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Monocled Cobra Info
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by EPARR1 on July 5, 2008
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Monocled Cobra
Naja kaouthia
Monocled cobras are commonly found in the venomous hobby due to unique pattern and variety of color morphs available. This paper is based on my personal experience and observation while housing this species and is just my opinion.
Housing a Monocled cobra can be done successfully using a variety of different methods such as Racks, vision style cages, or custom built enclosures. The main concern when housing Monocled cobras or any venomous snake is the ability to secure the enclosure and prevent an escape. I personally prefer a front loading enclosure with doors that swing out or fold down doors. My rule of thumb for cage size is half the length of the snake is the minimum this is a good rule for most species. Along with a locked cage I also keep my snakes in a secured room in the event a snake would manage to escape the cage it could not escape the room. There is no harm in taking extra precautions when dealing with anything that could potentially hurt or kill you, prevention is the best method when housing venomous snakes.
The ambient temperature in my snake room 74 degrees Fahrenheit and my Monocled cobras have a basking spot of 82 degrees Fahrenheit. I drop the ambient Temperature to 70 degrees Fahrenheit at night leaving the basking spot the same temperature 24/7.
The average humidity in the cage is 50% I mist every other day raising the humidity to 100% and if I find the humidity is dropping to low I will mist daily to accommodate. I also keep a water bowl large enough for the snake to soak if it chooses, Monocled cobras like to soak when they are about to shed but will not frequent the water bowl other than to get a drink in most cases.
I use paper towels for bedding but there are many suitable products on the market such as aspen. I choose to use paper towels for easy cleaning and low maintenance the Monocled also like to hide between the layers. Other than that I keep a large leaf vine in the cage that is one piece for easy removal. Decorations look nice but when you dealing with venomous snakes you don’t need anything getting in your way so a simple is safer.
Monocled cobras are a timid snake and tend to hide 99% of the time but when disturbed they can become quite aggressive. They tend to be more aggressive in the enclosure but once removed they would rather flee than stand off. The best description I can find to describe a Monocled cobra is spastic and while we’re on the subject they are a snake that should only be kept by experienced keepers.
Handling Monocled cobras should be done using proper tools such as hooks, tongs, and trap boxes. Handling techniques vary from keeper to keeper some prefer to tail larger cobras while others use trap or shift boxes this method is by far the safest.
Monocled cobras are hardy snakes and can live in a range of different conditions the info above is just my way of doing thing I have seen others keep Monocled cobras in warmer dryer conditions with great success. Well I hope this information is helpful to some of you. Please let me know your opinions
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by biff on July 5, 2008
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No hide box mentioned?? they should have the option of a hide, even if you find them hiding under the substrate.
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by EPARR1 on July 5, 2008
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You are correct I completely forgot to mention about the hide box. I typically use shoe boxes cut to fit the set up. Thanks for the reminder.
Be Safe
Eric G
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by puffadder7 on July 5, 2008
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you are right about the part where than can become aggresive in there cage, but when i get them out they are very calm
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by Chance on July 6, 2008
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Good article with some great information. The teacher in me wants to point out that you should do a quick run-through checking grammar - i.e. Vision should be capitalized, watch for run-on sentences and punctuate accordingly, etc.
I also very much agree with Greg. Herp keepers throw the word aggressive around a bit too much when describing our captives. These animals aren't going out of their way to harm us. We have them in little wooden or plastic boxes and we harass them on a regular basis. Some grow numb to this (i.e. the "tame" ones) while others are always ready and willing to defend themselves from the perceived threat. Thus defensive, rather than aggressive, would be the better descriptor.
One last thing I would point out is that you might want to go a little further into the part where you mention they should only be kept by experienced keepers. You kind of glossed over this point. Really drive home the fact that despite the commonplace occurrence of this species in captivity, it is an exceedingly lethal creature and can put a person 6' under in a hurry. The venom is also very damaging to local tissues. This certainly isn't one of those elapid species where a ventilator will take the place of proper antivenom, just to keep a person breathing and all. I've heard the phrase "It's just a monocled..." way too often and it's kind of spooky how lax of an approach some people take to this species.
Anyway, great article overall. Thanks for putting the time into it.
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by Buzztail1 on July 6, 2008
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In the Fall 2003 newsletter, we published a Captive Care Article on Naja kaouthia.
It took me a little while to find it in my archives but I have uploaded it to our file library.
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/libraries/Care%20Sheets
R/
Karl
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by EPARR1 on July 6, 2008
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Final Draft By Eric G. & Chance D.
Naja kaouthia Care and Husbandry
Monocled Cobra
Naja kaouthia
Monocled cobras are found in Asia, Indian, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. This species averages 5-7 feet in length and is commonly found in the venomous hobby due to unique pattern and variety of color morphs available.
This paper is based on my personal experience and observation while housing this species and is just my opinion.
Housing a Monocled cobra can be done successfully using a variety of different methods such as racks, Vision style cages, or custom built enclosures. The main concern when housing monocled cobras or any venomous snake is the ability to secure the enclosure and prevent an escape. I personally prefer a front loading enclosure with doors that swing out or fold down. My rule of thumb for cage size is half the length of the snake is the minimum length of the cage. This is a good rule for most species. Along with a locked cage I also keep my snakes in a secured room. In the event a snake would manage to escape the cage it could not escape the room. There is no harm in taking extra precautions when dealing with anything that could potentially hurt or kill you. Prevention is the best method when housing venomous snakes.
The ambient temperature in my snake room 74 degrees Fahrenheit and my monocled cobras have a basking spot of 82 degrees Fahrenheit. I drop the ambient Temperature to 70 degrees Fahrenheit at night leaving the basking spot the same temperature 24/7.
The average humidity in the cage is 50%. I mist every other day raising the humidity to 100% and if I find the humidity is dropping to low I will mist daily to accommodate. I also keep a water bowl large enough for the snake to soak if it chooses. Monocled cobras like to soak when they are about to shed but will not frequent the water bowl other than to get a drink in most cases.
I use paper towels for bedding but there are many suitable products on the market such as aspen. I choose to use paper towels for easy cleaning and low maintenance the monocleds also like to hide between the layers. Other than that I keep a large leaf vine in the cage that is one piece for easy removal and a hide box typically made from some type of cardboard box. Decorations look nice but when you‘re dealing with venomous snakes you don’t need anything getting in your way so a simple cage is safer.
Feeding monocled cobras is basic just provide the proper size rodent and they will do the rest. I have never seen a Monocled with a feeding problem. Neonates might not be willing to eat pinkies right out of the egg but if you dip them in chicken broth you will find they have a tremendous feeding response.
Monocled cobras are a timid snake and tend to hide 99% of the time but when disturbed they can become quite defensive. They tend to be more defensive in the enclosure but once removed they would rather flee than stand off. The best description I can find to describe a monocled cobra is spastic.
Handling Monocled cobras should be done using proper tools such as hooks, tongs, and trap boxes. Handling techniques vary from keeper to keeper, as some prefer to tail larger cobras while others use trap or shift boxes. This method is by far the safest.
Monocled cobras are hardy snakes and can live in a range of different conditions. The info above is just my way of doing things. I have seen others keep monocled cobras in warmer, dryer conditions with great success.
Despite how common the Monocled cobras are in private collections they are not a snake to be taken lightly. The venom is extremely toxic and these snakes should be kept by experienced keepers only.
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RE: Monocled Cobra Info
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by tigers9 on July 6, 2008
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puffadder7/GREGLONGHURST wrote:
<<you are right about the part where than can become aggresive in there cage, but when i get them out they are very calm>> <<Change the word "aggressive" to "defensive" and you are both correct.>>
That is another thing, like with mammals (big cats), cage is their territory, they feel secure there, and think of bratty kid at home and same scared (no longer bratty) kid when lost in the mall with no mom in sight.
Some trainers do not train their big cat IN the cage, I do, but I have to do it all the time so it is a routine for the cat and I am like a piece of furniture and NOT an intruder in their territory.
It is all matter of everyday time consuming routine. Seems like snakes are not all that different
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