Gonyosoma oxycephalum
Gonyosoma oxycephalum, known commonly as the arboreal ratsnake, the red-tailed green rat snake, and the red-tailed racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.
It was first described by Friedrich Boie in 1827.
Distribution
G. oxycephalumm is found in- Indonesia,
- Malaysia,
- Singapore Island, Penang Island,
- India,
- Myanmar,
- Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam,
- Philippine Islands.
Description
G. oxycephalum is a robust powerful snake, with wide smooth scales on its belly that are ideal for climbing trees and across branches. It has smaller, smooth scales on its back, which is usually bright green or light green and may have a black net-like pattern. A gray-colored morph with a yellow head exists in Panay, in the Philippines.As some of its common names indicate, the snake has a green body with a red tail, but is usually brown. It also has a dark line horizontally across the eye. On the sides of its black tongue there may be brown and blue colour. The top of the head may be dark green, yellow-green, or yellow in colour.
The female can reach a length of up to 2.4 m, while the male is generally a little bit smaller but brighter in coloration.
Behavior
The red-tailed green ratsnake lives and spends its life in the trees and in cavities of trees. It seldom descends to the ground. When the snake is stressed, it may inflate a bag of air in its neck, making it appear larger in size.In captivity, it has quite the "attitude" and may strike at or bite an unwary handler. Its temperament can be unpredictable and may change from time to time but an individual may become tame through proper handling.