Oriental whip snake at Chek Jawa

Yesterday, I was at the Naked Hermit Crabs guided walk with the Yishun Student Care Services. Ivan was leading my group and he spotted something special in the mangrove boardwalk.


It is the Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina)! It's my second time seeing this snake here. During my first sighting, the snake was very shy but this one is very still. It made the day for many of the participants.


As it looks like a green vine from far, it is also known as the Green vine snake. Despite its slender and long body form, it also has a long thin tail that can take up nearly 40% of the length of the snake. It eats mainly lizards, but also frogs and small birds.

This snake is mildly venomous but shy and will prefer to slide away into the undergrowth. If you want to take a closer look at it, avoid disturbing it. Its venom is too weak to affect humans.

More about the day's trip at the Naked Hermit Crabs blog.