Scientific Name: Ramphotyphlops braminus
Nick Name: Flowerpot Snake, Common Blind Snake, Island Blind Snake, or Hawaiian Blind snake.
Size: 2½ to 6½ inches
Type: Non Venomous Snake
Appearance: This dark, burrowing serpent is shiny black, brown, or gray with an indistinguishable head and tail. It has extremely tiny, rudimentary eyes, roofed by translucent scales, rendering the reptile almost entirely blind—thus its name, the Brahminy “Blind Snake."
Nature: This is a burrowing snake and has adapted to this life-style. It is said that it comes up to the surface only at night.
Habitat: It burrows in soft soil, sometimes found in flower pots.
Feeds on: They feed on ants, termites and earthworms as well.
Side Line:
It looks much like an earth worm but on closer inspection the scales become obvious, thus differentiating the snake from the worm.
The Blind Snake is harmless, and is, in fact, a gardener's friend as it aerates soil and eats pests.
The Brahminy Blind Snake dispels one of the most prevalent myths about Hawaii, the falsehood that Hawaii does not have any snakes. The introduced Brahminy Blind Snake has been widely established in Hawaii since 1930.
The eyes cannot form images but are sophisticated enough to register light intensity. The Brahminy Blind Snake is interesting in that all members of the species are female and reproduce through an asexual process know as parthenogenesis.
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They have been introduced to various parts of the world through flowerpots. Named after the Latinized form of the word "Brahmin" = a caste among Hindus.
