Red chain snakes feed on frogs, lizards and fish. It is more ferocious in nature and non-toxic. They mostly come out in the evening and are nocturnal snakes. He moves frequently after 10 p.m. and curls up motionless during the day, often curling his head under his body.

Does not actively attack people, is lazy and does not like to move, and crawls slowly. But when frightened, it moves quickly and has clear hunting targets. When encountering an enemy, it will first bury its head deeply under the body and shake its tail to warn. If the warning is ineffective, it will bend into an S shape and attack. Wild individuals are more ferocious and will bite randomly once caught, especially It likes to bite soft things and has the habit of biting people and not letting go.

Habitat

Lives in hills and plains below 1,900 meters above sea level; commonly found in fields, bamboo forests, cottages and near water bodies, and often found in villagers’ hospitals (rare in mountainous areas, semi-suburban suburbs around cities As well as gardens in the city and other places). They make nests in tree holes, grave holes, underground holes or piles of rocks or under tiles. They are often found in abandoned earth kilns and nearby areas in the wild.

Morphological characteristics

The total length of the red chain snake is 1-1.5m. The head is broad and flat, with black head, red "∧"-shaped spots on the occipital part, dark brown dorsal body with most (more than 60) red narrow transverse spots, gray-yellow ventral surface, and dark brown spots on both sides of the abdominal scales. The eyes are small, the pupils are upright and oval.

The abdomen is white, with small gray-black dots scattered in front of the anus. Sometimes the entire lower part of the tail is gray-black. This snake is a medium-sized snake, with a body length of more than 1.5 meters and a weight of about 1000~1250 grams. The largest one can reach 1500 grams.

Distribution range

Distributed in China, including Jiangxi Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hubei Province, Liaoning Province, Shandong Province, and Taiwan Province , Hebei Province, Yunnan Province, Fujian Province, Jiangsu Province, Guizhou Province, Shaanxi Province, Sichuan Province, Shanxi Province, Heilongjiang Province, and Henan Province.

Also distributed in North Korea and Japan.

Living habits

Red chain snakes are oviparous in their reproductive system. They mate in May to June and lay eggs in July to August. They lay 7 to 15 eggs each time and the incubation period is 40 to 50 days.

Characteristics of medicinal materials

It is disc-shaped with different diameters. The head and body are dark brown, the back is slightly higher and not ridge-shaped, there are several narrow red horizontal stripes on the back of the body, there are red and black dot-shaped stripes on the sides of the body, and there are dark brown spots on the outside of the abdomen. There are 19 lines of scales on the neck, 17 lines in the middle, and 15 lines in front of the anus. The scales are mostly smooth and have red edges. The flesh of the snake after the skin is peeled off is yellowish-white, and the remaining skin on the tail shows brownish-red spots.

Pharmacological effects

1. Anti-inflammatory effect. The water and alcohol extract of Trichosanthes nigrum have obvious anti-inflammatory effects.

2. Analgesic effect, thermal, electrical, chemical (antimony potassium tartrate) stimulation can prove that the red chain snake water and alcohol extract have obvious analgesic effect, especially the analgesic effect of chemical stimulation Significantly, it has the weakest effect on thermal stimulation.

3. Sedative and hypnotic effects.

4. Anti-convulsant effect.

Clinical application

Treatment of chronic tuberculous fistula: Beat the red chain snake to death, place it on a tile, burn it with pine firewood, grind it into fine powder and sieve it for later use. When using, according to the diameter of the fistula, use paper twist to stick red chain snake powder and insert it; when the fistula is large, use paper twist or gauze stick to put a little glue in; for the ulcer surface, thinly spread red chain snake powder on it and wrap it with gauze. The dressing is changed every 2 days (the frequency can also be increased or decreased as appropriate). More than 80 cases were treated and all were cured, but 2 cases relapsed. No adverse reactions were found during treatment.

Protection level

This species has been included in the "Nationally Protected Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Value Lands" issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000. "Wild Animal List".

It is listed in the 2013 Red List of Endangered Species ver3.1 of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) - Near Threatened (NT).

It is listed in the China Biodiversity Red List - Vertebrate Volume, with an assessment level of Vulnerable (VU).

Note: Illegal killing of wild animals protected by the state will be punished by criminal law.