Golden tree snake (Chrysopelea ornata)

🐍 Golden Tree Snake (Chrysopelea ornata) – Overview

The Golden Tree Snake, also known as the Ornate Flying Snake, is a striking and agile arboreal colubrid found in South and Southeast Asia, including Thailand, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It’s renowned for its ability to glide between trees, making it one of the few truly “flying” snakes in the world.

🔍 Identification

Chrysopelea ornata is highly variable in color across its range. It’s often mistaken for more dangerous species due to its vibrant coloration, but it is non-venomous to humans.

🌳 Habitat

• Prefers:
  • Forests (evergreen, deciduous, and secondary)
  • Plantations
  • Gardens
  • Urban areas with tree cover
• Strongly arboreal, but will come to the ground when hunting or basking.

🐍 Behavior & Gliding

• Capable of gliding: Flattens its body, launches from a branch, and uses undulating movements to control descent and direction.
• Can travel 10–20 meters or more through the air, steering with precision.
• Mostly diurnal and very active during the day.

🐭 Diet

• Carnivorous:
  • Geckos
  • Tree frogs
  • Rodents
  • Small birds
  • Bats
  • Sometimes other snakes

Excellent climber and hunter, especially skilled at navigating branches and narrow surfaces.

💡 Reproduction

• Oviparous (egg-laying)
• Lays 6–12 eggs per clutch, often in tree hollows or leaf litter
• Hatchlings emerge with adult-like coloration and are fully independent

🧠 Interesting Facts

• One of the few snakes known to glide, along with Chrysopelea paradisi (Paradise flying snake).
• The gliding ability is an evolutionary adaptation for escaping predators and moving efficiently between trees.
• Harmless to humans, but may mimic venomous snakes in behavior (e.g., neck flattening) when threatened.

🌏 Distribution

• Found in:
  • India
  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand
  • Myanmar
  • Malaysia
  • Indonesia
  • Southern China