Dhaman

Dhaman

Ptyas mucosa

Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Satpura National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

5 Verified sightings at Satpura National Park From 2019 to 2026
39 In all 4 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dhaman

Ptyas mucosa, commonly known as the Oriental rat snake, or Indian rat snake, is a common non-venomous species of colubrid snake found in parts of South and Southeast Asia. These are large snakes. Typical mature total length is around 1.5 to 1.95 m (4 ft 11 in to 6 ft 5 in) though some exceed 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The record length for this species was 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in), second only to their cousin Ptyas carinata among living colubrid snakes. Despite their large size, oriental ratsnakes are usually quite slender with even a specimen of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) commonly measuring 4 to 6 cm (1.6 to 2.4 in) only around in diameter. Furthermore, the average weight of ratsnakes caught in Java was around 877 to 940 g (1.933 to 2.072 lb), though larger males of over 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) (which average mildly larger of the two sexes in the species) may easily weigh over 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). Their color varies from pale browns in dry regions to nearly black in moist forest areas. Rat snakes are diurnal, semi-arboreal, non-venomous, and fast-moving. Rat snakes eat a variety of prey and are frequently found in urban areas where rodents thrive.

The International Code for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:08

India · 2026

© Ajay Malik. · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
3 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
4 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lucknow 🇮🇳 India
~40%
2 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
3 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
4 Pune 🇮🇳 India
~30%
5 Kalyan-Dombivli 🇮🇳 India
~30%
6 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~30%
7 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
8 Coimbatore 🇮🇳 India
~30%
9 Chandigarh 🇮🇳 India
~30%
10 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~30%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Bondla Zoo 🇮🇳 India In captivity
2 Nehru Zoological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
3 National Zoological Park Delhi 🇮🇳 India In captivity
4 Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
5 Fort Worth Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Thiruvananthapuram Zoo 🇮🇳 India In captivity
7 Children's Park, Guindy 🇮🇳 India In captivity
8 Siam Serpentarium 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
9 Snake Farm of Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
10 Exotarium Sosnowiec 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
11 Thrissur Zoo 🇮🇳 India In captivity
12 Zoológico La Era de las aves 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dhaman in Satpura National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dhaman sighting in Satpura National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Dhaman in Satpura National Park?

April and May

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Dhaman in Satpura National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month. Those are among Satpura National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 690 mm in July. August has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Dhaman?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dhaman sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Satpura National Park the best place to see a Dhaman?

Yes

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Dhaman sightings, Satpura National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 20%) and Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 20%).

Where does the Dhaman sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dhaman is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Satpura National Park (5 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.

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