• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

ID Help

J

John217

New member
Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
40
Location
UK
Some years ago I was living abroad in The Philippines, one day I happened to go out into the garden looking up at the trees and heard a hiss, upin looking down I saw a rather large snake slithering away from about 2" beside my bare foot.
It was quite long, approximately 4-5ft, and as far as I can remember it was pretty much all black, with white diamonds down its spine, its tail ended with a red rattle.
Now I assume this was some sort of rattlesnake but I haven't been able to find anything so far that looks like it..

Any ideas?
 
I'm afraid you are mistaken, and unless you've lived there and noted every native species to the country then I would ask you to refrain from telling me that I "didnt see" something.

On the other hand if you have any actual helpful information, IE: any ideas what 'the snake described' IS. Then by all means.
 
You are on the wrong side of the planet for Rattlesnakes, unless the Philippines moved to North, Central, or South America. Last time I checked, it was off the coast of Malaysia.
 
Dear sir,
Surprising as you may find it.. I do not care whether or not you think that species of snake actually live in the philippines, as the philippines has over 297 recorded species of snake, and I would estimate at least 100 more unrecorded.
I was asking for the name of any snake or snakes that match the above description. That is all.

Thankyou.
 
I am not saying that I don't "think" that rattlesnakes are native to the Philippines, I am stating a fact. You have the same likelihood of finding a Rattlesnake, Krait, Cobra, or Mamba population living in the U.K. It is simple geography, not an opinion. I doubt that one obscure species of rattlesnake transversed an ocean, established a population in the Philippines, developed a "red" rattle, and has gone unnoticed thus far except by you. There are no shortage of books and papers on Rattlesnakes, if you don't believe me, try reading. RATTLESNAKES ARE NOT NATIVE TO THE PHILIPPINES.
 
Dear B.W.
You are extremely annoying. As I have already stated, I do not care whether or not you think rattlesnakes live in the philippines. I know what I saw, and your opinion on the subject is of no interest to me.
My question was for IDENTIFICATION of the described snake. If you cannot answer this question (as I'm assuming you can't) then kindly see yourself out.
 
It is possible that a rattlesnake can make it's way to the Philippines, in cargo transportation or through a person. Though does a black rattlesnake with diamonds and a red rattle exist? As far as I am aware in my little knowledge of rattlesnakes, I have never read or heard of one. Oh, BW does know a thing or two about rattlesnakes. It is also hard to identify a particular snake that is not common in an region that they do not belong in.
 
John217 said:
Dear B.W.
You are extremely annoying. As I have already stated, I do not care whether or not you think rattlesnakes live in the philippines. I know what I saw, and your opinion on the subject is of no interest to me.
My question was for IDENTIFICATION of the described snake. If you cannot answer this question (as I'm assuming you can't) then kindly see yourself out.
Click to expand...
Why the rudeness? BW is only stating fact. Rattlesnakes are New World snakes, and there are no known exceptions. There's a snake called a red-tailed pipe snake that is native to the Philippines, but it doesn't really match your description.
 
and some poeple "simply" don't know how to read. If I had wanted your opinion on where this snake may or may not live, then I would have asked for it. As it stands... I couldnt care less - so get over it? Seriously. Stop lingering. Its getting old.
I asked for ID not location.

Anyway.

Definitely not a red tailed pipe snake, and I am 100% sure it had a red rattle. Its pretty hard to mistake them for something else.
 
[Edit] Some thing THE SHAPE of a red rattle, whether or not it had a rattle in it, I'm not sure.
 
John217 said:
, and I am 100% sure it had a red rattle. Its pretty hard to mistake them for something else.
Click to expand...

John217 said:
Some thing THE SHAPE of a red rattle, whether or not it had a rattle in it, I'm not sure
Click to expand...

Must of googled "rattlesnake" in that 3 minute time span and discovered that I have not stated any opinions, only facts.

So just to be clear, now the end of the snake's tail was red and textured similar to a rattle?

Here is every reptile native to the Philippines, knock yourself out.
http://arcbc.org/cgi-bin/abiss.exe/ld?ld=ctry/reptilelist.htm&iso3=PHL
 
Along with that...

I have an extensive Herpetological Library with 24 books specific to Rattlesnakes alone and 6 books that cover the Philippines and I cannot find a snake that fits your description. The odds of it being a Rattlesnake are very slim not to mention the description does not match any known Rattlesnake. Maybe the snake had a tail injury or something to give the appearance of a rattle? Pics would be nice or a sighting from another person.
 
Pictures would be relatively impossible seeing as I'm now back in the UK and I only saw this snake on one occasion.

B.W. If you had read and quoted my post in context then you would have perhaps understood that my edit was stating "I am 100% sure that it HAD something THE SHAPE of a red rattle, whether or not it had a rattle in it, I'm not sure"
 
Back
Top