Reproduction

How does the tiger keelback produce its young?

Breeding takes place from June to August.

A female will lay between two and forty eggs. One record clutch had a total of 46 eggs. They hatch after 30-45 days.

Behavior

What does the tiger keelback do with its day?

These animals are active during the day.

Credit: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Predators and Threats

What is impacting the survival of the tiger keelback?

Juvenile tiger keelbacks come with toxins pre-loaded from their parents. It is passed through the egg yolk from their mother.

They are one of the few known species which are both venomous and poisonous. Their venom is delivered through fangs at the rear of the mouth. The poison is stored in glands on the neck and absorbed from the toads which they feed on.

In areas where they do not have toads to consume they may not be as poisonous. These individuals are more likely to flee if threatened by a predator. This is one of the few examples of a species being able to recognize how toxic it is.

When humans are bitten it prevents coagulation of the blood causing excessive bleeding. This can be stopped through the use of an antivenom. As with all snake bites you should seek medical treatment.

This species is considered common and their population is recognized as being stable.

Some threats are faced by the species including collection for the pet trade and poaching for the traditional medicine trade. They are also used to produce snake liquor.

They are also affected by becoming road kill.

Quick facts

They may also be known as the black-banded keelback, Japanese water snake or the Yamakagashi.

This species was first described for western science in 1826.

Some authorities recognize a subspecies from Taiwan which is referenced as Rhabdophis tigrinus formosanus.

The tigrinus portion of their scientific name is taken from the Latin for 'tiger like.'