African house snake

- Boaedon fuliginosus

They have been given the trivial name of African house snake because it is very common to find them in the vicinity and also inside houses.
The Boaedon fuliginosus lives in Africa west and south of the Sahara. It reaches Morocco in the northwest, Somalia in the northeast and South Africa in the south.

The females reach a total length of around one meter and are also stronger than the males.. They only grow half as thick and are fully developed at 60-80 cm.. Color ranges from dark brown to light brown, and lighter colored animals often have a pattern of spots on the anterior third. The light stripe on the right and left side of the head is characteristic. But, there are also specimens in which the stripe can extend almost to the middle of the body.

The African house snake inhabits arid areas near the Atlantic coast, plains with formations of euphorbias and other bushes, areas with scattered bushes and trees, rocky coastal areas, including habitat with very little shrubby size, etc.

In their natural habitats, they feed mainly on medium-sized mammals and bats.

In terms of the behavior, the African house snake will try to flee if threatened, but he can also adopt his well-known bullying behavior, raising the head and neck and flattening it to form a cap or hood.

The main causes of mortality for this species could be road accidents and death in other infrastructures in which they fall, becoming trapped and ultimately dying by drowning or starvation, like empty pools. Direct deaths at the hands of people and possible captures for trafficking and sale of animals could also be of some relevance..

So that these terrarium animals are worthily kept in captivity, Terrariums with minimum dimensions of 150 x 60 x 60 cm.. The snakes measure up to 120 cm long in females (until 80 cm in males) and can be kept individually or in a group. They are non-venomous animals.

Keeping snakes as pets is quite easy, as they have no special humidity or temperature requirements.

The African house snake it is not a climbing snake, which does not mean that there should not be branches in the enclosure. In some cases they are also found in the upper zone, since it is warmer there because of the lighting. Temperatures should not drop below 18-20°C at night and around 25-28°C during the day. Locally, a spotlight can be used for a warm spot, where the temperature can then be about 35°C. A cork tube for hiding and a water container complete the terrarium equipment. To make it more attractive and have more moisture, I should also place a climbing plant (for example, a philodendron) in the container.

The price of a "African house snake" at the exotic animal market, ranges between 80 – 100 EUR.

1. African house snake (English).
2. Serpent des maisons africain, Serpent des maisons (French).
3. Braune Hausschlange, Afrikanische Hausschlange, Hausschlange (German).
4. Cobra doméstica africana, Cobra doméstica marrom (Portuguese).
5. "Culebra de casa africana", Culebra común africana, Culebra africana de las casas (español).