There are snakes in Panama. If you do not want to see one, even in a photo, you will want to avoid this post. There is also a photo of one having dinner. You have been warned.
We live next to a woods and a river on the edge of town, but we have averaged about one snake sighting a year. That’s not many. Half of them were the poisonous fer de lance pit viper, and the others were harmless.
The other night I walked towards the back door and found a beautiful little snake on the floor. It was slender and graceful with the triangular head of a viper, but different markings. It left under the door and headed under some storage shelves in the laundry room. Some internet research identified it as a rhombic cat eyed snake, mildly venomous (maybe causes some itching), non aggressive, frog and lizard eating snake. I’m really glad we didn’t kill it!
The next morning the snake was just in front of the storage shelf, with proof indeed that it is a frog eating snake!
I could not believe that little snake could eat that frog that looked so much bigger, but it only took minutes to accomplish the job. We let it finish and then Joel took the snake to the woods where we won’t bother each other. Thankfully the dog totally ignored the snake.
Panamanians tend to kill any and all snakes on sight. I think, historically, there have been too many deaths from pit vipers which has caused a fear of snakes to be passed down through the generations. I know to shake out boots, clothes, etc. and not put my hands where I can’t see, and so far our desire to avoid each other has kept both the snakes and people safe in our household.
Last night there was a little scorpion on the bathroom wall. Life in Panama. If you don’t like wildlife you might not be comfortable here. Thankfully I do like wildlife and I feel very lucky to have shared some time with this snake.
The Panama Adventure 
We bought a house just south of Santiago several years ago and the area was still in its natural state until the excavating and construction began. My wife is deathly afraid of spiders, even the tiniest ones give her goosebumps. About half way through construction, I walked into the master bathroom and discovered that there was a full size tarantula’s remains on the wall, smushed by one of the workers. My wife saw it. Screamed. Ran out of the house. She still to this day doesn’t like going into that bathroom. ;-}
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Oh my goodness, I’ll bet she was not happy! Have you seen any more of them around? If you do, hopefully she never knows about them or sees them.
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Nice shots! Well played, too! I like happy endings.
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Thanks 😊
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great story, just another part of assimilating. YAY
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Thanks! Yes, around here it is
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yep……..i guess the warm weather keeps all the critters active! 🙂 thanks for sharing.
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Yep, all year, no winters!
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I can’t imagine not having to deal with snow and ice………but that sounds wonderful.
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Very cool. I love wildlife, but I have to admit I’m worried about a venomous snake getting in the house and the cats thinking it’s a toy and, well, you can figure out how that could end badly.
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Ah yes, that would not be good. This is the first snake in the house in 7 years. The door sweeps are not intact and effective so it would be easy for one to come in under a door. I think if you close the house well you should be ok, and of course it also helps if you live in a less rural area where snakes don’t want to go.
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I’m obsessed with snakes! Well, not obsessed but..
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They are such cool creatures, and beautiful 😊
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Yup. They are 😁
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