Fun Many-Banded Krait Facts For Kids

Moumita Dutta
May 06, 2023 By Moumita Dutta
Originally Published on Aug 05, 2021
Edited by Monisha Kochhar
Fact-checked by Chandan Shukla
Many banded krait facts about its behavior, traits, and more are interesting to read.

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, as its scientific name suggests is an Asian species of the banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus. These snakes have a dark blue and black or a black body and tail which is covered with around 20-30 white bands.

Their head is usually oval and flat with a shiny smooth texture. Many times this smooth texture confuses the onlookers for the snakes to be slimy, which they are not.

These snakes are nocturnal and are active mostly during the nighttime. They are often seen coiled up under the rocks or in their burrows during the day. The many-banded krait snake is also known to hibernate during November.

This is mainly because these animals cannot deal with the cold weather. These snakes are solitary and do not often engage with other snakes except for the breeding period.

During the mating season, the females lay around 3-20 eggs. The snakelet that hatches from either of these eggs has an average of 9.8 in length. Read on to know more about this many-banded krait snake.

For more information about similar animals check out our King Cobra and Emerald Tree Boa facts.

Many-Banded Krait Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Many-Banded Krait?

The Many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is a snake that belongs to the Elapidae family of animals.

What class of animal does a Many-Banded Krait belong to?

This banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus snake belongs to the reptilia class of animals.

How many Many-Banded Kraits are there in the world?

Although these many-banded kraits have been marked as Least Concern, the exact population of this species of banded krait snakes is not known.

Where does a Many-Banded Krait live?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is mainly called the Chinese or Asian krait focusing on its habitat in southeast and east Asia. These snakes have a wide distribution in Thailand, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos.

What are the Many-Banded Krait's habitats?

The Bungarus multicinctus is usually seen on rice paddies, agricultural fields, and subtropical lowland areas. This species is also found in the marshes, woodlands, and mangroves of villages.

They prefer the habitat near water mainly adjacent to rivers and small streams. According to herpetologists and other scientists, this species of snake are usually slow and are known to hibernate during colder weather.

Who do Many-Banded Kraits live with?

This specimen of banded krait species from Thailand, Myanmar, and Chinese territories is known to be solitary. Even then there might be instances when these specimens are found in a group, especially during hibernation. This group of snakes is called a knot, or a pit.

How long does a Many-Banded Krait live?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, has a normal life expectancy which can range anywhere between 9-13 years.

How do they reproduce?

The exact mating process of the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is quite blurry even for scientists. Although, it is known that the pair mates between August and September, and the eggs are laid by the female.

The female snakes lay their clutch of 2-20 eggs around June. These eggs take a span of around one to 1.5 months to hatch and develop. The young babies of this banded-krait, Bungarus multicinctus species are precocial and are usually aware of the ways of the world.

What is their conservation status?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is marked of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Even then due to habitat degradation, their specimen numbers are observed to be reducing over the years.

Many-Banded Krait Fun Facts

What do Many-Banded Kraits look like?

These many-banded krait poisonous snakes have commonly been confused with the banded-wolf snake as well as the banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus species. The slight difference in the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is that they have glossy and smooth ventral scales and subcaudal scales.

They also have a noticeable vertebral ridge along with dorsal scales. These snakes have a dark blue-black or black body with 20 to a maximum of 30 white cross bands.

They have a thin and short tail that tapers in the end. This tail is the same as the whole body with the white crossbands. They have a flat and oval head with dark eyes that usually blend in with the same color of the body.

The juveniles have a white-colored smudge on their head. This banded-krait, Bungarus multicinctus specimen has fangs on the upper jaw.

It uses these fangs as a tool to inject venom when in danger. The coloration on the underparts of the belly usually would range anywhere between white, off-white, and cream white.

How cute are they?

The many-banded krait venomous snakes are not at all considered to be cute. They might look stunning with their coloration and bands but due to their venom and unaccountable behavior of biting, they are rather considered as scary than cute.

How do they communicate?

Just like the banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus, and other snake species, this banded-krait Bungarus multicinctus communicates with the other snakes with or without bands. They do this mainly by exchanging the pheromones from their glands or by sensing the ones present in their vicinity.

The other way of showing their territory would also be the many-banded krait attacking act. This is their way of communicating their aggression towards others.

How big is a Many-Banded Krait?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, is two to three times bigger than the saw-scaled viper with an average body length of 39.3-59 in (100-150 cm).

How fast can a Many-Banded Krait move?

This snake species named the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus is considered to be a slower snake than the other banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus species. These snakes are placid but they might bite quickly without a warning.  Even then, neither the speed of their movement nor the quickness of their biting is known.

How much does a Many-Banded Krait weigh?

This species of many-banded krait Bungarus snake has a medium-sized tail and head and a medium body length. Even though these details are known, the exact weight of this snake is unknown.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus male or female does not have a different name based on gender.

What would you call a baby Many-Banded Krait?

A baby of the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus is called a snakelet. This name is similar to the wolf snake or the banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus other species' babies.

What do they eat?

The banded krait Bungarus multicinctus is a carnivorous snake that feeds on small snakes of other species, lizards, and rodents like rats, mice, and squirrels too. As this banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus is usually seen near the watering ground, it also preys on small fish, eels, and frogs.

Are they poisonous?

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus is one of the most venomous land snakes along with the other banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus species present in Thailand, China, or the whole of southeast and east Asia. Hence, they are considered poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

As the venom of this banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus is lethal, keeping this white banding snake is not advisable. Additionally, guessing their attacking habits can get tricky as they do not give an intimation before they bite. This is the reason why they won't make a good pet at all.

Did you know...

Just like the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, most of the banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus species are considered venomous. For instance, the banded sea krait is said to deliver around 10 times the deadly venom that is required to kill a human.

Similarly, the many-banded krait, Bungarus snake is said to be one of the most lethal snakes in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, as well as China.

How thick are Many-Banded Kraits?

This many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus has a thin tail and a flat head. Similarly, the many-banded krait Bungarus snake's body is medium-thick with a diameter of around two to a maximum of three centimeters.

Are they slimy?

No, the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus snake is not slimy. However, their white banding body might be confused as being slimy because of its smooth and glossy texture.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles from our Carpet Python facts and Cottonmouth fun facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable many banded krait coloring pages.

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Sources

https://animalia.bio/many-banded-krait

https://dbpedia.org/page/Many-banded_krait

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-banded_krait

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Written by Moumita Dutta

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

Moumita Dutta picture

Moumita DuttaBachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

A content writer and editor with a passion for sports, Moumita has honed her skills in producing compelling match reports and stories about sporting heroes. She holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta University, alongside a postgraduate diploma in Sports Management.

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Fact-checked by Chandan Shukla

Bachelor of Science specializing in Computer Science

Chandan Shukla picture

Chandan ShuklaBachelor of Science specializing in Computer Science

With a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi, Chandan is a skilled and passionate technophile. He has completed a machine learning training program and is adept in various programming languages. He has been working as a content writer for two years while also striving to become a proficient tech professional.

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