Boomslang

(Dendroaspis polylepis)
VERY DANGEROUS

A boomslang, Dispholidus typus is a large, venomous colubrid snake native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only species in its genus. Its name means "tree snake" in Afrikaans and Dutch.

It's long and slender build makes it well adapted for an arboreal life stile where it spends most of it's time among the bushes and trees as the name so clearly indicates. This snake can be distinguished from the Green Mamba and the Bush snakes by the big eyes in relation to the head and the prominently keeled scales. The juveniles have a very distinct pattern being dark on top and the other half of the body being light of colour leaving them looking completely different to the parents.

A length of 1.5 metres is about the average for a male but 2 metres has been recorded. They occur along the coast of South Africa up to tropical Africa around the 15EN Latitude. The female lays between 8 to 23 eggs and the young measure about 330 mm. Unlike with other snakes that mate on the ground the boomslang mates in trees.

A different anti-venom is required that for other snake bites. The venom creates blood clotting in the patient and a blood transfusion might be needed. Symptoms can take up to 24-28 hours to develop but seeing that the boomslang is not a aggressive snake but rather flees when approached.

Boomslangs are largely arboreal, are very fast moving, and are oviparous. Their diet includes chameleons and other arboreal lizards, frogs, and occasionally small mammals, birds and eggs from nesting birds, which they swallow whole.

Behaviour

Venom

Most members of their family are harmless, or have relatively weak venom, but the boomslang is an exception. It has a highly potent venom which it delivers through large fangs that are located in the rear of the jaw. The venom of the boomslang is primarily a haemotoxin. It disables the blood clotting process and the victim often dies due to internal and external bleeding. Other symptoms include: headache, nausea, sleepiness and mental disorders. Being a relatively slow-acting venom, the symptoms may occur many hours after the bite. On one hand, this provides time for arranging the serum, while on the other hand it may lead victims to underestimate the bite (especially when, as with other snakes, not every bite injects venom).

An adult snake has 4-8 milligrams of venom. 5 milligrams is said to be enough to kill a man.

In 1957, well known herpetologist, Karl Schmidt died after being bitten by a boomslang. D.S. Chapman states that between 1919 and 1962 there were eight serious human envenomations by boomslangs, two of which were fatal. The South African Vaccine Producers (formerly South African Institute of Medical Research) manufactures a monovalent antivenom for boomslang venom.

The boomslang is a timid snake, and bites generally occur only while attempting to handle, catch or kill the snake.

Lifestyle

Found in forested areas. It will spend most of its time in trees or looking for chameleons and other prey in bushes.

Breeding

BThe female lays between 8 to 23 eggs and the young measure about 330 mm. Unlike with other snakes that mate on the ground the boomslang mates in trees.

Did you know?

Shredded skin of a boomslang is one of the ingredients to make the Polyjuice Potion in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The poison of the Boomslang snake also features in the Agatha Christie thriller, Death in the Clouds (pub.1935), featuring her famous detective, Hercule Poirot.

In Stephen King's short story, "Autopsy Room Four", the main character is bitten by a fictional snake called a Peruvian Boomslang. King says he got the name from Death in the Clouds, mentioned above.

A distillation of boomslang venom is combined with dimethyl sulfoxide to create a contact poison that is the murder weapon in an episode of Quincy, ME.

A character named Boomslang is a Marvel Comics supervillain.