CreatureData

Cat snake

Telescopus fallax Fleischmann, 1831

Status not recordedsnakes

The cat snake (Telescopus fallax) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 35.8 g and reach 56 cm in length.

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Quick facts about the cat snake

Weight
35.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
56 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
10 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrubland, woodlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
47.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
6.5 – 7src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the cat snake?

CAT SNAKE · LENGTH 56 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 56 cm, the recorded maximum length of the cat snake is about 33% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the cat snake live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the cat snake as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Greece

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the cat snake endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the cat snake classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyColubridae
  6. genusTelescopus
  7. SpeciesTelescopus fallax Fleischmann, 1831

Synonyms Ailurophis vivax, Coluber carneus, Coluber vivax, Tarbophis fallax, Tarbophis fallax cyprianus, Tarbophis iberus, Tarbophis savignyi, Tarbophis vivax f. syriaca, Telescopus fallax christianus, Telescopus fallax cyprianus, Telescopus fallax intermedius, Telescopus fallax mcewani, Telescopus fallax multisquamatus, Telescopus fallax rhodicus, Trigonophis iberus

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • European catsnakeEnglish
  • Mediterranean cat snakeEnglish
  • Mediterranean cat snake or European catsnakeEnglish
  • Soosan snakeEnglish
  • رقيب خداعArabic
  • ثعبان القطArabic
  • ثعبان سوسانArabic
  • ناظر ماكرArabic
  • ثعبان القط الأوروبيArabic
  • ثعبان القط البحر المتوسطArabic
  • Dam IlanyAzerbaijani
  • Котешка змияBulgarian
  • skvrnovka kočičíCzech
  • Europæisk KattesnogDanish
  • Europäische KatzennatterGerman
  • ΑγιόφιδοGreek
  • Serpiente Gato EuropeaSpanish
  • KassmaduEstonian
  • سوسن مارPersian
  • KissakäärmeFinnish
  • Couleuvre-chatFrench
  • Couleuvre-chat d'EuropeFrench
  • עין-חתול חברברHebrew
  • PržacCroatian
  • crnokrpicaCroatian
  • macskakígyóHungarian
  • Կովկասյան կատվաօձArmenian
  • serpente gatto europeoItalian
  • Katisebri GveliGeorgian
  • Мачја змијаMacedonian
  • KatslangDutch
  • Wąż kociPolish
  • Кошачья змеяRussian
  • Обыкновенная кошачья змеяRussian
  • Caucaskaya Koshachya ZmeyaRussian
  • mačjeoka kačaSlovenian
  • Kedi Gözlü YılanTurkish

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISWikidata

Relatives of the cat snake

Other species in the same genus Telescopus.

CompareCat snake vs Tiger cat snakeCat snake vs Israeli catsnakeCat snake vs Karoo tiger snakeCat snake vs Sinai catsnake

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cat snake?

An adult cat snake weighs 35.8 g and measures 56 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cat snake an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the cat snake as introduced in 1 country: Greece, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the cat snake?

The cat snake (Telescopus fallax) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cat snake (Telescopus fallax). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cat-snake

MLA

“Cat snake (Telescopus fallax).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cat-snake.

BibTeX
@misc{cat_snake_2026,
  title = {Cat snake (Telescopus fallax)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cat-snake},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}