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handling cobras
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by rickyduckworth on July 27, 2006
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what exactly is the deal with cobras? i've never owned one of course and only keep pitvipers for the most part......i know the coral i have now acts completely different than any pitvipers i've owned but it's the closest thing to a cobra i've had.......
seems that people are way more laid back with them even though they can pack quite a punch.....
are they just less likely to bite, easier to read, what?
or am i seeing nothing at all? i know people all handle snakes their own way, some are way more hands on, and some snakes are just easy to be comfortable around, but what's up?
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RE: handling cobras
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by Cro on July 27, 2006
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Ricky, there is really no way to make a general assesment of cobras, as every species behaves different, and every individual behaves different.
Some cobras are laid back and easy to work with, and others are just totally nuts.
The same goes for the Coral Snake you have. Some are so calm that you could probably pick them up and not get bitten, ( you should not try this ) while I have seen others that were constantly nerveous and would strike at any movement.
You will sometimes see keepers working with calm cobras as if there is nothing to it, which is a bad idea, because even though a snake behaves calmly hundreds of times, there will be that one time they will turn and bite you. They can be quite fast when they want to.
So, to answer your question, there is no deal concerning cobras, each is an individual, and all should be treated with the upmost respect and caution.
Hope this helps.
JohnZ
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RE: handling cobras
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by rickyduckworth on July 27, 2006
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yeah, it just seems that people are much more comfy around big cobras, kings even, when compared to pit vipers.........i know that seeing one small portion of anything doesn't always tell the true story, so maybe this is the case......
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RE: handling cobras
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by LarryDFishel on July 28, 2006
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There may be a couple of possible reasons for what you are seeing (that I can think of):
1) While cobras can crawl really fast, their strike is a lot slower than a viper. Someone who is experienced but not a stickler for safety can get closer to a cobra's head while still being pretty confident they can avoid a strike.
2) Entirely aside from your own safety, you have to be much more gentle with a rattler (especially a large one). You can usually just drop a cobra without having to worry much about hurting it.
3) Hopefully, those working with cobras are, on average, more experienced and therefore more confident (not always a good thing).
4) There are a lot of venomoid cobras around.
5) Some people are just insane... :)
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RE: handling cobras
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by captiveherps on July 28, 2006
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What you may be seeing is the look at me, I am cool because I have a venomous snake syndrome. Unfortunately cobras seem popular with that group.
Someone on another forum was talking about how they were tring to remove skin from a cobra while it was on his pool table. His girlfriend was walking around in the room, and this was apparently near his front door as she answered the door and the people were surprised to see him in the background with the cobra.
My advise would be if you know people who handle cobras in a way that seems causual to you, to stay away from them.
Personally, I prefer shift boxes for cobras.
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RE: handling cobras
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by Coralsnayk on August 1, 2006
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Cobras are a grab bag. I have heard people say they'd rather fool with a large black mamba than with a really wired forest cobra. On the other hand, I have a monocled cobra that is often as calm as a ball python. (No, I don't free handle it).
While I feel much less apprehensive handling my cobras than I do with my rattlesnakes, I do not allow my attention to waver in the slightest. Sometimes you have to do a dance with a large cobra. They twist and turn, climb, and weave, all very quickly, and you have to be able to cope.
Coral snakes are fun. They are sweet little wiggle worms, on the whole, but they won't mind putting you in your place if you take too liberties with them. Don't put yourself in that spot! Their venom is nasty; you can think of them as junior kraits, only with respect to their size, not their potency.
Greg
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