This tiny 18-inch-long Trinket snake (Coelognathus helena helena) was spotted three doors down from our place one evening. The team (Saranya, John Rommel and myself) were called into action by another neighbor, as the family that saw the snake promptly locked themselves in for safety! We grabbed our snake stick and a pillow cover and found the offender trying to climb the steps to the terrace. With a little gentle manipulation we got him on to the stick and then into the pillow cover.
Notice the threat display, s/he has a vertically flattened neck to appear truly dangerous, but though they do bite quite easily, these beauties are completely harmless, nonvenomous, and they will get used to handling after a short while. When really worked up, they will flatten the entire front third and fold up like an accordion. Now that, with a snake that can get to be 4 feet long can look truly terrifying!
The forest department declined to come over (that's the proper procedure) so we dropped our visitor off at the back end of a burial ground not too far away that's on the edge of a forested area with lots of thornbush scrub around. The happy snake swiftly slipped away to explore.
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