Hi, I live in the Fiji Islands, and we see wild sea snakes a lot. Thought some of you might be interested in some pics. I woudln't think these are kept in captivity, as they need a large area of coral reef to hunt on, but I'm new to these snake sites, so maybe I'm in for a surprise.
This is the White-lipped Banded Sea Krait, Laticauda colubrina - very venomous, but small mouthed, back-fanged and extremely docile. I handle them (with respect) whenever encountered.
Photo 1: Krait up a dead tree on a beach - they live and hunt in the sea, and come ashore mostly at night to digest a meal, shed and lay eggs. They'll also climb up a boat engine to bask in the sun, which really freaks diver out....
Check out the adapted paddle-shaped tail for swimming.
Underwater they hunt by swimming slowly among the corals, sticking their heads into crevices. Studies have shown they eat only eels, which they bite, envenom and then swallow. As they hunt underwater they don't even have a strike relex, and that, plus no natural predators, probably accounts for the docility...
Hope these are of some interest to someone!
Cheers,
Helen