Brown House Snake

This is one of the most common and widespread snakes in Africa. It varies in colour from black to brown, olive-green, russet-red and beige. It has a light stripe from the nose through the top of the eye to the back of the head, a unique feature of the Brown House Snakes.

Full Name: Brown House Snake (Boaedon fuliginosus / capensis complex)

Classification: HARMLESS

Map indicating the distribution of the Brown House Snake (Boaedon fuliginosus / capensis complex) within Africa.

This is one of the most common and widespread snakes in Africa. It varies in colour from black to brown, olive-green, russet-red and beige. It has a light stripe from the nose through the top of the eye to the back of the head, a unique feature of the Brown House Snakes.

This snake is found in a variety of habitats and easily adapts to urban areas where it feeds on rodents and lizards. It is a good climber and may even crawl up face-brick walls. It is a nocturnal snake but is often exposed during the day, especially under building rubble, in garden refuse or in piles of firewood. It bites readily if captured, causing some bleeding but is completely harmless.

African Snakebite Institute