I just caught a cute little sharp-tailed snake

[Ladyhawk]

when I went to check my mail. These are tiny, reddish brown snakes with a thorn-like scale on the end of their tails. They're so small, they're almost impossible to keep in captivity. The escape rate with me has been 100%, so I let the little guy go after inspecting him a bit...saved me the trouble of turning my apartment upside-down in a day or two in hopes of finding a tiny, six-inch-long snake. Not likely.

The scientific name is Contia tenuis and they're known to feed on mostly on slugs.



I've caught several over the years, but this is the first time I noticed a very interesting defensive mechanism. This sharp-tailed snake kept sticking his sharp little tail into my flesh! Poke...poke...poke (hold...poke harder). Note to admins: this is NOT a sex thread. Please do not delete.

So, the sharp-tail uses that little thorn. Very interesting!

[Maddy McCall]

1. You can't keep him in an aquarium with a mesh top?

That's an odd little snake. Never heard of one with a sharp tail.

[Ladyhawk]

4. A tall enough aquarium with a mesh top would probably do the trick.

I've tried those plastic ones with the plastic mesh, but there are areas near the handle that allow a tiny, thin snake to escape. :) At least, that's the best explanation I could come up with. If the aquarium was tall enough, the snake might not even be able to make the climb to check for a way out.

[BikeWriter]

2. Cool little snake. :-)

[giant_robot]

3. Cute!

I'd love to have some of them guarding my tomato plants!

[pansypoo53219]

5. i love snakes.

but i don't want to feed them. sigh. i had a red bellied one for an hour. but grandma said i had to let it go.

this was after my dad 'gave' it to me. probably REALLY disappointed him that instead of screaming, i went to pick it up with excitement.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Cool!

I don't think we have those here on the east coast...

[Ladyhawk]

7. Most of the locals call them "red racers."

They are incredibly cute little tackers. :)