To start the performance, one snake must try to crawl over or past the other. Each snake then starts to jerk. Slowly the snakes start to entwain their bodies. They raise their heads and the top halve of their bodies high into the air. Each snake then tries to climb up the length of the other. The snakes do not try to bite or strike. Eventually one of the snakes will overpower the other, causing it to plung to the ground. The winning snake will then hold the loser down for a few seconds. I f the loser then resists, the climbing and twisting will resume. The combat dance will continue until one snake emerges as the superior male and the loser slowly crawls away to new territiory.

To begin the mating process the male snake often crawls along the female's back , flicking his tongue over her. If the male is lucky, the female will raise her tail so that they can mate. When snakes are mating they may often stay joined for several minutes or even hours. After mating the male will depart immediatley in search for other females, though very often the male may mate with the same female several times.