The "deadly" beauty of Vietnam's rainbow-colored snake
Despite its small size and alluring colors, this is a dangerous snake with fairly potent venom.
The red-necked keelback (Rhabdophis subminiatus), known in Vietnamese as rắn hoa cỏ nhỏ, is one of the most brilliantly colored snakes found in Vietnam.
It has a light brown, gray or olive head, a neck marked with black, yellow and red, an olive-green back and a gray belly.
The species is widespread from northern to southern Vietnam, living in damp lowlands and hilly terrain.
It is a small snake, growing no longer than 1.3 m.
The red-necked keelback's favorite prey are amphibians and other small forest animals.
It is a venomous snake whose behavior can be hard to predict.
Normally fairly docile, it will often tolerate being handled, but it can also suddenly turn aggressive and strike at an intruder.
People bitten by this snake can suffer serious symptoms, although bites are usually not fatal.
Despite the danger, the red-necked keelback is still hunted for the pet trade because of its beauty. Catching or trading wild snakes without a permit is prohibited in Vietnam, and hunting, trading or consuming protected species is illegal.
According to assessments, the species remains fairly abundant in the wild in Vietnam.
Remarkable photos of colonial-era Vietnam
Fascinating images of colonial-era Vietnam from J. P. Dannaud’s 1962 book “L’Indochine Profonde” (Deep Indochina).
Rare photos of old Hanoi through the lens of a French photographer
Rare photos of Hanoi in 1890–1895 from an album by Raphaël Moreau, a French photographer based in colonial-era Hanoi.
The oldest known photographs of Hải Phòng
Photos of Hải Phòng from 1888, printed in an old French book, are believed to be the oldest known images of the northern Vietnamese port city.
