Zac the beloved shouted, come and have a look at this.
Be sure to also watch the short video in here.
This little one was slithering around on our bedroom floor. Occasionally we get some centipedes indoors, but a closer look told me that this one had no legs. And so, it was a snake. Not any snake, mind you, as you will believe that this snake is an adult.
This is a Black Thread Snake (Leptotyphlops nigricans).
Tiny, with a very short tail. Body cylindrical, with smooth, glossy scales, black to purplish black in color. Overlapping area of scales can appear silvery-grey. Silver-grey patterning more prominent in drier environments. Shorter, and not as elongate as Slender Thread Snake. Resembles the alien Flowerpot Snake, which is not recorded in natural habitats. Length 20cm. Venom None. Status and habitat Fossorial, found in variety of habitats. Endemism South Africa.
Source: Book. Field Guide to Fynbos Fauna. ISBN: 978-1-77584-739-7
It was near my cupboard doors, and we later discovered how it got into the bedroom.
It was a first for us to see something like this.
To catch it was not easy, as it was a hothead, and angrily searched for an escape. Not easy to make a video of it with one hand, as I was guiding it onto a piece of newspaper with my other hand, in order to lift it up.
We managed to place it in one of our rescue buckets.
Finally, we released it outside in our garden.
So how did I know how it got into our bedroom? The only way it could have done that was from the inside of my cupboard, as that's where I keep my camera bag. Earlier in the day we were at a pond, and I put the camera bag down on the grass. So that's where this little one crept into the bag to catch a lift home. It is the only way that it could have gotten into our bedroom.
It's a good thing that these snakes catch ants and termites, as we have many little black ants here and it will think that it is Christmas in its new jungle. Apparently, they are all females, and they don't need a mate to have offspring, as the females produce their offspring by themselves.
Nature certainly has many fascinating residents, and it is always a great pleasure to get something new.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos and video by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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