They can reach a length of over 2.5m but 2.2m seems to be more common. As with all mambas, they have a long sinuous, but muscular body and so can be quite a handful on a hook.

Cage requirements & feeding

As adults, these snakes require large cages with plenty of climbing space. Wild caught individuals may require some kind of vegetation (plastic or real) in which to hide away. I prefer keeping all of my cages containing venomous snakes as uncluttered as possible, this is especially true with mambas as they are unpredictable and can move extremely fast. Captive bred specimens seem less dependent on foliage and only require open branches for climbing. These snakes breed in trees and won't mate on the ground so if you want to breed them you have to provide them with some branches for climbing on.

I prefer to house one snake per cage as I feel it's far safer. My cages for adult specimens are 2m long by 60cm high by 60 cm wide. I would prefer even higher and wider cages but unfortunately, space doesn't allow. The cages have 6mm glass sliding fronts. I use heat lamps to raise ambient temperatures. I only mist the snakes when they are about to shed, to prevent any problems. They don't seem to require a very high humidity. I housed the hatchlings in glass aquaria with modified lids (to prevent escapes) of varying sizes as they grew up. I attached a heating pad to the underside of the aquaria to provide extra heating.

I found newspaper works very well for a substrate as it is quite hygienic and cheap. When cleaning the cages I use a trap box which can be removed, to safely house the snakes. Once Im finished cleaning, I return the trap box to the cage, open it and allow the snake its freedom. These are very inquisitive snakes so they usually don't take to long to come out and investigate.

The juvenile/hatchling green mambas are fed small fuzzy mice. I try to feed dead prey items presented with a pair of long tongs. If they are reluctant to take food, I usually jiggle the mouse in front of their faces or slowly rub the mouse against their noses. If the snakes still refuse food, I place a small (hopper) mouse in the enclosure and leave the snakes alone with the prey item for an hour or two. Some specimens seem to need the stimulation of a live prey item to initiate a feeding response. It often takes some time to convince these specimens to take dead prey items. With large, fast and very active elapids such as mambas, I prefer using dead prey items as I feel it is far safer to feed the animals this way. In my opinion, a large elapid striking vigorously at a moving prey item in a confined space is a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.

This species seems to have a very high metabolism and will defecate 3 to 4 days after a meal, sometimes even sooner. I usually wait a few days after they have defecated before offering any more food items. Certain adult green mambas will accept rats as part of their diets while other seem to only want mice. Large green mambas can take up to six or even more, mice at a time so a specimen that accepts rats will definitely save your mouse population a lot.

General comments about the species

In my opinion, this species is one of the most dangerous elapids to work with. Besides possessing and extremely potent neurotoxin, it doesn't readily show aggression. Its calm demeanor is often very misleading and amateur herpetologists could become victims of envenomations simply because they will drop their guard. Unlike its cousin the black mamba, this species uses no threat display and will strike out without warning. I would advise anyone keeping this species to constantly be on guard when working with these animals.

When handling this species, use slow deliberate movements. Never become jumpy or over excited when tailing this species on a hook as they seem to react to fast movements. If possible, use a trapbox to contain the animal. Be careful of using holding bins that open from the top, if the specimens gets startled when the bin is opened, they may strike.

They have very potent venom. Develop a treatment protocol page that can be placed on the cage and accompany you to hospital in case of emergency. Many doctors will never treat a snake bite during their career, so that protocol could give the doctor the information needed to save your life, especially if you are unable to speak. Make sure you have access to at least ten vials of antivenom , if possible even more. Polyvalent antivenom produced by the SAVP is usually used to treat bites by mambas here in South Africa and is very effective.

I hope you found this article informative. Please post some comments I would love to hear what you have to say. If anyone has had experience working with D. jamesoni or D. viridis please relate what you know about their temperament.

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