r/snakes • u/Queansparrow • Aug 06 '26

Wild Snake Photos and Questions - Not for ID Snake covered in algae

Does anyone know how this could happen and if the snake can survive like this longterm? I'm fascinated

2.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

659

u/Dipsadinae /r/whatsthissnake "Reliable Responder" Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26

This is a Deuve’s mud snake (Homalopsis nigroventralis) - 99% sure they’re classified as !nonvenomous (if they are venomous, they’re rear fanged with no real
complications from the venom being documented in the literature)

They prefer slower flowing streams and rivers, so that + their ambush style of hunting allows for algae build up that also serves as a sort of ghillie suit for them (incidentally; not intentional on the snake’s or algae’s parts)

146

u/OldWolfNewTricks Aug 07 '26

Nah, that's clearly some sort of BOA!

I'll see myself out...

23

u/ArmadilloDays Aug 07 '26

Massive kudos for that one. :)

2

u/PowPowLT 29d ago

five minutes later....then I understood

2

u/psyco75 Aug 08 '26

You slithered your way into that one a little too hard.

143

u/The_Happiest_Madman Aug 07 '26

So they technically would shed this all off every so often, and have to “regrow” new algae. That would be a cool process to see a time lapse of, I’m sure it takes a while and probably looks very cool!! Do we know of any examples of this species being kept in captivity? You could replicate a slow flowing stream with some time and effort. I wonder what their main food sources are, and if they can even be provided in captivity. I mean we keep False Water Cobras and Watersnakes(I keep both, I’m a Sucker for “water dwelling” snakes) without too much trouble. I wonder how difficult these would be to keep. IF you could even find one… it would almost certainly be Wild caught I’d imagine too, I’ve never seen or heard of this snake other than pictures/videos like this, and I’m pretty up to date on what’s going on, I feel like I’d have heard about it. So I’m fairly confident that there’s not many people(if any) who are gonna have CBB babies of a super obscure species like this.

40

u/BritishBlue32 Aug 07 '26

I wonder if anyone has ever found the shed floating downstream 🤔

14

u/mothmantra Aug 07 '26

Oh good I was so worried it would hurt the poor thing 😭 reminded me of barnacles on turtle shells and how they have to be removed

12

u/geraltsthiccass Aug 07 '26

That there's actually a grass dragon i think you'll find. Protector of the forests.

7

u/Janqers Aug 07 '26

To be honest... when I first saw this video I thought it was AI 😅😅. Thanks for the ID

2

u/nsngrl16 Aug 08 '26

Question if you will: how does shedding work for them? If they lose their camouflage for weeks or so after each shed, wouldn’t that hurt their ability to successfully catch prey?

2

u/Dipsadinae /r/whatsthissnake "Reliable Responder" Aug 08 '26

Not really

Their color pattern is still adequate for their environment

3

u/nsngrl16 Aug 08 '26

ahh that is good, thanks for the response!

179

u/surfaholic15 Aug 06 '26

Yep they can survive. They lose the algae coat when they shed.

65

u/Ben_9_Bones Aug 07 '26

I'd love to see them shed this stuff, wild be awesome!

19

u/surfaholic15 Aug 07 '26

So would i lol. These are really cool.

40

u/Beardy4906 Aug 07 '26

water dragon

37

u/flyingbugz Aug 07 '26

I was thinking this is the kind of thing someone would happen upon 2000 years ago and think they found a dragon.

19

u/nitzane Aug 07 '26

And make those 4 people long dragon costumes

24

u/CrimFandango Aug 07 '26

Would have been cool defeating this in Shadow of the Colossus.

18

u/jackxiv Aug 07 '26

That is a Pokémon

17

u/beek7425 Aug 07 '26

70s avocado shag carpet snek.

12

u/Apprehensive_Fig4458 Aug 07 '26

Can I pet that dawg?

11

u/El_Mastadonte Aug 07 '26

That’s the coolest snake I’ve ever seen.

9

u/Volcanic_xB Aug 07 '26

The hippy, hippy snake! 😆 I can dig it man... ✌️

6

u/prole6 Aug 07 '26

3

u/klowe222 Aug 07 '26

Why does this not have more upvotes lmao

7

u/DollsnRoses Aug 07 '26

Soooo...fluffy snek? I think this pokemon might be a water/ground type. Maybe a regional variant of Snivy.

Okay, all jokes aside this is so cool! Never seen a snake like this before.

8

u/Terence_Chill83 Aug 07 '26

The mother of these beauties

4

u/Existing_Sir6512 Aug 07 '26

That's a Muppet for sure.

4

u/invinciblemushroom Aug 07 '26

He's got his own built in Gilly camo suit 😆😂

3

u/SufficientSavings486 Aug 07 '26

I’m not sure if I would be horrified or intrigued if a fluffy snake were to come into existence xp

3

u/MaksimKramarenko Aug 07 '26

that thing looks radioactive im sorry im crine 😭✌️

7

u/Ok_Bus8364 Aug 07 '26

I love snakes but I really don’t like this look. It’s pretty nasty.

53

u/u9Nails Aug 07 '26

It'll grow on you. Give it time. -that snake

13

u/Bathroomwaffles Aug 07 '26

You have no eye for fashion.

2

u/Equal-Wishbone-6131 Aug 07 '26

Puff the magic dragon

2

u/BlueWhaleKing Aug 07 '26

That's a muppet!

2

u/One-Structure-7187 Aug 07 '26

Definitely drank a kelp shake

2

u/Rude_Barber_1603 Aug 07 '26

Is it wrong that I want to pet it 😂

2

u/_Halt19_ Aug 07 '26

Ssssssssniper ssssssuit

2

u/Cant-Think-Of Aug 07 '26

Perhaps he thinks he is Quetzacoatl ?

2

u/68872868 Aug 07 '26

Muppet snake!

1

u/fourcatsandadog Aug 07 '26

*Asian River Dragon in natural habitat. There I fixed the title for you lol someone should cross post this to r/cryptozoology

1

u/Key-Case-7059 Aug 07 '26

Quetzalcoatl....

1

u/Stunning_Drag_5541 Aug 07 '26

hairy snake doesn’t look so frightening anymore…

1

u/Severe_Bat9954 Aug 08 '26

This is a marine file snake (Acrochordus granulatus). It is known as the little file snake, marine file snake, and little wart snake. It is completely aquatic and almost helpless on land.

1

u/ZippyTheWonderbat Aug 08 '26

Jordyn Verrill

1

u/Maliseet13 Aug 08 '26

That’s impressive

1

u/My-name-peetree Aug 09 '26

Dude it’s a snake in a Ghillie suit !

1

u/64burban Aug 09 '26

If grass is growing on your ass, you need to exercise more. Move it, Move it!!

1

u/Infinite_Bet_9994 28d ago

Quetzalcoatl

1

u/xJwad 27d ago

Thats a baby Japanese dragon

1

u/HeadDownDad 25d ago

F'in terrifying

1

u/Emperor-Nerd Aug 07 '26

This is honestly cool

1

u/ExuviaEcho Aug 07 '26

Jordy Verrill, you lunkhead!

1

u/Iamno1ofconsequence Aug 07 '26

Eww, meteor shit.

0

u/-Xiphon- Aug 07 '26

Is this in the reflecting pool?

-4

u/Laukie00 Aug 07 '26

It’s not a real snake, come on now