Egyptian Cobras (Naja haje)
The
Egyptian cobra is one of the most know species in the cobra family. By many
tribes is it honoured and also feared, but is also used by snake charmers
in there shows. Another well know story is that Cleopatra probably commit
suicide with this cobra species.
Synonyms:
Common
names:
Zoological
description:
-
Morphology;
The
Egyptian cobra is one of the largest cobras of the African continent. The head
is large and depressed and slightly distinct from the neck. The neck from the
Egyptian cobra is dilatable like all other species of the Naja
complex. The dilatable neck or also called hood can be 15 -18 cm wide. The
snout of the Egyptian cobra is just like the head moderately broad. The eyes are
quit big with a round pupil. The body of the Egyptian cobra is cylindrical and
stout with a long tail.
Length;
The
length of the Egyptian cobra is strongly depending of the subspecies, population
and geographic range. We can say that the average total length is 100 – 200
cm, with a maximum of 300 cm.
-
Coloration;
The
coloration of the Egyptian cobra is highly variable. The ground color may be
yellow, crèmes, grayish, brown grey, copper-red, pale or dark brown or black
with sometimes pale or dark spots over the body. In the neck they often show a
black band or bands. The ventral side is mostly yellow white, yellow brown,
grayish, blue grey, dark brown or black in coloration, often with dark spots.
Juvenile
Egyptian cobras are yellow brown, crèmes or grey of color, with often darker
spots over the body. In the neck do the juveniles show a dark cross band. The
subspecies Naja haje legionis has a
complete black head and neck, there body is yellowish white with black spots,
after the juveniles get older they change there color and turn black.
Scalation:
-
Dorsal scales
on the midbody 19-20
-
Ventral scales
191 - 220
-
Sub caudal
scale is paired
-
Sub caudal
scales 53 - 65
-
Anal plate is
single
-
Upper labials
6
-
Upper labials
to the eye 3 + 4
-
Preoculairs 1
-
Postoculairs
3, but can also be 2
-
Suboculairs 2
– 3
-
Supralabials 7
(rarely 6 or 8)
-
Lower labials
8
-
Temporal
1+2/1+3 varying
Subspecies:
In
the past we recognized 5 subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, two of those
subspecies are now divided and placed as a new species with one subspecies. The
two lost subspecies of the Egyptian cobra were named as Naja
haje annulifera and Naja haje
anchietae in the new taxonomic way are they renamed and we will call them Naja
annulifera annulifera and Naja
annulifera anchietae. The tree other subspecies are still recognized as
subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, they are named;
·
Naja
haje haje –
South of the
·
Naja
haje legionis –
·
Naja
haje arabica –
South- west
These
differences between the subspecies can be found in colouration and scalation.
Geographic
range:
The
Egyptian cobra has a big geographic range over
Algeria,
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia (?), Libya,
Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen
Habitat:
Egyptian cobras are not snakes that live in the real desert as people often think. They occur in a wide variety of habitats like, steppes, dry savannahs, semi deserts with some vegetation and water. The Egyptian cobras also are found in oasis, agricultural ground, hills with sparse vegetation, and grassland. These cobras do also occur in the presence of humans were they often enter houses. They are attracted to the human villages by chickens and rats that are attracted by garbage. There are also notes of Egyptian cobras swimming in the Mediterranean sea, so they seem to like water were they are been found quit often.
Captive
behaviour:
Egyptian
cobras are nocturnal in wild, but seem to be more diurnal in captivity. Egyptian
cobras are in my opinion very curious animals that will follow every movement in
and outside there enclosure. My experience with Egyptian cobras is that they are
quit docile, but other keepers of this species also tell me that they are quit
often aggressive. My animals will bluff sometimes but don’t stand up higher
than 30 cm they also do not spread there hood very wide. When I need to handle
them do they stay calm, they will ride quit easily on a hook and tailing them
makes no problems either. My Egyptian cobras will only give problems when I need
to feed them. When feeding time is there I need to get them out if the enclosure
and they will get in a total feeding rush they bite to every movement even when
it is there own tail. Juveniles are in compare to my adults quit aggressive. But
this is more to do with there size than anything else.
Feeding:
Egyptian
cobras are snakes that eat almost everything that moves. In the wild they feed
with a wide variety of prey items like, toads, tortoises, lizards, snakes, small
mammals, birds and fish. In captivity are these snakes quit easy to feed with
birds, rodents and fish. I feed my Egyptian cobras mostly with rodents like
mice, rats, small guinea pigs and rabbits. Sometimes I will feed them chicks,
eggs or fish but the faeces of the snakes smells terrible after they digest
there food. Juveniles are fed with baby mice and pieces of fish. I always
provide my snakes with fresh water.
Breeding
egyptian cobras:
Egyptian
cobras are oviparous and lay 8 – 33 eggs in a clutch. Eggs are laid 60 – 100
days after oviposition. The size of the eggs is aproximally 47 - 60 X 25 – 35
mm. De hatchlings will appear from the egg after 48 – 70 days, but this
depends on the incubation temperature. Out of one clutch the eggs hatched after
50 days on a incubation temperature of 28
– 300C, a second clutch hatched after 68 days on a incubation
temperature of 27 - 290C.
Hatchlings
are at birth 20 – 42 cm long and have a weight of 10 – 18 grams. Hatchlings
will usually molt after 2 – 11 days.
My
experience with the Egyptian cobras is that they breed quit easily in captivity.
The subspecies Naja haje haje and Naja
haje arabica are provided with a semi hibernation where I drop the
temperature in there enclosure till about 200C. After the temperature
is raised again will they mate.
The
enclosure:
Because of egyptian cobras are big and robust snakes, do they ask quit allot of space. I keep my animals in enclosure with a size of 150 x 50 x 60 cm (length x wide x height). I made these enclosures out of chip wood with 6 mm glass windows in a slide rail. Egyptian cobras are the masters in destroying everything you place in there enclosure, this is the reason I keep my animals quit sterile with only some rocks. I don’t use a hide box but provide my snakes with a bucket that I place up side down in there enclosure. In the bucket I cut a hole as an entrance. The substrate in the enclosure is a mixture of potting soil, sand and coco bark, this mixture is a good absorber of faeces and fluids, which make cleaning the enclosure quit easy. Heating control is done in the enclosure with a 100 watt spotlight and a 40 watt light bulb on either side of the enclosure. The temperature under the spotlight can grow up to around 350C, the average temperature in the enclosure is around 25 – 280C. I also provide the snakes with a small water bowl, only when they come up for a shed I give them a 10 litter bowl with water so they can take a bath to if they want.
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Copyright©2002
Richard Mastenbroek
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This
page is not build to stimulate people to keep venomous snakes. All Captive
information given on this page is based on own experience