IDENTIFICATION  

This is robust and large snake (up to 165 cm long). Its head is very distinguished from the body and ends in a sharp nose. It has round pupils and brown-coloured eyes. It has a short tail ending in the shape of a tip. Its scales are smooth and shiny. There is a brownish or greyish pattern with thin black longitudinal dorsal lines along the body. On young snakes and in some adults, the dorsal lines are usually connected with large horizontal bars, like ladder rungs: a pattern that gives the species its name. The belly usually has a uniform tone: whitish, greyish or yellowish.  It is an aglyphous type. That means its lacks specialized teeth to inoculate venom. Thus, it is not dangerous to humans.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE (HABITAT)? 

It is a Mediterranean species, which prefers forests and bushy areas, and also pastures with no intensive farming, as well as vegetation zones in which to shelter. It is a common species in boundaries, cairns and places with a large concentration of rodents or rabbits.

HOW DOES IT LIVE?

It is a snake with not only daytime habits, but also with twilight and nocturnal ones. It can be active even during wet or rainy days. It actively looks for prey (it does not hunt by lurking) in open lands or dens and hollows. It typically only eats birds and small mammals, with a clear preference for mammals. Young snakes catch shrews and mice whereas adults can capture rabbits and leverets. It can be aggressive when provoked by attempting to bite, however, its bite is not dangerous.

HOW DOES IT REPRODUCE?

The mating season starts in early spring (March) and lasts to early summer (June). There can be cases of communal matings. About 20 to 45 days after mating, the female lays about 4 to 14 eggs in a warm and a slightly humid place: under rocks, ruins, vegetable matter or abandoned burrows.  Two months later, between mid-August and September, the offsprings are born. The young snakes are usually robust and measure between 22 to 30 cm.

WHERE CAN WE SEE IT IN MÁLAGA AND ON THE STAGES OF THE GREAT PATH (GRAN SENDA)?

It is a common species; one of the most prevalent living in the province of Málaga. It can be observed in almost all the provincial territories, from sea level to 1800 meters high. It is present in almost all stages of the Great Path (Gran Senda).

LEVEL OF PROTECTION - THREAT (INVENTORY)

The ladder snake is part of the List of Wildlife Species under a Special Protection. It is a very common snake, but it suffers a great mortality from being run over or from direct persecution by human. Its main handicap is that it is not an especially fast ophidian.

CURIOUS FACTS  

It is believed that the ladder snake loses its rungs with age. But this criteria for determining the age of the ladder snake (presence or absence of transversal lines on its back) is not entirely correct. It is common for adult specimens (especially females) to lose the intensity of the colour of the rungs as they get older and grow to a larger size, with only the two longitudinal lines remaining. But some specimens do not lose them or fade only slightly in adulthood. Thus, we can still find adult specimens and snakes longer than one meter who still exhibit the typical pattern that gives the species its name. 

SIMILAR SPECIES (IT CAN BE MISTAKEN WITH...) 

It is an unmistakable species because of the pattern of its dorsal lines. There may be southern smooth snake specimens that have transverse bars, especially in the lower half of the body. However, the bars of the southern smooth snakes are oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the animal and are not linked by the longitudinal lines that appear on the ladder snake. In addition, the southern smooth snake’s lines do lose intensity and their colour fades as it moves towards the back of the body, disappearing completely. The smooth snake is also actually smaller and weaker than the ladder snake.