Africa's deadliest Snake? Black Mamba Venom and Natural History

[findi]

Hi All,

As any experienced reptile enthusiast knows, accounts concerning the size and aggressive nature of various snakes are usually highly exaggerated. The Black Mamba, however, comes close to living up to the legends that surround it, and has long been among the most feared of all African snakes. In the course of a lifetime spent working with venomous snakes in the wild and captivity, I’ve come to regard it as deserving of a special degree of respect. Today we’ll take a look at its natural history and behavior. Read more here http://bit.ly/10OMuvE

Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj and Facebook http://on.fb.me/KckP1m

Thanks, Frank
My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with http://bitly.com/LC8Lbp

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Great article.

 

[findi]

Great article.[/QUOT

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated! best, frank

 

[The Snark]

Nice article!
I was just thinking that we need someone to do a similar article on the hazards of caterpillars. Around these parts the greatest hazard to people isn't snakes or spiders but the dreaded caterpillar. It's very rare in Thailand to come across a first hand account of a significant snake bite but head out into the hills and the stories are legion of people, especially children, getting zapped and suffering severe reactions to caterpillars.

 

[findi]

Nice article!
I was just thinking that we need someone to do a similar article on the hazards of caterpillars. Around these parts the greatest hazard to people isn't snakes or spiders but the dreaded caterpillar. It's very rare in Thailand to come across a first hand account of a significant snake bite but head out into the hills and the stories are legion of people, especially children, getting zapped and suffering severe reactions to caterpillars.

Interesting...thanks. I've seen similar reactions to certain species in Central and South America...some very severe, and dangerous if an allergy is involved, best, Frank

 

[The Snark]

Interesting...thanks. I've seen similar reactions to certain species in Central and South America...some very severe, and dangerous if an allergy is involved, best, Frank

My wife is presently regaling me with stories of her encounters with caterpillars. Among other reactions have been a coma and a hematoma with profuse bleeding minutes after having one walk on her arm. What strikes me as funny is spiders around here are taken with a shrug but anyone who has lived in the hills goes into the arachnophobia style histrionics upon seeing a caterpillar, but much more justified.

 

[findi]

My wife is presently regaling me with stories of her encounters with caterpillars. Among other reactions have been a coma and a hematoma with profuse bleeding minutes after having one walk on her arm. What strikes me as funny is spiders around here are taken with a shrug but anyone who has lived in the hills goes into the arachnophobia style histrionics upon seeing a caterpillar, but much more justified.

Interesting to hear...I need to look into what's there at some point, best, Frank

 

[Najakeeper]

Great article.

With kings, taipans and some other large Australian elapids, black mambas are one of the few venomous snakes that I would not dare to keep in captivity. The size coupled with elapid speed and unpredictable behavior, Black Mambas are to be taken seriously 1000% of the time. That coffin shaped head is an indicator.

Still, there are several successful mamba keepers/breeders out there and my respect goes to all of them for their balls of steel. There is even one guy, who immunized himself against mamba venom and survives bites with minor local swelling.

On another note, Puff Adders probably still kill more people in Africa as it is easier to step on a viper than a retreating Mamba.

 

[findi]

Great article.

With kings, taipans and some other large Australian elapids, black mambas are one of the few venomous snakes that I would not dare to keep in captivity. The size coupled with elapid speed and unpredictable behavior, Black Mambas are to be taken seriously 1000% of the time. That coffin shaped head is an indicator.

Still, there are several successful mamba keepers/breeders out there and my respect goes to all of them for their balls of steel. There is even one guy, who immunized himself against mamba venom and survives bites with minor local swelling.

On another note, Puff Adders probably still kill more people in Africa as it is easier to step on a viper than a retreating Mamba.

Hi,

Thanks for your interest & kind words. Due to the near impossibility of getting proper care (appropriate transport to hospital with enough of the correct antivenin and experienced physician, etc) in most home situations, I do not believe that any venomous species should be kept in private collections. Speaking from experience here....I've worked in zoos for 30+ years, responded to many bites, and so on...

"Immunization" is not supported by the research;person was lucky or, (to cover all bases!) blessed...

As far as we know (record-keeping not ideal in rural regions), puff adders do bite and kill more people than other African species.

best regards, Frank

 

[Najakeeper]

I respect your opinion on venomous snake keeping. I also think venomous snake keeping is not the right thing to get into for "most" people.

"Immunization" is supported by 100s of years of research actually. Immunization by snake venom is a contraversial subject and has ethical limitations due to extreme danger, yet the basic science behind it is quite solid as all immunization. Please research Tim Friede ( http://timfriede.com/ ), who was given black mamba venom by injection on a National Geographic show (Super humans or something like that with the Professor X guy hosting). He has YouTube videos, where he gets himself bitten by various venomous snakes as well. Quite irresponsible and bad for our hobby but they are there. Also, there is a very nice Vice documentary on YouTube about a British guy, who has been immunizing himself for years. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q_m-rDUNw0 )

I do not advocate self-immunization in anyway as the risks are too great. One tiny miscalculation, or a natural immune response reaction may result to very quick death or serious injury. Yet, this does not mean that the scientific approach does not exist.

 

[findi]

I respect your opinion on venomous snake keeping. I also think venomous snake keeping is not the right thing to get into for "most" people.

"Immunization" is supported by 100s of years of research actually. Immunization by snake venom is a contraversial subject and has ethical limitations due to extreme danger, yet the basic science behind it is quite solid as all immunization. Please research Tim Friede ( http://timfriede.com/ ), who was given black mamba venom by injection on a National Geographic show (Super humans or something like that with the Professor X guy hosting). He has YouTube videos, where he gets himself bitten by various venomous snakes as well. Quite irresponsible and bad for our hobby but they are there. Also, there is a very nice Vice documentary on YouTube about a British guy, who has been immunizing himself for years. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q_m-rDUNw0 )

I do not advocate self-immunization in anyway as the risks are too great. One tiny miscalculation, or a natural immune response reaction may result to very quick death or serious injury. Yet, this does not mean that the scientific approach does not exist.

Hi,

Thanks...the only accepted scientific research on this, unless something has changed very recently, is published in the journals such as Toxicon, etc. Absent recent changes in the field that I may have missed, immunization is not accepted by medical or herpetological professionals. I'm familiar with the history of immunization attempts, especially with the man best noted for such, Bill Haast, and I respect much of what he did ( I missed him each time I was at M Serpentarium, but good friends and colleagues have worked with him), but in that area he fell short of his goals - but then again, he did live to within a few days of his 100th birthday, and remained sharp as a tack till then!!

No disrespect, but I've been through countless related conversations over the past decades and realize that I'm not about to change anyone's opinions; right now I do not have the time to forward the appropriate references, but most libraries can access Toxicon and related journals, if you wish to look into this further. I wish you the best in your endeavors, Frank

 

[The Snark]

Not meaning to hijack this thread but comments welcomed here. I would consider the western rattlesnake and the saw scale or Russells viper as the #1 snakes one would not want to keep. Now I would qualify that by mentioning my contact with them has always been ones that are warmed up and active. They are always ready to go to guns. Striking is an inevitable part of any work done in their habitat. The only saving grace is they remain coiled and you can stay outside their danger zone. They aren't bite happy like our Thai tree snake, striking once every 2 seconds or so whether they have a target or not, but just ultimately belligerent.

But really, the 'most dangerous' aspect is academic. A rattler will wham you, period if you enter it's strike zone. On the other hand the krait is hopelessly laconic and laid back most of the time. But due to the exceptional toxicity it is probably the #1 people killer in the world. What we really need are informative articles that give the behind the scenes of fellow animals like these so we can get to know and appreciate them better. As example, when reading about the great monster deadly nasty horrible lethal pernicious king cobra, how often in those sensationalist rags does it mention how devoted a mother the female is, foregoing all food in order to avoid eating her own young and during that period she will relenlessly attack any snake, including her own mate, yet not eat it, while protecting her brood.

 

[Najakeeper]

Hi,

Thanks...the only accepted scientific research on this, unless something has changed very recently, is published in the journals such as Toxicon, etc. Absent recent changes in the field that I may have missed, immunization is not accepted by medical or herpetological professionals. I'm familiar with the history of immunization attempts, especially with the man best noted for such, Bill Haast, and I respect much of what he did ( I missed him each time I was at M Serpentarium, but good friends and colleagues have worked with him), but in that area he fell short of his goals - but then again, he did live to within a few days of his 100th birthday, and remained sharp as a tack till then!!

No disrespect, but I've been through countless related conversations over the past decades and realize that I'm not about to change anyone's opinions; right now I do not have the time to forward the appropriate references, but most libraries can access Toxicon and related journals, if you wish to look into this further. I wish you the best in your endeavors, Frank

I agree that further discussion in this specific thread is quite unnecessary unless Louis Pasteur had a pet black mamba. I don't want to go into the details of artificially acquired active immunity, at least without my morning coffee anyway . Thank you for your well wishes.

---------- Post added 05-14-2013 at 07:32 AM ----------

Not meaning to hijack this thread but comments welcomed here. I would consider the western rattlesnake and the saw scale or Russells viper as the #1 snakes one would not want to keep. Now I would qualify that by mentioning my contact with them has always been ones that are warmed up and active. They are always ready to go to guns. Striking is an inevitable part of any work done in their habitat. The only saving grace is they remain coiled and you can stay outside their danger zone. They aren't bite happy like our Thai tree snake, striking once every 2 seconds or so whether they have a target or not, but just ultimately belligerent.

But really, the 'most dangerous' aspect is academic. A rattler will wham you, period if you enter it's strike zone. On the other hand the krait is hopelessly laconic and laid back most of the time. But due to the exceptional toxicity it is probably the #1 people killer in the world. What we really need are informative articles that give the behind the scenes of fellow animals like these so we can get to know and appreciate them better. As example, when reading about the great monster deadly nasty horrible lethal pernicious king cobra, how often in those sensationalist rags does it mention how devoted a mother the female is, foregoing all food in order to avoid eating her own young and during that period she will relenlessly attack any snake, including her own mate, yet not eat it, while protecting her brood.

In my experience, every genus is different when it comes to captivity. And then most of the different species of a genus have different things to focus on. And finally, each individual animal has a personality that differs from his/her siblings in the same clutch! So yeah, very broad topic... Maybe we should start a "Keeping Venomous Snakes" thread, where those of us who has worked/been working with these animals can share our experiences.

 

[Stefan2209]

And finally, each individual animal has a personality that differs from his/her siblings in the same clutch! So yeah, very broad topic... Maybe we should start a "Keeping Venomous Snakes" thread, where those of us who has worked/been working with these animals can share our experiences.

Hi,

i'd definitely appreciate to have a thread to talk about that!

I've never kept venomous reptiles at all, but am since long years fascinated by some venomous snakes. I always sticked to my very own "hots" though, because i don't consider myself to be some kind of "venom addict".

In the past years though i had a pause with keeping spiders and had considered the topic again, so i did some basic research about how to keep venomous snakes. I realized very fast, that i'd never do this (feeling too old by now, i have to admit - better stick to what i know and am in fact capable dealing with), but found some very interesting information from keepers of snakes that reminded me very much on my own observations with some toxic spiders.
I was especially surprised about that "personality issue" - "so that happens with snakes, too?!", was my first thought.

If you feel like opening up a thread i'll definitely pipe in.

Take care,

Stefan