The Brown Vine Snake

In Costa Rica there are two pointy snouted Vine Snakes you may come across.  One is mostly green and very cryptic on open foilage, Oxybelis fulgida.  This beauty however is the Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus which is nearly invisible on the brown branches of so many vines in the jungle.   Finding this snake always causes great fun in a group, and from the herpers, a few yelps and YEE-HAHS!!  The Oxybelis snakes (a genus) are in the colubridae snake family, that be-all of snake families, and actually ranges from southern Arizona into South America.  I have also seen this species on the Island of Trinidad.  We have only found them during the day, therefore I surmise they are diurnal hunters, and the literature seems to support this.  Small anole lizards (the local Norops genus), small birds, and probably a small mammals wouldn’t be out of the question.  The mouth is bigger then it appears.  There really isn’t any major defense on encounter, although they do musk like most snakes.  Their main mode of action is to take off as fast as they can.  Because it is a rare-fanged snake, although rarely dangerous to humans, caution should always be taken for potential reactions that individual humans might have to the bite.  I have caught them on several occasions and found them to be docile- although active- and never had the luck to be struck by one.  Almost completely arboreal, our groups have probably walked by more then we have seen!!  Just a cool snake all around, even though they are so thin, they can reach lengths of up to 6 feet.  One has to marvel at the adaptations of the head!  Enjoy.  NG.

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