Aesculapian Snake
Zamenis longissimus
A non-venomous climbing snake of humid western Georgian forests. Adults are often relatively plain.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Habitat
humid forest–foothills
Length
often 0.7–1.6 m
Venom
none — harmless
Conservation
LC
Reproduction
egg-laying
Family
Colubridae
Human interaction: It has no venom. If you meet one, keep distance and do not pick it up. In the same humid west, Caucasian viper occurs — a vertical pupil and keeled scales point to a venomous species.
Overview
What is Aesculapian Snake
The Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) is a non-venomous climber of humid forests and foothills in western Georgia. It belongs to Colubridae. The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed; distribution confidence is medium. The 2021 snake survey groups it with relatively humid-climate species — alongside Caucasian viper and smooth snake — not with the semi-arid south-east. Do not expect it throughout Georgia. It is harmless to people. Adults are often confused with Transcaucasian ratsnake; juveniles can resemble a grass snake’s pale collar.
Last updated
Gallery
Aesculapian Snake in photos
Photo: Wolfgang Wüster
Europe
Photo: Daniel Iversen
Europe
Photo: Manuel Raab
Europe
Photo: Philipp Pavelka
Europe
Photo: SomlaiT
Hungary
Photo: Hildegarda von Hildegardenburg
Podyjí National Park, Czechia
Photo: Lubor Ferenc
Czechia
Photo: Zerocool.marko
Sićevo Gorge, Serbia
Identification
How to identify Aesculapian Snake
A long, non-venomous ratsnake with a round pupil. Adults are often olive or brown and relatively plain; juveniles are blotched. Humid western Georgian forest fits this species better than the dry eastern lowlands.
The body is long and slender; the head is only moderately distinct from the neck. The pupil is round — not a vertical slit as in vipers. Dorsal scales are smooth or weakly keeled; at species level there are usually 23 mid-body rows (rarely 19–21). Ventral scales are slightly angled at the sides, which helps climbing. Do not handle a snake to count scales.
Adult ground colour is olive, brown, or yellowish-brown and often rather uniform; paler scale edges can give a fine speckled look. The belly is pale, often yellowish. Juveniles are dark-blotched with a pale neck or temple mark, so they are confused with a grass snake’s yellow collar. Grass snakes usually have a sharper collar and stay closer to water and damp low ground; this species is tied to trees and forest edge.
Transcaucasian ratsnake (Zamenis hohenackeri) keeps a blotched pattern as an adult and is tied to drier rocky or grassy ground — more eastern and in parts of Samtskhe. Overlap is possible in Imereti and Samtskhe — Javakheti; use pattern and habitat together. Smooth snake is smaller (usually 50–70 cm), smooth-scaled, often with a crown-like head mark. Caucasian viper has a vertical pupil, keeled scales, and often a brick-red body; it is venomous. Urartian and steppe ratsnakes belong to the dry east — do not look for them in Colchis.
Size sources disagree. The 2021 Georgian appendix classes this species as medium (maximum 70–120 cm). European guides and the action plan often give adults 1.4–1.6 m, rarely to 2 m in the south. There is no measured Georgian series on this page — in the field, a long, relatively plain ratsnake in western forest fits this species better than a small smooth snake.
It has no venom. Prey is subdued by constriction. A large snake with a vertical pupil in the humid west is Caucasian viper, not this species. Do not handle it.
Quiz
Next: which snake is it?
Aesculapian Snake is in the Georgia snake quiz. Ten field photos, four names — eye practice, not field ID.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia look in the humid west and foothills — deciduous or mixed forest, forest edge, scrub, sunny slopes, and settlement edges with trees, stone, or old buildings. At species level it climbs well; cavities and branches are both shelter and hunting sites. The 2021 study links it to relatively humid climate. The 2006 European action plan, citing Tarkhnishvili et al. 2002, states it has not been found in Georgian areas with under 800 mm annual rainfall; the same text places it across the western half from the Black Sea coast into Caucasus foothills, plus a probably isolated population near Lagodekhi. Lagodekhi is not coloured on this atlas map — that is an older literature record not reconfirmed here with 2021–2026 sources. The map marks Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria, Adjara, Imereti, Racha — Lechkhumi — Kvemo Svaneti, and Samtskhe — Javakheti. An administrative region is not uniform habitat: the dry Javakheti plateau is more typical of Transcaucasian ratsnake. A named genetic locality is Kutaisi / Sataplia: Musilová et al. (2010) used a sample from there for the “Asian” mitochondrial clade of the eastern Black Sea. Species-level accounts describe occurrence to about 2,000 m in Europe; a measured Georgian elevation band is not published on this page.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study. At species level adults take small mammals — mice, voles, up to rats — and often lizards; climbing lets them take bird eggs and nestlings, though that is not equally documented in every population. In central Italy, stomach contents from 32 snakes were mainly rodents and lizards; birds were absent from that sample. Juveniles depend more on lizards and small prey. Prey is killed by constriction — there is no venom. The 2021 Georgian appendix groups “other” snakes, including this species, as feeding mostly on small mammals, reptiles, or birds; that is a coarse class, not a local menu.
Behavior
The 2021 Georgian appendix treats most snakes in the country as diurnal — early morning and before sunset; Aesculapian snake is not listed as nocturnal. It is active in the warm season and overwinters in burrows or rock and tree crevices. Exact warm-season months in Georgia are not separately published in the sources used here. It usually flees if threatened. If seized it may bite — painful, not venomous. Do not handle it. It is oviparous. In European material females typically lay 2–18 eggs in rotting vegetation, compost, manure heaps, or tree hollows; those figures are not a Georgian nest sample. Juveniles are blotched, often with a pale mark on the neck or temple.
Conservation
IUCN assessed it as Least Concern in 2017. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List — the only snakes listed there are Dinnik’s viper and Caucasian viper. Older Georgian references to a “Red Book” do not override the 2014 legal list. In Europe it is on Bern Convention Appendix II and EU Habitats Directive Annex IV; the Habitats Directive is not Georgian law. The 2026 checklist gives medium distribution confidence: the humid western range is supported, but local density and the old Lagodekhi record are not fully updated. Local pressures include forest-edge conversion, road mortality, and killing after confusion with vipers.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Aesculapian Snake.
Yes. It is biologically confirmed on the 2026 checklist. The 2021 survey treats it as a humid-climate species. It does not occur throughout the country.
In the humid west — forest, forest edge, and foothills. The map marks Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria, Adjara, Imereti, Racha — Lechkhumi — Kvemo Svaneti, and Samtskhe — Javakheti. A named genetic locality is Kutaisi / Sataplia. The old Lagodekhi record is not coloured here and still needs updating. Do not look on the dry eastern lowlands.
No. It has no venom. It constricts prey. If seized it may bite — do not handle it. A vertical pupil in the west points to Caucasian viper.
Round pupil, long body, olive-brown and relatively plain as an adult; juveniles blotched with a pale neck mark. Transcaucasian ratsnake stays blotched as an adult. Grass snake has a sharper collar and a closer link to water.
The 2021 Georgian appendix gives a medium size class (70–120 cm). European sources often give adults 1.4–1.6 m. There is no separate measured Georgian series here.
There is no Georgian diet study. At species level — small mammals, lizards, sometimes bird eggs and nestlings. It is diurnal, mainly morning and evening; it is not treated as a nocturnal species.
Adult Aesculapian snake is often plainer; Transcaucasian ratsnake keeps blotches and is tied to drier habitat. Both are harmless. Overlap is possible in Imereti and Samtskhe.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Iankoshvili & Tarkhnishvili 2021 — Distribution of snakes in Georgia
- Musilová et al. 2010 — Phylogeography of the Aesculapian snake
- Agasyan et al. 2017 — IUCN Red List account for Zamenis longissimus
- Edgar & Bird 2006 — Council of Europe action plan for Zamenis longissimus
- Utiger et al. 2002 — Molecular systematics of Old World ratsnakes
- Luiselli & Rugiero 1993 — Food habits of Elaphe longissima in central Italy
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- The Reptile Database
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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