The 3 Types of Snakes Found on Grenada! (2023)
Below you will learn about the types of snakes found in Grenada.
Because of the geographic isolation of the islands, there are not as many snake species as you might expect here.
3 SNAKES that live in Grenada:
#1. Grenada Bank Boa
- Corallus grenadensis
Also known as the Grenada Tree Boa or the Grenada Bank Tree Boa.
Found on Grenada and St. Vincent.
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults may grow 5.3 feet long from snout to vent and have a narrow head and slender body.
- Coloration varies widely depending on location and may be brown, taupe, gray, yellowish, or orange.
- They typically have darker rhomboid or mushroom-shaped patches with rounded or well-defined edges, though, in some areas, they are patternless or near patternless.
The Grenada Bank Boa has been found in Grenada from sea level to 1,723 feet of elevation. They occupy various habitats, including forests, rainforests, mangroves, and vine and thorny shrubbery. They also use non-native tree plantations like mango and nutmeg, which are found in forest edges and patches near heavily disturbed human habitats and agricultural areas.
Grenada Bank Boas are nocturnal and do almost all their hunting before midnight. They aren’t typically active during heavy rainfall. They feed primarily on lizards but also prey on iguanas, mice, rats, and small birds. Like all boas, they constrict their prey before swallowing it whole.
The Grenada Bank Boa is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Researchers believe this species’ primary threats are habitat loss due to tourism development and urbanization, climate change, introduced predators, and loss of available prey.
#2. Barbour’s Tropical Racer
- Mastigodryas bruesi
Found on Grenada and St. Vincent.
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults can reach a length of 33 inches from snout to vent.
- Their coloration is blue-gray to brown with lighter lateral stripes.
- They have slender bodies and whitish-to-dirty yellow undersides.
These snakes were named for Dr. Charles Thomas Brues (1879-1955), an American zoologist and entomologist who was one of the collectors of the holotype.
Barbour’s Tropical Racers are semi-arboreal snakes generally found in Grenada in relatively dry habitats, including forests and plantations. They are not frequently observed in gardens and other urbanized settings.
These racers are diurnal and prey on frogs and lizards. At night they sleep in trees and bushes up to heights of about 16 feet above the ground. This tendency to sleep above the ground seems to have helped protect these snakes from invasive mongooses to some extent.
Barbour’s Tropical Racers are listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. However, these snakes have been affected by the introduction of non-native predators like mongooses.
#3. Grenada Worm Snake
- Amerotyphlops tasymicris
Due to their rarity, the above picture is not a Grenada Worm Snake, although it looks very similar.
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 5.1-10.2 cm (2-4 in) long.
- The body shape is worm-like, and they are easily mistaken for earthworms.
It is really hard to see these SMALL snakes in Grenada.
That’s because Grenada Worm Snakes spend the majority of their life underground. To find one, you typically must look in moist soil and under logs and stones. Even then, these snakes are so small they are easy to miss.
Because Grenada Worm Snakes spend most of their life underground, they don’t have very good eyesight. Take one look at them, and you will notice they look more like small worms than the other snakes that live in Grenada. 🙂
There isn’t a lot known about their abundance, ecology, or distribution due to their secretive nature. But their main source of food tends to be the larvae of ants and termites.
Despite its rather creepy appearance, this snake is completely harmless to humans.
