- Joined
- Aug 8, 2005
- Messages
- 11,507
Motivated by the cobra threads here, I submitted to a friends offer of the behind the scenes tour of our local snake farm. Please keep in mind, said friend is not entirely sane. I did not expect to survive. The reptiles pictured are mostly his personal pets. Please notice I have taken nearly all these shots without the flash to retain their natural, unenhanced color.
Almost all the snakes are from the local area. Nobody is quite sure why, but the Isan spitter turned up in my local village, a couple of hundred miles from home.
We started the tour with 'The Old Man', simply because it was still cool and once this guy gets warmed up he is more than happy to try a sample of human.
About 10 yrs old. Weighing in at over 50 kg, length unknown, he will try to eat anything that moves. Of late chickens and small dogs go down the hatch like clockwork.
For you Crotalus buffs, a dog snake.
I renamed this guy @$$hole. The second I took my eyes off him he munched me.
Newly shed and showing off, a red tailed racer.
She was very curious about cameras.
Ghat Mak (Big bite) was posing so I had to shoot him. As mom always told me to avoid smiling dinosaurs, I chose not to go in. He is near 5 foot long excluding the tail and around 40 kg. To give you a hint, that is 1 inch mesh wire.
This is the legendary leaping or jumping snake. These ratters are bitehappy supreme and can actually leap entirely off the ground when striking. I witnessed one 4 footer strike straight up out of a sack well over 3 feet.
A Red Headed racer. I love how they coil for a strike.
In the mini jungle, the kids come out to pose. Two infant king's and a monocellate.
Very old, as you can tell by the lack of most markings, as well as rather grumpy, this black and white spitter can stay behind glass, thank you.
And then my friend's pride and joys. Dad (left) and Mom. Truly spectacular condition king cobras. Dad is 8 to 10 yrs, mom around 6.
I am told the easy way to tell a king is kiss it... no! The belly color doesn't extend above the lower jaw.
Mom, wipe your nose!
And of course, a couple of Mom and Dad's kids wanted to get in on the act.
Brother
and Sister
Take note of the extensive safety devices and protective clothing. I was perched on top of a table as sis had taken the opportunity to get more friendly.
And finally, something really stupid. This is one pissed off belligerent max Isan spitter. The safety precautions consisted entirely of, "try to stand behind her". Please forgive the poor photography. I was a tad busy.
Almost all the snakes are from the local area. Nobody is quite sure why, but the Isan spitter turned up in my local village, a couple of hundred miles from home.
We started the tour with 'The Old Man', simply because it was still cool and once this guy gets warmed up he is more than happy to try a sample of human.
About 10 yrs old. Weighing in at over 50 kg, length unknown, he will try to eat anything that moves. Of late chickens and small dogs go down the hatch like clockwork.
For you Crotalus buffs, a dog snake.
I renamed this guy @$$hole. The second I took my eyes off him he munched me.
Newly shed and showing off, a red tailed racer.
She was very curious about cameras.
Ghat Mak (Big bite) was posing so I had to shoot him. As mom always told me to avoid smiling dinosaurs, I chose not to go in. He is near 5 foot long excluding the tail and around 40 kg. To give you a hint, that is 1 inch mesh wire.
This is the legendary leaping or jumping snake. These ratters are bitehappy supreme and can actually leap entirely off the ground when striking. I witnessed one 4 footer strike straight up out of a sack well over 3 feet.
A Red Headed racer. I love how they coil for a strike.
In the mini jungle, the kids come out to pose. Two infant king's and a monocellate.
Very old, as you can tell by the lack of most markings, as well as rather grumpy, this black and white spitter can stay behind glass, thank you.
And then my friend's pride and joys. Dad (left) and Mom. Truly spectacular condition king cobras. Dad is 8 to 10 yrs, mom around 6.
I am told the easy way to tell a king is kiss it... no! The belly color doesn't extend above the lower jaw.
Mom, wipe your nose!
And of course, a couple of Mom and Dad's kids wanted to get in on the act.
Brother
and Sister
Take note of the extensive safety devices and protective clothing. I was perched on top of a table as sis had taken the opportunity to get more friendly.
And finally, something really stupid. This is one pissed off belligerent max Isan spitter. The safety precautions consisted entirely of, "try to stand behind her". Please forgive the poor photography. I was a tad busy.
Last edited:
