Common Brown Water Snake

Fascinating facts about the Common Brown Water Snake

• This snake holds the title of the most common water snake across southern Africa.
• From Cape Town to Lesotho and Zimbabwe, its habitat stretches along water margins, where it hides beneath leaves and logs.
• When darkness falls, it swaps its daytime camouflage for a night-time hunt, feeding primarily on frogs and occasionally snatching up small rodents.
• At the end of summer a female can deposit up to 10 eggs, each tucked safely in the moist soil before the first autumn rains arrive.

At a glance

About the Common Brown Water Snake

The common brown water snake, Lycodonomorphus rufulus, is a non-venomous snake that is the most common water snake in southern Africa. It is found from Cape Town, along the wet east coast of South Africa and inland to Gauteng, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is water margins, where it shelters under leaves and logs. It emerges at night to hunt frogs and sometimes rodents. Females lay up to ten eggs at the end of summer.

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