There are eight (8) different types of
snakes in Cyprus, (two types of
Whip snake) of which three are poisonous: Only one of these, the blunt-nosed
viper
can be dangerous to humans. The other two are the slender cat snake and the
Montpellier snake.
About snakes
Snakes are
keenly aware of their surroundings and have an uncanny ability to detect
nervousness in a person.
Without exception they are frightened of human beings and only attack to defend
themselves.Snakes are comatose in the heat of
high summer and spend the winter in hibernation.
Venomous Snakes
Cat snake -
Telescopus Fallax Cyprianus
A small and slender snake which is backfanged.
Named like that due to the sliced pupils at light.
Identification
A smooth scaled snake, grey (Cyprus) to brown (Golan Heights, ssp. syriaca)
with dark irregular maculations and a black collar. The head is broad with large
scales (on ssp. syriacus grey in color).
The venter is yellowish-white with dun-colored marbling. The Cat Snake is
reaching a maximum size of approx. 70 cm.
Biology This snake is absolutely nocturnal,
specialized on geckos and lizards hiding in cervices or under stones, possibly
feeding also on nestlings of small mammals. It prefers dry and rocky terrain,
stonewalls, ruins and old houses.
The female is laying 7-8 eggs.
Distribution
Balkan countries, Greece & Aegean Islands, Turkey, Cyprus, Middle East to SW
Asia.
Venomous and quite aggressive when disturbed - with a
viper-like behave, but not dangerous since this small snake hardly can place
it's fangs and the venom is weak. When disturbed it also releases a strange
smell.
Up to about 80cm in length. The snake is distinguished by its broad flat head,
vertical slit eyes and the large scales on its forehead. Along its whole length
one can discern square shaped markings in a diamond like pattern. The color of
the snake can be beige, brown or green, while the square shapes always stand
out.
The Montpellier Snake is extremely shy and
very fast. On Golan Heights it is the most common snake in open terrain, whereas
it is found much more rare in Cyprus. When hunting it usually raises it's head
above grass and shrubs. Therefore it is almost impossible to approach this snake
without it is fleeing from a far distance already.
Identification This matt grey-colored snake can be quite voluminous and therefore often is
confused with a viper. It has lids over large round eyes. It's size reaches
up to 200 cm but usually adults are in the size of 130 to 170 cm. The scales on
the back are slightly grooved, on the head there are large scales, forming a
ridge above the eyes.
The neck is extended reddish-brown colored. The belly white to crème ore even
bright pink with short black longitudinal stripes.
Juvenile specimens are light brownish with dark patterns, similar to young Whip
Snakes, but without forming diagonal stripes.
Biology
The Montpellier Snake prefers open and dry grass-terrain with stones and slopes
or edges of forests exposed to sunlight, where it is active only on warm and
sunny days.
It is mainly feeding on lizards, including Agama but also small rodents and
chicks of e.g. partridges. The female is laying 4-12 eggs.
Distribution
Known from the whole Mediterranean and South Europe, Levante, Cyprus, Middle
East to West Asia and North Africa in various subspecies.
Although the Monpellier Snake is venomous and its venom is quite strong (Wiedl)
it only bites when badly handled. Since it is quite difficult to catch this
snake, it can be considered as harmless. It's short venomous fangs are in the
back of the upper jaw. Nevertheless, medical treatment is required in case of a
bite.
This is a dangerous highly poisonous viper. It is a
fat snake, varying in colour with a yellow and horn-like tail-end. It inhabits
steppe like terrain with boulders and bushes and hillsides beside streams. It
attacks only in defense. If it is disturbed, it hisses loudly and may attack
very rapidly. It is particularly dangerous because when it bites, its teeth
remain embedded This snake can reach a length of 130cm and the thickness of
your arm. It can be easily recognized by it's blunt nose. Sandy in color.
Identification
This matt grayish to dun-brown colored snake is very corpulent and can reach the
thickness of an arm. Adults usually reach a length of approx. 130 cm, rarely up
to 160 cm. Like all vipers it has keeled scales on the body where they are
larger than on the head. Three very small black spots on the head are typical
for this species.
The dorsum is with more or less distinct dark sometimes intersected rectangular
maculations, as well as a second row of maculations on it's flanks. The belly is
grayish-white to crème or pinkish with smaller dark maculations.
Like all vipers this species is front fanged with two long tube-like teeth which
are placed in a pocket on the upper jaw, when not in use.
Biology
In Cyprus this viper is found almost everywhere, but it prefers well vegetated
terrain or rocky places and dry forests with small water pits, where it hunts
for birds. It occurs also in and around gardens, stables and old houses where it
hunts for small mammals or even robbs chicks, swallowing it's pray after
striking and killing it. The Blunt Nosed Viper is nocturnal as well as
day-active, depending on the season and the habitat. Also depending on the
habitat and climatic influence, it is usually life-bearing but also laying eggs
(Wiedl).
The Large Whip snake
- Coluber jugularis - ΚολούβρηΠερσική -
Θερκό
The only endemic reptile in Cyprus and the
most common of all. The young Whip snake is beige, its
underside pale pink, after about a year its color starts to change to an olive
green. Then after about two and a half years it becomes all blue-black in color with
a green tinge with only the underside of the head a light color, and smooth scales.
Identification It's length usually reaches up to approx. 200cm after 4-5 years.
Although much larger specimens are reported (300 cm and more). It is probably
the longest snake in Europe. In both areas the adult snake is completely black
with more or less bluish iridescence except of a cream-colored throat with a red
touch on specimens from Cyprus and a smaller grayish-white lightened area on the
throat on specimens from Golan Heights.
Juvenile specimens are grayish brown, patterned with darker crowns intersected
by small white-bluish spots which form more ore less diagonal stripes,
especially in the front part. The belly of juvenile specimens is grayish-blue to
white or crème colored with regular dark round spots in the size of pin-heads.
The appearance of young specimens is quite variable and they easily can be
confused with the Balkan Whip Snake. Some females in Cyprus keep their juvenile
appearance also as an adult, but more or less loose the typical patterns of young specimens with the age. Biology This egg-laying snake is day-active and prefers open terrain with some
shrubs and stone-piles, and gardens, but it can occur also in forests. It is
mainly feeding on other reptiles, such as lizards and snakes (also vipers!) and
small mammals. Occasionally it goes also in trees / stables to rob nests.
Distribution
From S-Bulgaria over Greece/Turkey, Cyprus, Middle East to Iraq.
Non-venomous, but usually aggressive when caught or disturbed.
Worm snake - Typhlops vermicularis
Pinky-brown in color and is often found
hiding under stones, and just looks like an earthworm. The worm snake is probably the strangest
snake found in the area. Assimilated to an earth worm, with very reduced eyes,
it lives under the ground and only can be found occasionally under stones, where
it is hunting for various insects, ant nests and similar.
This snake is the rarest and most endangered species of
reptiles on the Island of Cyprus.
The color of the normal variant of the Grass Snake is light to dark brown. The
second is Dark brown to black and the animals belong to the "Picturata" variant.
The third variant, named "Melanotic" has a uniform deep blue-black
color and
does not have any markings.
Uniquely, the Grass snake is a genuine aquatic reptile,
which distinguishes it from the European Grass snake. It’s diet consists of
frogs and fish. Further information on this rare and unique snake can be found
at the reference below.
Coin snake -
Coluber nummifer
Due to it's appearance (patterns, triangle head) and very
aggressive behavior, this snake often is confused with vipers - in Cyprus with
the Blunt Nosed Viper and especially in the Middle East with the Palestinian
Viper.The markings of this snake are very
similar to the venomous Blunt-nosed viper.
The head stands out from the body and is relatively big. The pupils are round;
the body is strong, but slim; the tail tapers to a long thin end. Its head has
large scales and the body has a glistening sheen. All these characteristics
distinguish it from the Blunt-Nosed Viper.
Identification In Cyprus this snake grows up to approx. 170 cm, adult specimens are usually
in the size of 130-150 cm.
Specimens from Golan Heights (ssp. ravergieri ?) are smaller in average, they
hardly reach 100 cm.It is yellowish brown to grey with
dark-brown or almost black deltoid-shaped 'coins' in the middle line of it's
back, sometimes melting together, especially in the rear part of the body. On
specimens from Golan Heights these patterns are more intense and than on
specimens from Cyprus.Flanks with two rows of dark
blotches.On it's belly this snake is crème to grayish
colored with some darker grayish irregular spots.
Especially when aggressive, this snake can spread it's back-head to a triangular
appearance.
Biology This egg-laying snake is day and night
active. It prefers places with many hiding possibilities,
such as slopes with gravel and shrubs, stone-piles, old houses and stables,
where it hunts also it's pray. Specialized in climbing on rocks, house walls and
trees , it is mainly robbing nests of small mammals and birds. Juvenile
specimens are also hunting geckoes at their hiding places.
Distribution From Aegean Islands, Turkey, Cyprus, Middle East to Northern Egypt.
Νon-venomous, but very aggressive, easily
biting and loudly hissing when disturbed.
Preventing
snake bites
Some bites, such
as those inflicted when you accidentally step on a snake in the woods, are
nearly impossible to prevent. However, there are precautions that can reduce
your chances of being bitten by a snake. These include:
Leave snakes
alone. Many people are bitten because they try to kill a snake or get too close
to it.
Stay out of tall
grass unless you wear thick leather boots and remain on hiking paths as much as
possible.
Keep hands and
feet out of areas you cannot see. Do not pick up rocks or firewood unless you
are out of snake's striking
distance.
Ermones® Pest Management 
The Montpellier Snake is extremely shy and
very fast. On Golan Heights it is the most common snake in open terrain, whereas
it is found much more rare in Cyprus. When hunting it usually raises it's head
above grass and shrubs. Therefore it is almost impossible to approach this snake
without it is fleeing from a far distance already. 
The only endemic reptile in Cyprus and the
most common of all. The young Whip snake is beige, its
underside pale pink, after about a year its color starts to change to an olive
green. Then after about two and a half years it becomes all blue-black in color with
a green tinge with only the underside of the 
Pinky-brown in color and is often found
hiding under stones, and just looks like an earthworm.
similar to the venomous Blunt-nosed viper.
The head stands out from the body and is relatively big. The pupils are round;
the body is strong, but slim; the tail tapers to a long thin end. Its head has
large scales and the body has a glistening sheen. All these characteristics
distinguish it from the Blunt-Nosed Viper.
130-150 cm.
This egg-laying snake is day and night
active