flatten its head, and lift the anterior body into wide coils. If threatened further or provoked it will open its mouth exceptionally wide, exposing the pink inside and make a lunging strike.
The venom of the Blandings Tree Snake is mildly Haemotoxic
Very mild. Unlikely to cause more than mild to moderate local swelling & pain, occasionally local bruising, Paresthesia/numbness, Bleeding, No necrosis and no systemic effects.
None
No antivenom is available or needed. At present and serious envenomation may need blood replacement.
Map legend: Red dots show verified records submitted to inaturalist.org. Transparent overlay shows known range.
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs and maps are sourced from iNaturalist and permitted under licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Information sources: Published literature, Wikipedia and The Reptile Database.
Part of a series on Dangerous Snakes of West Africa
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