Animals

Two to four feet long; cylindrical, slender body with smooth rounded scales. Small eyes with vertical elliptic pupils. Uniform light to reddish brown above. Two light stripes on either side of the head, one running from the tip of the snout across the upper half of the eye and the other from the lower half of the eye to the angle of the mouth. Underside yellowish to mother-of-pearl white.
Very common and widespread throughout most of southern Africa and extending northwards to central, west and east Africa to the Congo, Sudan and Eritrea. A common nocturnal constrictor found near human dwellings.
Mainly rodents and other small vertebrates including bats and lizards. One snake can devour an entire rodent family in a single session.
Oviparous, laying 8 to 10 eggs, but a large female can lay up to 18. Laying takes place in spring or early summer. The young take 60 to 90 days to develop and are 7 to 10 inches long.
Its slender shape allows it access to places where small rodents are to be found.
As its common name indicates it is often found in and around human dwellings in tool sheds, compost heaps or beneath building rubble where it searches for rodents and lizards. As it is nocturnal, it is seldom seen. Other than humans, its enemies include several snakes including cobras and birds of prey, especially owls.