Mozambique Spitting Cobra

Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica)

Length:

Adults have a average length of 90 – 120 cm, rarely 150 cm but this will be there maximum length. The tail is quite long and will be 15 – 20% of the total body length.

Zoological description:

The Mozambique Spitting cobra is a fairly small and slender snake with a medium sized eye in a blunt head, the body is cylindrical from shape with a long tail.

The colour on the back is usually brownish, pinkish or olive greenish in juveniles. Some larger adult will fade from colour and turn out to be more greyish. The ventral side is mostly pale brown, pinkish or grey. In the neck and throat and a third of the ventral side are black bars, speckles, blotches and spots mixed. Some specimens only have a few black spots while others can be almost black. Juveniles have often a salmon coloured throat.

Scales on the side of the head often have black edges. The skin between the scales over the body is black which looks like a sort of net appearance. The lips are black edged.

Mozambique Spitting Cobras can be confused with the Black/necked Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricollis nigricollis) that occurs often in the same area and looks quite similar to the Mozambique Spitting Cobra, but is often black or brown in colour.

Scalation:

- Dorsal scales at midbody 23 – 25 (21/27)

- Ventrals 177 – 205

- Subcaudals 52 – 71

- Subcaudals are Paired

- Anal plate is single

- Upper labials 6 (7)

- Preoculairs 2 (1)

- Postoculairs 3 (2)

- Lower labials 9 (8-11)

- Temporales variable

Taxonomic Note:

The Mozambique Spitting Cobra was together with the Red Spitting Cobra (Naja pallida) and the West African Brown Spitting Cobra (Naja katiensis) seen as a subspecies of the black-necked Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricollis) for quite some time. After that it was split up to a separate species which was called Naja mossambica mossambica and Naja mossambica pallida which where split up again in two different species named Naja mossambica and Naja pallida.

Geographic Range:

The Mozambique Spitting Cobra has a wide Geographical range true the African continent it occurs in Natal , Swaziland , Mozambique , which gave this snake his name, Transvaal , Zimbabwe , east and north Botswana , north-eastern Namibia , south-eastern Tanzania , its also known from Zanzibar but is quite rare there. The Mozambique Spitting Cobra also occurs south of lake Tanganjika in Malawi , and southern Zambia . In East Africa can Mozambique Spitting Cobras been found below 1000 m altitude, but in Southern Africa are they also found up to 1800 m altitude.

Habitat:

Mozambique Spitting Cobras have a wide variety of habitats where they occur. They can be found in ticket and moist savannah at low altitude, in coastal forests, bush and thorn fields, sometimes in semi dessert areas, and rocky areas. It is often found near permanent water holes. Mozambique Spitting Cobras are often found close to humans in city parks, and gardens were they look for rats that often can be found at trash stacks in gardens. Adult Mozambique Spitting Cobras are mostly nocturnal but can be found by day sun bathing close to there hiding spot, Juveniles are often diurnal, presumably to avoid food competition with adult or to avoid being eaten by adults. Mozambique Spitting Cobras search for shelter in hollow logs, under rocks, termite mounts, holes under ground and under thick bushes.

When Mozambique Spitting Cobras get molested they will rear up there front part of there body and spread there neck which we call the hood, they will hiss loud and spit there venom to there attacker if this not works they will run, but will sometimes flame death. To spit there venom do Mozambique Spitting Cobras not have to spread a hood and they can spit from the ground.

Captive Behaviour:

Mozambique Spitting Cobras can be very docile but also very fierce in captivity. Some specimens can be very docile animals for a long time and change without any given reason in furious snakes that will spit and strike without any given reason. I have seen juveniles growing up in my collection that where very calm snakes for over 2 – 3 years and will change a day later in a snake that is aggressive in all ways.

Mozambique Spitting cobras are active and curious snakes that need allot of space to show a semi natural behaviour in captivity. When provided with an of space and decoration to climb will they show a interesting behaviour and they will stay more laid back than when placed in a small enclosure. I handle my snakes by tailing them and keeping them away from my body with a snakehook, when working with this species I always wear safety glasses or even better a face mask. I feed my snakes out of a long tweezer which they accept immediately. Live prey items will be hunted down fairly quick and they will often hold there prey in there mouth, when they let there prey go they will hunt it down again and keep on biting.

Feeding:

In nature have Mozambique Spitting Cobras a wide variety of prey, they will eat amphibians, reptiles including other snakes, birds and there eggs, small mammals and even insects are recorded.

I feed my Mozambique Spitting Cobras mainly with defrosted mice, rats or chicks in there enclosure, when fed live prey items I will feed them in a bin. Hatchlings are fed with crickets and grasshoppers till they want to start eating baby mice after about 2- 3 months.

Breeding Mozambique Spitting Cobras:

When kept on a good way are Mozambique Spitting Cobras fairly easy to breed. As all cobras from the genus, Naja are Mozambique Spitting Cobras egg layers. The clutches count 8 – 22 (26) large eggs measuring a size of 35 x 20 mm. Mating in captivity occurs in April and after a gestation period of 2 months the eggs are laid. I hatched the eggs in a dry incubator at a temperature of 27 - 30⁰C with a humidity level around 80% which can be adjust by spraying water. After about 65 – 90 days the eggs will hatch, hatchlings measure a size of 20 – 25 cm when born, they will have there first shed after 9 – 11 days after they get offered food for the first time. I fed the hatchling on insects which they most of the time will take without any problem. The hatchlings are kept separate in plastic boxes till they reach a size of around 70 cm. I never put the Mozambique Spitting Cobras in a hibernation period, but the temperature in my snakeroom will drop during winter time and I will feed them less in this period.

Enclosure:

Juveniles are kept separate in plastic boxes on newspaper, with a small carton hiding box, a cricket box with humid soil and a small water-dish. The boxes are placed on a heating cable. Adults are kept as pair true out the year.

The enclosures measure a size of 120 x 50 x 50 cm (Length x Height x Wide) they are build from chip wood and are build in a sort of rack construction. The enclosure can be opened true two glass sliding doors, which can be locked with a glass showcase lock. Heating and lighting are done by a 60 Watt spotlight on the right side of the enclosure, the bottom of the enclosure is also heated true the enclosure under need the enclosure of the Mozambique Spitters. The average temperature in the enclosure is around 25 - 28⁰C and directly under the spotlight 34 - 38⁰C.

As a substrate I use a mixture of river sand and peat, which I don’t really like to use because of the dust, but the snakes seem to do perfect on this mixture. I have kept my Red Spitters also on a mixture of coco-peat, potting soil, river-sand and peat, which I mostly use at my other species of snakes but this substrate is to wet for the Mozambique Spitters and gives them skin problems. As decoration I use hollow cork, some sand-stone rocks and Elephant trees to give the enclosure a bit more colour. I don’t use a hiding box because the decoration provides an of hiding places in the enclosure. Water is provided twice a week in a shallow dish. In the enclosure I have placed a plastic box filled with some coco-peat which is a bit humid which is used for egg laying, and for the rest of the year to keep the humidity level good.

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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