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RE: Egyptian false Cobras
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by CAISSACA on November 16, 2008
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Let's get a grip here - the Egyptian false cobra is Malpolon moilensis, a colubrid with no track record of causing anything other than fairly mild local symptoms. Granted, it may be capable of something a bit more impressive, but that hardly warrants treating it the same as a true Egyptian cobra.
To me at least, it does matter whether I get shot at point-blank range by an AK47 or a water pistol... ;-)
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RE: Egyptian false Cobras
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by Cro on November 16, 2008
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Wolfgang brings up a very interesting point.
Time after time, we get questions here about the danger of the various rear-fanged Colubrid snakes.
Some of these snakes are harmless, but others are potentially deadly.
What I am wondering, is there some sort of online reference that lists all of these snakes, and the potential danger that they might be to keepers ?
If that list is not out there, perhaps we can create it here, and put it in the FAQ section of the web site ? That way, folks could download a .pdf file with all the stats of the potential danger of snakes like Boiga, Hydrodynastes, etc, usw.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Egyptian false Cobras
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by CAISSACA on November 17, 2008
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John makes a good point. The problem is that for many species, we really know very little of their potential.
Our "knowledge" of the potential of colubrid envenomings rests on isolated case reports in the scientific literature, occasional forum posts, and vast numbers of unsubtantiated rumours in herpetoculture circles. That means that we have an idea of the worst-case scenario for those species in which a medic or the victim wrote the bite up, and nothing about anything else. In particular, we have no idea how often the more serious bites occur (i.e., do MOST bites by a particular species have substantial consequences, or just a tiny percentage).
The consequence of this is on one hand idiotic legislation that restricts the keeping of perfectly innocuous snakes in some legislatures, and on the other hand the risk that dangerous snakes may end up slipping through the net, as happened in the case of Rhabdophis subminiatus in the 1970s and 1980s. Clearly, if a similar scenario (life-threatening bites to unsuspecting keepers of supposedly harmless snakes) were to be repeated in today's more censorious climate, then the headlines and the consequences for herpetoculture would be potentially disastrous.
This is all the more regrettable in view of the fact that, collectively, the herpetological community has gathered, over the decades, a vast wealth of experience with bites by a huge variety of colubrid species. However, so far, all this information has remained untapped and uncollated, and is spread primarily through rumour and second or third hand Chinese whispers.
As it happens (excuse shameless plug for self), I have a student who is about to start an online survey of colubrid snakebites among herpetoculturists and field herpetologists. The aim is to tap into the vast body of experience of these snakes in the herpetological community, to assess what species cause non-trivial bites, and how often this actually happens. That way, we will then have factual information to give out for queries such as the one that started this thread.
This will rely on the collaboration of all herpetologists, so I hope that we can count on everyone here to contribute their personal experiences.
Watch this space for details!
Cheers,
WW
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RE: Egyptian false Cobras
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by Cro on November 17, 2008
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That sounds like a excellent project for a student !
I sure hope that the reptile keeping community will take the time to provide the needed information.
Looking forward to seeing the results in the future.
Best Regards
John Z
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