Arrow-Snake - Zhebe-Yilan

Arrow Snake.

A very elegant, slender, and long snake, up to 50 cm in length. The narrow head is poorly defined from the neck; its length is more than twice its width. The pupil is round. The upper surface of the snout is slightly concave, and its lateral edges are noticeably pointed. The upper part of the body is olive-gray, sandy-gray, or brownish-gray. Along the entire body, there are 4 stripes starting from the shields of the head, dark with black edges, often absent or preserved only as narrow dark, sometimes dotted, stripes. The belly is white, either uniform or with grayish, brownish, or olive-gray spots. It differs from other snakes by its long and slender body.

It is widespread in the valleys and ascends to the mountains up to 1700 m. It lives practically everywhere but prefers wormwood steppes and forest plantations. Its shelters include burrows of rodents, spaces under stones, and dense undergrowth of shrubs. It is active from March to November.

This is an oviparous snake. Mating occurs in May-June. The female lays 3-11 elongated eggs measuring 30-55 mm in length and 7.5-15 mm in width at the end of June or in July. Young snakes measuring 25-330 mm in body length appear at the end of July or in August.

An extremely agile snake, it moves quickly on the ground and in shrub thickets, often climbing onto branches to ambush prey. The Arrow Snake has venomous teeth, but they are very small and located deep in the oral cavity, posing no danger to humans or large animals. It feeds on various large insects and lizards. The Arrow Snake first bites its prey and then constricts it with its body. Lizards die from the bite within seconds due to the action of the venom.

Distribution: throughout the plains of Kyrgyzstan.

Red Book