Ahaetulla prasina Oriental Whip Snake
Also known as:
Oriental Vine Snake, Asian Vine Snake, Boie’s Whip Snake, Gunther’s Whip Snake, Jade Vine Snake, Green Vine Snake
Subspecies I've seen:
A. p. prasina
Oriental Whip Snake
Ahaetulla prasina prasina Oriental Whip Snake
Kubah National Park, Sarawak, MalaysiaJanuary 27, 2017
Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina prasina)
This beautiful Oriental Whip Snake made itself known by plopping onto the ground directly in front of me as I attempted to photograph some tiny frogs. I'm guessing I must have brushed against the vegetation to which it had been clinging, causing it to release its grip in an attempt to escape a potentially fearsome predator. Why hello, beautiful little snake! Since it is a famously arboreal species, I put it back onto a branch before photography commenced, whereupon it chose this attractive pose.

My Travelogues and Trip Lists page includes a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on this trip to Malaysia, as well as a travelogue of the trip.

Santubong Peninsula, Sarawak, MalaysiaJanuary 28, 2017
Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina prasina)
The next night, I found this second one in the more traditional way: walking slowly through the forest and scanning the vegetation with my flashlight.
Santubong Peninsula, Sarawak, MalaysiaJanuary 29, 2017
Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina prasina) Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina prasina) Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina prasina)
And the night after that I found three more, though only two are pictured here. The first was large and bright green and awake, showing off the upper-body strength of this species (first and second photos above). The second was smaller and yellow/gold and sound asleep. The third one was way up high, too far for a photo. I could probably have deployed a long stick to encourage it to come down and join me for a modeling session, but I felt no need to disturb its beauty rest.
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