House Snakes are mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa, though some authorities give a listing for Arabia as well. These are small to medium-sized snakes, usually one metre or less in length (about 3ft). Most are terrestrial, though some live in termite mounds and others forage in rock crevices.
The genus is distinguished among other things by smooth scales, an undivided anal plate and paired subcaudals.
In captive collections, the House Snakes are currently represented almost entirely by the Brown House Snake Lamprophis fuliginosus. This snake is easy to maintain, does well and reproduces quite readily.
| QUICK INDEX | ||
| L. abyssinicus, Ethiopian House Snake | L. arabicus, Arabian House Snake | L. aurora, Aurora House Snake |
| L. erlangeri, House Snake | L. fiskii, Fisk's House Snake | L. fuliginosus, Brown House Snake |
| L. fuscus, Yellow-Bellied House Snake | L. geometricus, Seychelles House Snake | L. guttatus, Spotted House Snake |
| L. inornatus, Olive House Snake | L. lineatus, Striped House Snake | L. maculatus, Dotted House Snake |
| L. olivaceous, Olive House Snake | L. swazicus, Swazi Rock Snake | L. virgatus, Hallowell's House Snake |
| Species | Common Name | Origin | Adult size | Notes |
| Lamprophis | ||||
| L. abyssinicus | Ethiopian House Snake | Ethiopia | ?'
|
??. See EMBL species listing for some of the discussion on the validity of some of the subspecies. |
| L. arabicus | Arabian House Snake | Not listed by EMBL database. | ||
| L. aurora | Aurora House Snake | Republic of South Africa, Swaziland | Max SVL 45cm (m), 64cm (f) | Uncommon and secretive terrestrial species. Scalation details: 21-23 scale rows at middbody; 35-58 subcaudals. Other: short and stocky body. Coloration: dorsally a shade of green from olive to lemon; orange-yellow vertebral stripe; ventrally white; ventrolaterally usually yellow. Reproduction: 8-12 eggs laid in summer, incubation time 72-78 days. [SOURCE: Branch] |
| L. erlangeri | House Snake | Ethiopia | ??. | |
| L. fiskii | Fisk's House Snake | Republic of South Africa (W Cape) | Max SVL 31cm (m), 32cm (f) | |
| L. fuliginosus | Brown House Snake | Virtually all sub-Saharan Africa: SW Morocco | Avg TL 60-120cm: max TL 150cm | A common snake in much of the continent and regarded as beneficial by many humans, particularly farmers, because of its propensity to eat rodents around human dwelling places. This species also makes a hardy and reasonably reproductive captive. Apart from rodents it hunts birds and, especially in arid regions, lizards. Juveniles also favour lizards. Bats, small snakes and frogs have also been recorded in its diet. Schmidt and Noble noted that it had been found in the Congo area in both forest and open country but was more abundant in the latter. Scalation: rostral broader than deep; internasa1s shorter than prefrontal; 1 (sometimes 2) preocular, 2 postoculars, 1-2 temporals, 8-9 (sometimes 10) supralabials, 9 sublabials. Compared to L. lineatus it has shorter parietals and no head markings.Dorsal scalation: smoth and glossy with apical pit, in 27-33 rows at midbody. Ventral scalation: 192-246. Subcaudals: paired, 42-75. Other: anal single. Coloration: although Schmidt and Noble described the species as uniform in coloration, it now seems that there are several color phases. KKS describe the overall coloration as light brown, reddish brown, greyish brown, olive brown or light orange, the last being found in arid regions. 2 whitish or yellowish white lines on each side of the head, or 1 or both may be absent. Ventrally whitish or pearl coloured. Reproduction: in South Africa, 16 eggs laid in summer, taking 60-90 days to incubate [Branch]. |
| L. f. fuliginosus | ||||
| L. f. mentalis | SW Africa | Distinguished by thin body, large eyes and pale coloration [Branch] | ||
| L. fuscus | Yellow-Bellied House Snake | Republic of South Africa (Cape, Natal, Transvaal), S Mozambique | ?' | ??. |
| L. geometricus | Seychelles House Snake | Seychelles | 3½-4½' | ?? |
| L. guttatus | Spotted House Snake | Republic of South Africa (Cape, E Transvaal), Swaziland, Namibia | ??. | |
| L. inornatus | Olive House Snake | Republic of South Africa (W Cape, Natal, Transvaal), Swaziland, Namibia | Max SVL 63cm (m), 97cm (f) | Scalation details: 21-25 scale rows at middbody. Other: small eyes. Coloration: dorsally olive green, sometimes almost dark brown; ventrally light grey-green. Reproduction: 5-15 eggs laid in October-December, incubation time 70-90 days. [SOURCE: Branch] |
| L. lineatus | Striped House Snake | W Africa (Mali, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal) | Up to 80" (max. 100") | Sometimes considered synonymous with L. fuliginosus. Scalation: 1 preocular, 2 postoculars, 1-2 (occasionally 1-3) temporals, 8 supralabials, 9 sublabials. Dorsal scales: 23-27-19. Ventrals: 202 (males), 220-222 (females), subcaudals 67 (males) or 52-53 (females). Coloration: dorsally greyish-brown, with two sharply defined white lines on each side of the head. Ventrally light grey. Reproduction: ? |
| L. maculatus | Dotted House Snake | Somalia | ?? | |
| L. olivaceus | Olive House Snake | W & E Africa (Uganda, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, Central African Republic) | 48-66": max. 83" | ??. |
| L. swazicus | Swazi Rock Snake | Republic of South Africa, Swaziland | 48-66": max. 83" | ??. |
| L. virgatus | Hallowell's House Snake | W Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Gabon, W Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Gambia) | 48-64": max. 76" | ??. |
"The Brown House Snake Lamprophis fuliginosus", Emanuele Cimatti, Reptilia 34 (June 2004).
Includes details for L. fuliginosus.
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