Wildlifeof China
Square-headed Cat Snake
Colubrid Snakes
Photo: Evan Pickett · CC BY-SA 4.0
Boiga kraepelini
Basic stats
Diet
Small birds, lizards and sometimes bird eggs
Habitat
Nocturnal, largely arboreal; Taiwan to 1,000 m
Range
Taiwan, eastern, central and southern China, Laos and northern Vietnam
Size
Up to 160 cm
The square-headed cat snake (Boiga kraepelini), also called the Kelung cat snake or Taiwanese tree snake, is a mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake of Taiwan, Laos, northern Vietnam and large parts of eastern, central and southern China, including Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang. (The Reptile Database; Wikipedia, general species account)
It is long and thin, growing to about 160 cm, and is amber or brown to copper brown with irregular crossbands along the back. It is nocturnal and largely arboreal, though it may descend to cross roads. It preys on small birds and lizards and sometimes bird eggs, and females lay 5–14 eggs per clutch in summer. (Wikipedia, general species account)
Quick answers
- What does the Square-headed Cat Snake eat?
- Small birds, lizards and sometimes bird eggs
- What habitat does the Square-headed Cat Snake live in?
- Nocturnal, largely arboreal; Taiwan to 1,000 m
- Where is the Square-headed Cat Snake found?
- Taiwan, eastern, central and southern China, Laos and northern Vietnam
- How big is the Square-headed Cat Snake?
- Up to 160 cm