Brown House Snake
This is the local house snake we get in South Africa and is a common and wide spread species. As this snake is indigenous to South Africa permits are required to keep them in Gauteng. There are several locality and captive bred morphs of this snake. These include the KZN locality which has more spotting and freckling, Red House Snakes, Albino House Snakes, Butter House Snakes and Hypos, we are slowly catching up with the common North American species in regard to morphs. All house snake species are simple to keep and can be kept exactly like corn snakes or king snakes.
Tanzanian Striped House Snake
This species is increasingly more common in captivity with more individuals beginning to keep and breed them. They are often imported from Tanzania as Wild Caught or Captive Farmed individuals however in South Africa most specimens are captive bred. No known genetically inheritable mutations are currently available. This species fares well in captivity. Care is basic and follows the same care regime as would a Corn Snake. As they become more readily available, this species should grow in popularity.
Zambian Green House Snake
These House Snakes come from Zambia, and have distinct Olive Green colours with hints of brown. They have almost no pattern with the classic House Snake eye stripe on each side of their head. Babies are also born very dark and as they grow their green colour gets brighter eventually reaching their adult colouring. This species is still rare in SA and commands a slightly higher price than most of the common exotic starter snakes
Red House Snakes
These House Snakes are found in South Africa in parts where the soil is very red, hence the adaption of the red colouring in order to blend in with their natural habitat. I have seen pictures of T-Albinos mutations of this colour variety which are very orange and even pinkish with very little pattern. Permits are required in Gauteng.
Namibian Bug Eyed House Snake
This species is found in Namibia and is a light brown colour with large sticking out eyes. It was once thought to be a subspecies of Brown House Snake and was not recognized as a separate species by some herpetologists. It is now recognized as a separate species as far to my knowledge.
Here is a list of House Snakes with scientific names. Note that very little to no info could be found for some of these species. Please note that only Boaedon capensis requires permits.
Brown House Snake, Boaedon capensis Duméril & Bibron, 1854
Zambian Green House Snake, Boaedon fuliginosus (Boie, 1827)
Tanzanian Striped House Snake, Boaedon lineatus Duméril & Bibron, 1854
Dotted House Snake, Boaedon maculatus (Parker, 1932)
Namibian House Snake, Boaedon mentalis (Günther, 1888)
Sooty House Snake, Boaedon olivaceus (Duméril, 1854)
Radford’s House Snake, Boaedon radfordi Greenbaum, Portillo, Jackson, & Kusamba, 2015
Boaedon upembae (Laurent, 1954)
Hallowell’s House Snake, Boaedon virgatus (Hallowell, 1854)
Sources: Ultimate Exotics, Wikipedia