Mexican Vine Snake

Fascinating facts about the Mexican Vine Snake

• Oxybelis aeneus is found from southern Mexico through northern South America and on Trinidad and Tobago.
• Its body is armored with smooth dorsal scales arranged in exactly 17 rows at mid-body, while the belly carries between 173 and 205 ventral scales and the tail bears 150 to 188 paired subcaudal scales, numbers that help herpetologists tell it apart from look-alike snakes.
• When threatened, it sometimes releases foul-smelling secretions from its vent.
• Feeding primarily on lizards, especially anoles, but also on frogs, tiny rodents and birds, its diet shows a versatile predatory skill set, allowing it to thrive in the canopy where these prey are abundant.
• Females lay clutches of 3–6 eggs, and in Arizona hatching occurs in September.

At a glance

About the Mexican Vine Snake

The Mexican vine snake, Oxybelis aeneus, has smooth dorsal scales arranged in 17 rows at mid-body, eight to ten upper labials and lacks a loreal scale, adaptations for an arboreal lifestyle. In Arizona it is called “pike-headed tree snake,” while in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana it is known as a “horse whip” or “vine snake.” It is diurnal and mostly arboreal, feeding mainly on lizards (especially anoles) and also eating frogs, small rodents and birds. It is mildly venomous with rear fangs, but its venom is not considered dangerous to humans; when threatened it can release a foul-smelling secretion from its vent. Reproduction is oviparous, with clutches of three to six eggs, and in Arizona hatchlings emerge in September.

More reptiles to discover

Browse Feravox