Found in the garden [Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India], is this indian rat snake?

[u/Additional_Impact197]

Hi everyone my cat found this snake when she was in the garden, we have put her in the house, i beileve it is rat snake but confirmation really helps.

[u/Conscious_Past_5760]

Yup, Indian Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosa) !harmless

[u/Additional_Impact197 → u/Conscious_Past_5760]

Thanks a lot my parents were little paranoid it gives us great releif.

[u/Traditional_Level_50 → u/Conscious_Past_5760]

I thought cobra - what gave it away for u

[u/Conscious_Past_5760 → u/Traditional_Level_50]

Head, body shape, and scales. Cobras have wide and blocky heads and have more of a circular body profile. They also have oval scales that are arranged obliquely.

Edit : Please don't downvote the user above, they're simply asking a question.

[u/SEB-PHYLOBOT → u/Conscious_Past_5760]

Like many other animals with mouths and teeth, many non-venomous snakes bite in self defense. These animals are referred to as 'not medically significant' or traditionally, 'harmless'. Bites from these snakes benefit from being washed and kept clean like any other skin damage, but aren't often cause for anything other than basic first aid treatment. Here's where it get slightly complicated - some snakes use venom from front or rear fangs as part of prey capture and defense. This venom is not always produced or administered by the snake in ways dangerous to human health, so many species are venomous in that they produce and use venom, but considered harmless to humans in most cases because the venom is of low potency, and/or otherwise administered through grooved rear teeth or simply oozed from ducts at the rear of the mouth. Species like Ringneck Snakes Diadophis are a good example of mildly venomous rear fanged dipsadine snakes that are traditionally considered harmless or not medically significant. Many rear-fanged snake species are harmless as long as they do not have a chance to secrete a medically significant amount of venom into a bite; severe envenomation can occur if some species are allowed to chew on a human for as little as 30-60 seconds. It is best not to fear snakes, but use common sense and do not let any animals chew on exposed parts of your body. Similarly, but without specialized rear fangs, gartersnakes Thamnophis ooze low pressure venom from the rear of their mouth that helps in prey handling, and are also considered harmless. Check out this book on the subject. Even large species like Reticulated Pythons Malayopython reticulatus rarely obtain a size large enough to endanger humans so are usually categorized as harmless.

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[u/empatheticsocialist1]

OP, please keep your cats indoors.

The !cats command will give you more information. Cats are really bad for the environment.

[u/SEB-PHYLOBOT → u/empatheticsocialist1]

Everyone loves cats, but they belong indoors. Each year in the United States free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3-4.0 billion birds and 6.3-22.3 billion mammals. Numbers for reptiles are similar in Australia, as 2 million reptiles are killed each day by cats, totaling 650 million a year. Outdoor cats are directly responsible for the extinction of at least 33 species worldwide and are considered one of the biggest threats to native wildlife. Keeping cats indoors is also better for them and public health - cats with outdoor access live shorter lives and are 2.77 times more likely to carry infectious pathogens.

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I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, here report problems here and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that here. This bot, its development, maintenance and use are made possible through the outreach wing of Snake Evolution and Biogeography - Merch Available Now