By

Michael Burmeister

General information & biology

The black spitting cobra Naja nigricollis woodi is the southern most subspecies of the nigricollis group. This snake is classified as rare in the most recent South African red data book. The species inhabits desert to semi desert areas in the western part of Southern Africa occurring both in South Africa and Southern Namibia. From the specimens I encountered the average length is 1.3 meters with a maximum length of 1.8 meters. The adults are a jet black color with a purplish sheen. The juveniles are a grey black color.

The preferred habitat within its range is rocky hills and dry river beds. The main activity periods are early morning and late afternoon. The snakes tend to avoid the midday heat. This species as far as I know is predominantly diurnal.

The venom is similar to other African spitting cobras being mainly cytotoxic in nature. A bite causes severe tissue necrosis and will result in death if not treated. Polyvalent antivenom produced in South Africa is effective for treating a bite by this species. The species however does seem to be reluctant to bite mainly relying on its ability so spit copious amounts of venom. Venom entering the eyes will, as with other spitting cobras, cause severe pain and could possibly result in permanent damage to the eyes if untreated. I have found that the spitting cobras I have worked with don't seek out the eyes as a target but rather spit in the direction of movement. Treatment for venom entering the eye would be the same as other spitting cobras. I can provide more details on this if required.

Cage requirements & feeding

Below I have included some general notes for keeping African cobras. This applies also to the species for which I writing the article. I hope this will be useful.

All cobras are very active snakes, they need space to move. This will ensure the wellbeing of the captive. As a rule of thumb I try to keep most cobra species (adults) including this one in a cage of 2meters long by 1meter wide and 80cm high. I have noticed that many captive cobras have disfigured faces, often with their rostral scales being totally absent due to them battering their faces against the glass in the front of the cage. To avoid this I advocate the use of a wider cage with plenty of places for the snake to hide. Cobras must never feel cornered, even in their cage. By preventing this, one minimizes stress on the animal and also ensures that the animal is in a good condition.

I prefer the use of newspaper as a substrate with plastic hide boxes. I use this for hygiene purposes. Also a cluttered cage can be dangerous for both the keeper and the animal. I also found with this species and other spitting cobra species that it is better to keep the animal's enclosures front covered until it has settled down. This helps to prevent it spraying the glass full of venom and gives the animal a sense of security.

Dietary requirements for the black spitting cobra are much the same as for any other African cobras. I fed the specimen I had mainly rodents and day old chicks. I used both defrosted and live prey items. Both were equally successful. I did notice that this particular specimen wasn't particularly partial to toads, even though they do occur within its range. I'm not certain whether or not it would prey on other reptiles (snakes in particular) but I would be cautious.

I have read the debates surrounding the feeding of live prey items on this site. In my opinion venomous snakes have evolved powerful venoms to kill their prey so feeding them live food items should not be a problem. I have been keeping venomous snakes for 14 years already and have never once had an incident where a prey item has injured one of my venomous snakes. For harmless species I do advise feeding already dead prey because they do stand a chance of being injured by the prey item.

General comments about the species

Of all the spitting cobras I've kept this species is by far my favorite. It is a truly beautiful animal and adjusts relatively easily to captivity. I'm sure that captive bred youngsters would do a lot better though. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions referring to this article.