Coelognathus helena monticollaris is subspecies of a nonvenomous constricting snake in the family Colubridae. The subspecies is native to south Central Asia.
C. h. monticollaris is a narrow-headed slender snake with a beautiful colouration. The light brown body is adorned with black and white transverse stripes, unlike C. h. helena which has dark brown and white spots. The head is greenish brown with black markings. The true purpose of this colouration is camouflage. Recently, albinism has been reported in this subspecies.
C. h. monticollaris may be identified by the following key characters:
The preferred habitat of C. h. monticollaris is forests, but it may frequently venture towards human habitation and occasionally enter human dwellings.
C. h. monticollaris is found in the Western Ghats of India.
C. h. monticollaris is diurnal and highly active. It has a very nasty temper and will strike repeatedly if molested. It never appreciates captivity and will resist capture with utmost tenacity until helplessly overpowered. Its bites are often very damaging due to its inward pointing teeth.
A 1 metre (3.3 ft) male specimen caught in Maharashtra, India (near Paud 09/16/13) whipped its tail when agitated. The same specimen was easily handled and carried around the collector's neck without incident.
C. h. monticollaris is nonvenomous. It kills instead by constriction.
C. h. monticollaris feeds mainly on small mammals. It uses its camouflage to stalk its prey and initially disorients its victim with a blitz strike. It then surrounds its prey with its coils and weakens it by biting repeatedly. The victim is finally killed by constriction and swallowed at leisure. It may also prey upon birds, frogs, lizards and other snakes as well, but shows a high preference towards small mammals. It is notorious for its voracious appetite. Captive specimens prefer mice and tend to lose interest in lizards especially if the lizards remain motionless.
Very little known about the reproductive habits of C. h. monticollaris. It is probably viviparous. Brood size unknown.
