The striped sand snake

The striped sand snake is alternatively called the yellow bellied or striped-bellied sand snake. This is a slender, fast moving, and (if you are alert) common snake. It is not often seen in its full glory, because it is very alert and will tend to flee long before it has to face any peril. If cornered this snake will tend to bite readily and rapidly and one managed to bite me no less than fifteen times before I could secure its biting parts - drawing blood each time with its razor sharp teeth.
Not a nice snake you say ? Well, I beg to differ as time helped me find some peculiarities in this snake which I found very endearing.
In a grand push to restock the local snake park in anticipation of some school visits along with the annual Wildlife Camp, we managed to find seven lovely specimens which we put into one very large display tank. We saw these school trips as an opportunity to wow groups of children with the park and engender support for conservation rather than destruction. The snake park was operated on a catch and release basis whereby we only kept a couple of each specimen and released it as soon as a new catch had been made to replace it. However when we had large groups booked to come through we relied on volume so that there was no need to keep disturbing a single specimen and thus inviting unwarranted stress.
Anyway, we would start preparing a couple of weeks in advance and as these sand snakes were among those captured in the first three days it gave us opportunity to watch and study them.
Sand snakes have keen eyesight and are extremely inquisitive. Each morning we would get to the park early and they would be the only ones showing any interest - seven little heads alertly watching your every move and in unison too. This would be the same throughout the day when visitors passed through.
The single thing that endeared me to this species of snake was the way it preened itself. For a couple of hours each day the snakes would run there noses along their scales. A bit at a time and from one side to the other, slowly working their way down their bodies. At first I though that this may have been a mating ritual however I have had occasion to see this in others that have been in a cage on their own. I have not seen this intense preening in any other species of snake in Zimbabwe but have read that there are other snakes that do preen themselves. For its inquisitiveness, energy and cleanliness I rate this snake highly.

Here is a short video of a striped or yellow belly sand snake :-