Dipsas articulata
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Dipsas articulata, commonly known as the American snail-eater, is a non-venomous species of snake found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. D. articulata is known by a few names including the American snail-eater, but also the red-striped thirst snake and the Central American snail-eater.
The distribution of this species extends from the lowlands of southeastern Nicaragua to northwestern Panama. It has been identified mostly in parks, reserves, and other natural areas, like the Tirimbina Biological Reserve in Costa Rica and Portobelo National Park in Panama. The first record in Nicaragua was in 2002 during a herpetofaunal survey in Refugio Bartola when a male individual was found coiled up partially obscured by a vine on a tree trunk. A new record in Coclé, Panama in 2014 in a mid-elevation cloud forest extended its known geographic range slightly.
This arboreal species of snake has been found in lowland tropical wet forests. It is commonly found perched on trees or in vegetation low to the ground, likely searching for its main diet of terrestrial snails. There is a record of an individual found in a bromeliad attached to a fallen tree... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Snail-eater sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 49th most-seen of the 64 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–June, August and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Snail-eater in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July, September–October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Snail-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate American Snail-eater sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Cahuita National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the American Snail-eater that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Ornate Cat-eyed Snake (about 30%), Cloudy Snail-eating Snake (about 20%) and Blunthead Tree Snake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Snail-eater is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
