Latest update December 13th, 2024 1:00 AM
The Green Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus)
The Green Vine Snake, Oxybelis fulgidus, is a long, slender arboreal Colubrid snake that inhabits Central America and northern South America. This snake is slender, about two centimetres thick, and may have a length of about 1.5 to two meters. The tail is long and very delicate, but mostly used to hold on while reaching for prey.
The head is aerodynamically-shaped and very pointy; the mouth is very big and extends almost through the whole head. The tongue is long and green, when in use it is kept outside and moved up and down. 
This reptile is diurnal and mildly venomous and normally feeds on frogs and lizards using its binocular vision to hunt. The diet of snake also consists of birds. In fact some of them specialize in small hummingbirds, positioning themselves near flowers where the birds feed and striking from close distance.
They are slow moving, relying on camouflaging as a vine in foliage. The coloration and size of Green Vine Snakes make them perfectly adapted for life in the trees. Their green coloration blends in well with vegetation, and their slender size can give them the illusion of being vines.
The green vine snake stays high on trees and looks down to the ground. When a mouse, lizard or nest is found, the snake follows the prey a short distance and smells it carefully. If the snake is content with it, it bites into the head and lifts the prey 20–40 cm from the ground. With this the snakes prevents the prey from using its physical strength.
The vine snake has two larger teeth at the back of its mouth; these teeth permit the toxic saliva to penetrate the wounds and to immobilize the prey. Then it is rapidly swallowed. Once the prey is completely in the snake’s body, the vine snake searches for a resting place, usually in the highest point of a tree, to digest its meal.
The snake can expand its body when disturbed to show a black and white scale marking. Also, it may open its mouth in threat display and point its head in the direction of the perceived threat. There is a widespread myth in parts of southern India that the species uses its pointed head to blind its human victims. It has been established that the venom of this snake is mild and may cause some swelling. However, symptoms will usually subside within three days.
This snake species is viviparous, giving birth to young that grow within the body of the mother, enclosed within the egg membrane. They may be capable of delayed fertilization (parthenogenesis is rare but not unknown in snakes) as a female in the London zoo kept in isolation from August, 1885, gave birth in August, 1888.
In captivity vine snakes must be kept in large terrariums with a height of at least two meters and a surface of 6-16 square meters. The behaviour towards humans is neutral and the snake usually goes to the other end of the terrarium. Some adapt very well and even come closer. These are almost entirely lizard eaters. It is possible but difficult to train them to eat mice.
Because of its distinctive appearance and wide range throughout South and Central America, the Green Vine Snake is a very well-known representative of rainforest reptiles. (Source: Wikipedia – The Free Online Encyclopaedia)
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