# The Beauty of Samar Cobras!



## Najakeeper (Aug 16, 2014)

Well, I had to post a new topic about these guys. After my move to Switzerland and needed to get a permit, I had to decide which cobra species to keep due to space restrictions. Aside from the _N.kaouthia_ morphs and the water cobras, I choose the _Naja samarensis_, the Samar Cobra. 

These animals come from the Samar Island in the Southern Philippines. Although they are true spitters, adults rarely do so and this is a nice spitter to work with. Also, their colors are so amazing, this just makes them the most beautiful _Naja_ species in my opinion and they stay around 3ft range, less than a meter in most cases. The only problem with them is their 'attitude'. These guys are always angry and they do not take prisoners. Someone I know used to say that if they were 6 ft instead of 3, we would probably be all evolved from them .

Ok, here is my female, which is a whopping 1.3 meters, very large for this species:



















And my male, which is much smaller:



















And here is a feeding video:

[youtube]u2vP4QBhiUA[/youtube]

Reactions: Like 9


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## The Snark (Aug 16, 2014)

The only word that comes to mind is sexy.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Najakeeper (Aug 16, 2014)

The Snark said:


> The only word that comes to mind is sexy.


They are, aren't they? A Mustang Cobra with same colors would be sexy!


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## ratluvr76 (Aug 16, 2014)

Absolutely beautiful snakes. Do you breed them for sale? Do you milk them and sell them venom? Or do you just keep them because they interest you. Sorry for being nosy, I'm just curious lol. Truly beautiful. I'm a chicken though and could never keep hots.


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## freedumbdclxvi (Aug 16, 2014)

I gotta agree - sexy is the best descriptor.  And their intelligence just amazes me - the way the male tracked your every movement at the beginning of the video was awesome, in all of its meanings.


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## Najakeeper (Aug 16, 2014)

ratluvr76 said:


> Absolutely beautiful snakes. Do you breed them for sale? Do you milk them and sell them venom? Or do you just keep them because they interest you. Sorry for being nosy, I'm just curious lol. Truly beautiful. I'm a chicken though and could never keep hots.


I keep them because they interest me. I will breed them as well but that's a part of my interest more than the potential financial benefit. 

I don't milk them because:

-Stressful for the snake
-Stressful and dangerous for the keeper
-No lab will buy venom from me

I am glad you guys like them. Samar cobras were in my list since 2003. I was in the US back than and there were only a few available with a price tag of 6k for a pair of babies! I am glad I live in a country where I can buy a full grown pair for less than a k.

Reactions: Like 1


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## freedumbdclxvi (Aug 16, 2014)

You guys have some amazing reptiles over across the pond that are high ticket or impossible to get here in the states.  (I am looking at you, albino African rock python.)


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## viper69 (Aug 16, 2014)

Wow these are gorgeous!!!!! I didn't realize there was a cobra that was only a meter, let alone a small spitter.

I'm actually surprised Switzerland lets people keep HOTS to be honest. My friend lives there and they don't even like when you flush the toilet after 10pm in apartments. And some apt bldg's have assigned laundry day. Seemed like a beautiful safe and somewhat quirky restrictive country in odd tiny ways.


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## Najakeeper (Aug 17, 2014)

viper69 said:


> Wow these are gorgeous!!!!! I didn't realize there was a cobra that was only a meter, let alone a small spitter.
> 
> I'm actually surprised Switzerland lets people keep HOTS to be honest. My friend lives there and they don't even like when you flush the toilet after 10pm in apartments. And some apt bldg's have assigned laundry day. Seemed like a beautiful safe and somewhat quirky restrictive country in odd tiny ways.


You can own pretty much anything in this country if you obey the regulations, if you are persistent enough and patient enough. I have explained the permit process in another topic. It is time consuming and expensive but I think it is fair.


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## The Snark (Aug 17, 2014)

Najakeeper said:


> They are, aren't they? A Mustang Cobra with same colors would be sexy!


Imagining the Super Snake...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Mustang#mediaviewer/File:2010_Ford_Mustang_GT500--DC.jpg


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## Tongue Flicker (Aug 17, 2014)

Jus a little correction, Samar is in the eastern Philippines 

But yes of all the spitters, this sp. Is definitely on top. Not so spitty and not so long as most cobras sp. as well


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## Najakeeper (Aug 17, 2014)

Tongue Flicker said:


> Jus a little correction, Samar is in the eastern Philippines
> 
> But yes of all the spitters, this sp. Is definitely on top. Not so spitty and not so long as most cobras sp. as well


Ah, my geography fails me again . More east than south for sure.


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## klawfran3 (Aug 17, 2014)

at the 1:30 part when he turned to your hand, I jumped a little. one of the ballsiest things I've seen in a while. That is by far one of the most beautiful snakes I have seen. And yes, I agree. Sexy is a good describer!


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## Najakeeper (Sep 1, 2014)

The Samar male looks so peaceful behind the glass... 2 seconds before he starts thrashing in the terrarium  :

Reactions: Like 1


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## Najakeeper (Sep 4, 2014)

Here is a macro of the female:

Reactions: Like 3


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## The Snark (Sep 4, 2014)

To my deranged thinking their heads look a lot like the grumpy O Hannah appearance.


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## Nada (Sep 4, 2014)

I'm not usually a big fan of Hots, but these are stunning. Great pics, Great Vid.


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## Najakeeper (Sep 5, 2014)

The Snark said:


> To my deranged thinking their heads look a lot like the grumpy O Hannah appearance.


Well, they are always grumpy. I am glad they are small, otherwise they won't be manageable. They keep chasing me...



Nada said:


> I'm not usually a big fan of Hots, but these are stunning. Great pics, Great Vid.


Thanks.


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## Najakeeper (Sep 9, 2014)

Man, these are grumpy. I had to take the male out for a routine cleaning and he refused to go into the temp. enclosure. Proceeded to chase me around etc. Finally, after the cage cleaning, this is his reaction:







Sorry for the quality as it is a cell phone photo...

Reactions: Like 3


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## Mike41793 (Sep 9, 2014)

Never will own one but very beautiful animals!


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## The Snark (Sep 9, 2014)

Mike41793 said:


> Never will own one but very beautiful animals!


Don't kid yourself. Keeping hots like these healthy and happy means they own you.... "Yesss massster."


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## Najakeeper (Sep 10, 2014)

The Snark said:


> Don't kid yourself. Keeping hots like these healthy and happy means they own you.... "Yesss massster."


Very true! Cleaning cobra crap almost everyday! Which servant does that?!?


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## The Snark (Sep 11, 2014)

Well, just look on the bright side as you labor away, intoning your mantra, 'At least it's not a Hannah... at least it's not a Hannah...' 

I visited the snake farm the other day. Hadn't been there in months. Looking in 'Mom and Pop's' containment was mom looking extremely mean at everything around her and her little brood of kids. Looking very porked out too. She ate her hubby a couple of nights earlier.


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## Najakeeper (Sep 11, 2014)

The Snark said:


> Well, just look on the bright side as you labor away, intoning your mantra, 'At least it's not a Hannah... at least it's not a Hannah...'
> 
> I visited the snake farm the other day. Hadn't been there in months. Looking in 'Mom and Pop's' containment was mom looking extremely mean at everything around her and her little brood of kids. Looking very porked out too. She ate her hubby a couple of nights earlier.


Oh shit! That sucks!

Also, hannah shit smells like hell with all the undigested scales and other snake material.

By the way, the next thing on instagram is free handling hannah babies! At least 3-4 people are at it. Completely crazy!


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## Najakeeper (Sep 11, 2014)

Najakeeper said:


> Oh shit! That sucks!
> 
> Also, hannah shit smells like hell with all the undigested scales and other snake material.
> 
> By the way, the next thing on instagram is free handling hannah babies! At least 3-4 people are at it. Completely crazy!


Snark, for some reason your last post is deleted but anyway, it is not hannah's only unfortunately. They are doing it with a bunch of venomous snakes including kraits.

Here are some *examples:

*Dislaimer: Non of these animals are mine. I am just reposting some pictures which was shared publicly by other individuals. Venomous snakes should not be free-handled by anyone.


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## TheDarkInfinity (Sep 11, 2014)

Beautiful snakes!!! I would love to be able to keep hots, but alas my state doesn't allow it  Someday though! Keep the pics coming!!


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## The Snark (Sep 11, 2014)

On a couple of occasions I free handed quiet and laconic rattlers and I was very gung ho at catching wild snakes bare handed before fully identifying them. Then I got banged on the shin, one fang, by a rattler. I'd like to wish 1/10th of that pain for 30 seconds onto every clown who thinks it's cool to free hand. Or a video would have been perfect. The ER staff trying to get my heavy leather engineer boot off. My leg swollen beyond belief. They made a tiny cut at the top of the boot and the swelling was so great it split the boot down to the instep. This is your extremity on snake venom!


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## Najakeeper (Sep 11, 2014)

The Snark said:


> On a couple of occasions I free handed quiet and laconic rattlers and I was very gung ho at catching wild snakes bare handed before fully identifying them. Then I got banged on the shin, one fang, by a rattler. I'd like to wish 1/10th of that pain for 30 seconds onto every clown who thinks it's cool to free hand. Or a video would have been perfect. The ER staff trying to get my heavy leather engineer boot off. My leg swollen beyond belief. They made a tiny cut at the top of the boot and the swelling was so great it split the boot down to the instep. This is your extremity on snake venom!


Yeah, I watched my thumb melt almost all the way to the bone from a yearling Montivipera xanthina bite, quite traumatic...


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## Twentytwenty (Sep 12, 2014)

Najakeeper said:


> Yeah, I watched my thumb melt almost all the way to the bone from a yearling Montivipera xanthina bite, quite traumatic...


I think I'll avoid venomous snakes...

Whats the blue snake with the red head, just out of curiosity? It looks really cool.


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## The Snark (Sep 12, 2014)

Spent the day yesterday doing snake rescue. The brilliant idea of putting in roads along all the major canals has had a side effect; it's a killing zone for all animals coming down for a drink. Yesterday was 3 baby Hannah. Has to be another 20 flattened ones over the length of my 20KM ride. Sigh


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## Najakeeper (Sep 16, 2014)

Twentytwenty said:


> I think I'll avoid venomous snakes...
> 
> Whats the blue snake with the red head, just out of curiosity? It looks really cool.


The red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps). I love them but they are snake eaters with pre-synaptic venom so not my thing. They get quite large also.



The Snark said:


> Spent the day yesterday doing snake rescue. The brilliant idea of putting in roads along all the major canals has had a side effect; it's a killing zone for all animals coming down for a drink. Yesterday was 3 baby Hannah. Has to be another 20 flattened ones over the length of my 20KM ride. Sigh


Two things, bad construction and "let's squash the snake" attitude. This sucks really...


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## Najakeeper (Sep 21, 2014)

Here is another Samar video. Both snakes are in their permanent homes now and are enjoying life. I gave the female a bit of quail meet today and she seemed to love it.

[YOUTUBE]wMcBoS366ks[/YOUTUBE]

Reactions: Like 1


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## freedumbdclxvi (Sep 21, 2014)

Amazing video.


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## Julia (Sep 26, 2014)

Ohhhh no.  No no no.  The very first picture made me shudder, tremble, and panic...all at the same time.  It still hasn't let up and it's been 5 minutes.  You need a warning on here, my friend!  

*TRYPOPHOBICS, BEWARE!!*

(click here if you've never heard of trypophobia)


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## Najakeeper (Sep 26, 2014)

Julia said:


> Ohhhh no.  No no no.  The very first picture made me shudder, tremble, and panic...all at the same time.  It still hasn't let up and it's been 5 minutes.  You need a warning on here, my friend!
> 
> *TRYPOPHOBICS, BEWARE!!*
> 
> (click here if you've never heard of trypophobia)


How inconsiderate of me . Kidding aside, I should be more understanding as my wife also suffers from this issue.


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## Fyrwulf (Sep 26, 2014)

Najakeeper said:


> The red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps). I love them but they are snake eaters with pre-synaptic venom so not my thing. They get quite large also.


Pretty sure that's Calliophis bivirgatus. The red of Bungarus flaviceps tends to not terminate on the head like that and goes quite a ways up the tail with no interruption. Not that handling a snake with venom glands that go 1/3 down the length of the body is any smarter.

EDIT: Also, Krait bodies tend towards a triangular cross-section. The snake in your picture does not.


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## The Snark (Sep 26, 2014)

Fyrwulf said:


> Pretty sure that's Calliophis bivirgatus. The red of Bungarus flaviceps tends to not terminate on the head like that and goes quite a ways up the tail with no interruption. Not that handling a snake with venom glands that go 1/3 down the length of the body is any smarter.
> 
> EDIT: Also, Krait bodies tend towards a triangular cross-section. The snake in your picture does not.


Good call. No dorsal ridge scale. I had krait hazard seriously brought home to me the other day. Chatting with a friend who is a real jungle person, Burmese hilltribe completely at home living in the jungles. When discussing snakes and the krait came up he gave me a local term coined for them I couldn't pronounce. He emulated firing a pistol between his eyes. The 'bang, you're dead' snake.


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## Najakeeper (Sep 27, 2014)

Fyrwulf said:


> Pretty sure that's Calliophis bivirgatus. The red of Bungarus flaviceps tends to not terminate on the head like that and goes quite a ways up the tail with no interruption. Not that handling a snake with venom glands that go 1/3 down the length of the body is any smarter.
> 
> EDIT: Also, Krait bodies tend towards a triangular cross-section. The snake in your picture does not.


Good catch, posted the wrong photo.


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## Najakeeper (Oct 5, 2014)

Just beautiful...

Reactions: Like 1


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## Fyrwulf (Oct 19, 2014)

Are yours anything like Viperkeeper's in temperament?


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## Najakeeper (Oct 20, 2014)

Fyrwulf said:


> Are yours anything like Viperkeeper's in temperament?


Yeah, they are all natural born A**holes. One friend used to say that if these were 6ft instead of 3ft, all animal life would have evolved from them .

The only difference with me and Al is that Al keeps them in small non-transparent racks and they don't see him much so they are even more aggressive towards him. Mine are bit more used to me as they see me everyday from their large naturalistic terrariums.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 2, 2014)

The male got a nose rub from striking and rubbing at the glass door.

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/1359/4x87aT.jpg

I have put some antibiotic cream on the wound and covered the cage with cloth so he doesn't see outside. This has never happened to my snakes in all these years so any input about what else I can do for him is appreciated.


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## freedumbdclxvi (Nov 2, 2014)

I'vea couple retics do that.  I tend to keep them a bit drier than usual, clean it up, and up feeding a bit to get a shed orntwo in to clear it up.


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## The Snark (Nov 2, 2014)

Najakeeper said:


> The male got a nose rub from striking and rubbing at the glass door.
> 
> I have put some antibiotic cream on the wound and covered the cage with cloth so he doesn't see outside. This has never happened to my snakes in all these years so any input about what else I can do for him is appreciated.


If you can narrow it down to a single cause or motivating factor, could you post it? There are several snakes at the farm that do this habitually. Why they initially started is a mystery. A female O. Hannah, a female Burm, a tree viper - sex unk, and a couple of Kaouthai. Moving the kaouthai to the large communal enclosure didn't help as they would rub away at the concrete wall. Isolating the Burm helped, but no idea why. Covered the viper pen (complete darkness) for several days and relocated it helped though it  still strikes at the glass occasionally. Hannah quit on her own, again unknown why.
Once they quit a shed or two gets them pretty well fixed though if the underlying tissue gets really deformed it can be permanent.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 3, 2014)

The Snark said:


> If you can narrow it down to a single cause or motivating factor, could you post it? There are several snakes at the farm that do this habitually. Why they initially started is a mystery. A female O. Hannah, a female Burm, a tree viper - sex unk, and a couple of Kaouthai. Moving the kaouthai to the large communal enclosure didn't help as they would rub away at the concrete wall. Isolating the Burm helped, but no idea why. Covered the viper pen (complete darkness) for several days and relocated it helped though it  still strikes at the glass occasionally. Hannah quit on her own, again unknown why.
> Once they quit a shed or two gets them pretty well fixed though if the underlying tissue gets really deformed it can be permanent.


I can think of a few things:

a-In the previous owner's place, this guy was kept in a tiny enclosure but with a lot of fake foliage. Now, he is in a large enclosure with less foliage naturally, which might have stressed him.
b-In the previous owner's place, he was kept in a quite area, now he is in the center of the snake room so , being an a**hole Samar cobra, he strikes at the glass anytime he sees me.
c-His environment is very naturalistic, which attracts harmless bugs and he may be trying to rub them off. I am going to stop spraying the cage a bit to kill of some of the fauna inside.

So, I am just keeping him covered for now to see if that will help. I snuck a peek a couple times and he seems to be calmer. I will take him out again on wednesday, do a check and apply some antibiotics. Currently, underlying tissue is intact so if he stops, he should heal well but if he doesn't he can rub it down to do bone, which won't heal well. I am keeping my fingers crossed.


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## Najakeeper (Nov 5, 2014)

So I took him out yesterday to put some more medication on. Seems like the wound scabbed very well, these is no bleeding so covering his cage helped. He doesn't seem to be rubbing his nose now.

Pinning these guys is terribly difficult though, took 10 mins of adrenalin fueled excitement yesterday. They fight fang and scale (tooth and nail/fang and scale, get it?)... I think I have destroyed the tiny amount of trust we had.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Najakeeper (Dec 14, 2014)

The Samars are up from a month long pre-breeding brumation and they are hungry! They ate two small rats each and asked for more.

Here is a video:

[YOUTUBE]dkHD3w-vCEQ[/YOUTUBE]

Reactions: Like 1


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## Najakeeper (Jan 21, 2015)

Hi Guys,

So breeding attempt is fully on.

The male seems crazy interested but the female doesn't seem to care much. Yet, they might have already mated, we will see soon...







[YOUTUBE]9OlYePuq9cg[/YOUTUBE]

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tleilaxu (Feb 16, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> Snark, for some reason your last post is deleted but anyway, it is not hannah's only unfortunately. They are doing it with a bunch of venomous snakes including kraits.
> 
> Here are some *examples:
> 
> *Dislaimer: Non of these animals are mine. I am just reposting some pictures which was shared publicly by other individuals. Venomous snakes should not be free-handled by anyone.


Well considering that coral snake was likely dying its understandble that they could get away with free handling that, even Al (Viperkeeper) cannot keep them alive for long even with force feeding, they even refused dead baby cornsnakes. 

As for the rest yeah free handling does nothing but damage the hobby and makes proper hot keepers look bad.


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## Najakeeper (Jun 8, 2015)

I thought my 8 years old female Samar Cobra could handle a quail but it turns out she cant  :

[YOUTUBE]DeQpBOONKYg[/YOUTUBE]


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## Chris LXXIX (Jun 8, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> I keep them because they interest me. I will breed them as well but that's a part of my interest more than the potential financial benefit.
> 
> I don't milk them because:
> 
> ...


I agree but why no lab will buy the venom from you?


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## Najakeeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Chris LXXIX said:


> I agree but why no lab will buy the venom from you?


Because my house does not meet the expected sterility standards that a European venom research facility would expect.


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## The Snark (Jun 9, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> Because my house does not meet the expected sterility standards that a European venom research facility would expect.


Jumping through hoops of fire? Drop sinks. NSF or equiv approved wall coverings and splash guards and so on? I understand it's about the same as government sponsored and certified food production facilities.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jun 9, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> Because my house does not meet the expected sterility standards that a European venom research facility would expect.


I see. But let me say that i've seen hospitals here less clean than your house, ah ah. Btw i recognize you.. you have a YT channel.. you are a Galatasaray S.K supporter?
I remember Fatih Terim, A.C Milan coach back then :-O

---------- Post added 06-09-2015 at 05:29 PM ----------

You have amazing great snakes, man. You have balls.. while i'm fascinated by Cobra (i have a _Naja naja_ tattoo) in general, i would never, never, never have the courage to own one on my home.
Take my hat off.


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## The Snark (Jun 9, 2015)

Chris LXXIX said:


> I see. But let me say that i've seen hospitals here less clean than your house, ah ah. ...


Don't be fooled. Hospitals that don't restrict casual visitors access are filthy. The only thing that keeps them from being disease propagators is the continual efforts of housekeeping and their protocols, policies and procedures. Labs on the other hand usually restrict access and constantly monitor potential disease and contamination sources.


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## Chris LXXIX (Jun 10, 2015)

The Snark said:


> Don't be fooled. Hospitals that don't restrict casual visitors access are filthy. The only thing that keeps them from being disease propagators is the continual efforts of housekeeping and their protocols, policies and procedures. Labs on the other hand usually restrict access and constantly monitor potential disease and contamination sources.


I know Sir. That was just for say (even if we know it's true about hospitals) i know that labs are a sort of "Star Trek/Resident Evil/Don't enter unless you pass through a 90° boiled complete wash" areas. Just that, me, being an idiot, have a part of me who thinks that when it comes to venom, and rare animals venom, all the available help should be considered important, but there's those standards to deal with.


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## The Snark (Jun 10, 2015)

An anecdote. I still have a chuckle over it. Went to work at Cal Tech one day and was told we were working in the isolation lab. Full protective suit up in  clean room and the whole pile of foof. Made work impossible. Asked the lab tech WTF when he finally came in. No, we weren't doing anything different. The idiots down at the end of the hall just got some plutonium to play with and the place hadn't yet been cleared for contamination. The protective suits were gratis from taxpayer $$$ required by the Feds according to some protocol.
I'm sure the rat liver DNA appreciated the extra care and attention that day.


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## Najakeeper (Jun 11, 2015)

Yeah, I have worked in a genetics lab where I was doing bacterial genetics research and my room is not at that standard even though I keep it clean.

If someone approaches me for venom of any of the snakes I have with legitimate need, I will gladly help out and take them to a research facility where we can get this done properly.

But my main aversion to milking for venom is, I don't want to put the animals and myself under stress just for cash.


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## The Snark (Jun 11, 2015)

Najakeeper said:


> Yeah, I have worked in a genetics lab where I was doing bacterial genetics research and my room is not at that standard even though I keep it clean.
> 
> If someone approaches me for venom of any of the snakes I have with legitimate need, I will gladly help out and take them to a research facility where we can get this done properly.
> 
> But my main aversion to milking for venom is, I don't want to put the animals and myself under stress just for cash.


I recall one paper published on the life span and reproductive ability of snakes kept specifically for venom extraction. I'm sure there are several similar papers as you have ideal circumstances to establish an analysis. My recollection is fuzzy but all milked snakes suffered some degree of stress but some far more than others. Shortened life span was common and predictable with all of them but reproduction varied widely from species to species. If memory serves, O Hannah would not reproduce at all at one end of the spectrum and certain crotalids were entirely unaffected.


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## Najakeeper (Sep 1, 2015)

The Snark said:


> I recall one paper published on the life span and reproductive ability of snakes kept specifically for venom extraction. I'm sure there are several similar papers as you have ideal circumstances to establish an analysis. My recollection is fuzzy but all milked snakes suffered some degree of stress but some far more than others. Shortened life span was common and predictable with all of them but reproduction varied widely from species to species. If memory serves, O Hannah would not reproduce at all at one end of the spectrum and certain crotalids were entirely unaffected.


Yeah, especially shy snakes, who live in the rain forest canopy get really stressed out. Asian Coral Snakes are a great example.


In the meantime, here is a new video of the female Samar:

here is a video of my female Samar Cobra:

[YOUTUBE]z-FXHJR2vGM[/YOUTUBE]

Reactions: Like 2


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## Najakeeper (Nov 30, 2015)

These guys are out of their brumation:

[YOUTUBE]VENUafrXsYc[/YOUTUBE]


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