Ridley’s beauty rat snake

Waiting for food with a wide-open mouth

Ridley’s beauty snake is a true specialist when it comes to food. This means that it has a very specific diet, and virtually never eats anything other than that. In this snake’s case, there are two things on the menu – bats and the nests of a bird known as the cave swiftlet. The bird is a relative of the Swedish species of common swift. The nests of both the bats and the cave swiftlets can be found in the caves where Ridley’s beauty snake lives. When the snake is about to hunt, it lies down on a ledge with its mouth open – and here it waits until a bat flies by close enough for the snake to catch it. Ridley’s beauty snake has no venom, instead it squeezes its prey to death – just like a boa.

Lives in darkness

There are several different species of rat snakes, but the Ridley’s beauty snake is the only one that lives in caves. This is why it is so pale in colour, as bright colours and camouflage are not needed for animals that live completely in the dark. The caves are limestone caves in Thailand and Malaysia. The snake is fast, and a good climber.