A smallish bright green snake that averages 25-40 cm in length with a maximum length of 1 m. It is day-active and favours damp localities such as reed swamps, riverine thickets and flood plains where it feeds mainly on frogs. It also eats fish, small lizards and juveniles reportedly eat grasshoppers.
Full Name: Green Water Snake (Philothamnus hoplogaster)
Other Names: Southeastern Green Snake; Groenwaterslang
Classification: HARMLESS
A smallish bright green snake that averages 25-40 cm in length with a maximum length of 1 m. It is day-active and favours damp localities such as reed swamps, riverine thickets and flood plains where it feeds mainly on frogs. It also eats fish, small lizards and juveniles reportedly eat grasshoppers.
Like the harmless natal green snakes, it is often mistaken for a Green Mamba and needlessly killed. Most individuals are bright emerald, green with a whitish belly and often have a yellow snout. Some individuals, especially further north, have a few blackish bars behind the head. This snake is not venomous and completely harmless to humans.
