Cobras
By Guest | March 23, 2009
The snake called the spitting cobra is one of the most peculiar species as it not only has a venomous bite but it also sprays venom into the eyes of its prey and aggressors. Contact of this venom with your eyes can be very painful and even temporarily blinding, therefore, if you get cobra venom in your eyes, irrigate them immediately in order to prevent permanent tissue damage.
The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also unusual in this large family of snakes (elapidae) because it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes with mice and small birds also making up part of its diet.
The King Cobra sets another record in terms of size: it can get to nearly twenty feet long, which makes it the largest venomous snake in the world. The most recent discovery of a new cobra species was made in 2003, when a specimen was identified at a London Zoo as part of an illegal shipment of exotic pets.
According to DNA studies this new species of snake is similar to the red spitting cobra but different in terms of genes. It appears to have originated in an area between Sudan and Egypt, and it was given the name of the ‘Nubian Spitting Cobra’.
Though highly dangerous when it is threatened cobras will not attack if you leave them alone, although the spit is very accurate for about two meters. Compared to the strike of a rattlesnake, the cobra is fairly slow in its attack and furthermore, many bites prove to be blank, that is without venom.
According to a study conducted on Malaysian cobra snake victims only 55% of the bites involved venom release and the same statistics indicate a mortality rate of 10% for people bitten, since the toxins injected into the blood of the prey destroy the nerves (neurotoxin) , which induces respiratory failure half an hour after being bitten, giving you 30 minutes to get help.
The colouration is variable from light green-grey to black, while juveniles are yellow and black banded. This snake can find a habitat all over south-eastern Asia.
Interested in the Cobras? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our brand-new web site.
categories: snakes,reptiles,unusual,pets,exotic,animals,florida,california,tropical,fauna,Thailand,Asia,outdoors,other
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Topics: Reptiles | Comments Off
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MLA Style Citation:
Guest, Guest "Cobras." Cobras. 23 Mar. 2009. uberarticles.com. 6 Sep 2010 <http://uberarticles.com/pets/reptiles/sakes-the-spitting-cobra>.
APA Style Citation:
Guest, G (2009, March 23). Cobras. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://uberarticles.com/pets/reptiles/sakes-the-spitting-cobra
Chicago Style Citation:
Guest, Guest "Cobras" uberarticles.com. http://uberarticles.com/pets/reptiles/sakes-the-spitting-cobra
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