Wildlifeof India
Checkered Keelback
Colubrid Snakes
Photo: (c) Chayant Gonsalves, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Fowlea piscator
Basic stats
Diet
Fish, amphibians and arthropods; occasionally rodents and amphibian eggs
Range
South Asia, including a wide range of India
Clutch size
Usually 30–70 eggs (4–100)
Incubation period
60–70 days
Size
Head and body up to 1.75m
The checkered keelback, also called the Asiatic water snake, is a common snake of the subfamily Natricinae. Adults may reach a snout-to-vent length of 1.75 m. It feeds mainly on fish, amphibians and arthropods, occasionally on rodents and amphibian eggs, and rarely on birds and juvenile Indian peacock softshell turtles (Wikipedia, general species account).
Clutch size is usually 30–70 eggs, but may be as few as 4 or as many as 100, and the female guards the eggs until they hatch in 60–70 days. The Reptile Database lists a very wide Indian range, including Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Goa.
Quick answers
- What does the Checkered Keelback eat?
- Fish, amphibians and arthropods; occasionally rodents and amphibian eggs
- Where is the Checkered Keelback found?
- South Asia, including a wide range of India
- How many eggs does the Checkered Keelback lay?
- Usually 30–70 eggs (4–100)
- How long are the eggs of the Checkered Keelback incubated?
- 60–70 days
- How big is the Checkered Keelback?
- Head and body up to 1.75m