Blanding's Tree Snake

Blanding's Tree Snake is a slender, highly arboreal colubrid found throughout the rainforests of West and Central Africa. It is well adapted to life in the forest canopy, where it hunts at night among branches and vines.

It possesses a rear-fanged venom used primarily to subdue prey such as birds and bats. Bites to humans are uncommon and generally cause only localized, non-life-threatening symptoms.

• Slender, elongated body well suited to climbing
• Sexually dimorphic coloration: males are typically glossy black, while females are brownish with lighter blotching
• Very large eyes with vertically elliptical pupils, adapted for nocturnal vision
• Slightly enlarged rear teeth used for venom delivery
• Prehensile-like tail aiding in arboreal movement

The combination of large nocturnal eyes and strong sexual dimorphism in color helps distinguish males and females of this species from other African tree snakes.

Inhabits tropical rainforest and forest edge habitats, spending most of its time in trees, shrubs, and vine tangles well above the ground.

Its range covers much of West and Central Africa, including countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Strictly nocturnal, remaining coiled and camouflaged in foliage by day and becoming active at night to hunt. It preys on birds, bats, and small arboreal mammals, striking from ambush positions among branches.

It is oviparous, laying clutches of eggs in tree hollows or similarly sheltered arboreal sites.