Wahlberg’s Striped Skink (Trachylepis wahlbergii)

A 174 mm individual was found active on a small termite mound near floodwater in Shorobe, Northern Botswana. The aberrant scales on this skink are located just behind the rostral scale (Fig. 1), between the supranasals and the frontonasal. Normally, there is a single frontonasal scale in that spot, but here it appears there is an extra pair-almost as if the frontonasal has been split or duplicated. These extra scales do not match the shape or position of other nearby scales, so they are likely just an unusual variation of the frontonasal rather than a different type.

Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia)

Only the primary postmental scales (Fig. 2) were present in this specimen, in contrast to the presence of both primary and secondary postmentals consistently observed in all Hemidactylus mabouia individuals previously recorded. Raintree Camp, Northern Botswana.

Common Egg Eater (Dasypeltis scabra)

A specimen measuring 577 mm in total length was observed at Raintree Camp in Northern Botswana. This individual was active on the ground following light rainfall. Examination revealed the absence of the left gular scale, with only the right gular present (Fig. 3).

Puff Adder (Bitis arietans)

On 22 October 2025 at Raintree Camp, Northern Botswana, a female specimen measuring 615 mm in total length was observed active during nocturnal hours following 9 mm of rainfall. Examination revealed three paired ventral scales located on the lower half of the abdomen (Fig. 4).

Zambezi Garter Snake (Elapsoidea boulengeri)

On 23 December 2025, at Raintree Camp in Northern Botswana, an individual measuring approximately 20–30 cm in length was observed crossing a path during nocturnal hours. The ambient temperature at the time of the observation was 33 °C. The specimen exhibited numerous paired ventral scales arranged in a non-uniform pattern.

Fig. 1.