Malaysia Red Mountain Racer

Red Mountain Racer
Elaphe porphyracea laticincta
Size : up to 1.2 m

The red mountain racer juvenile has bright yellow bands which will eventually fade to orange and finally red as seen in the adult pictured above.

Snakes ~ Rat Snakes ~ Red Mountain Racer

The red mountain racer or rat snake is a beautiful rat snake found most often above 1000 m in upper-level to montane rainforest. A crepuscular species, the red mountain racer is marked by bold red colouration with bands bordered by a black edge on each side. The ventrals and lower jaw including the throat are white. Juveniles are even more attractive; their head and bands on the body are yellow but this will eventually fade into the red colouration of adults.

This species is very well-known from the Cameron Highlands in Peninsular Malaysia, but it has been recorded once from Fraser's Hill. This rat snake species enjoys very high humidity in its montane habitat and feed almost exclusively on small mammals such as rodents in the wild as adults. As juveniles, they have been observed feeding on insects. They are quite aggressive and bite unhesitantly when threatened. Males are larger than females, which lay between 4-9 eggs in a single clutch that hatch between 2-4 months depending on the ambient temperature and climate.