Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all:

About the coolest thing I have ever seen on t.V. was a few years ago on Discover channel. It was a show on snakes and they showed an Indian family who free roams and free hand picks up their family pet 18 foot king cobra.

It was quite an amazing show. This Indian Family have it just as a free roamer in their yard like it was their pet dog. At night, the man of the house just goes and picks the snake up in the middle of the snake's body. Tame as can be. They use the snake as a gimmick to sell this special wood that supposedly offers protection from deadly snakes.

I am just in awe of the husbandry skills of this Indian Family. Not that I think it would be possible, nor would I want to try, but in my fantasy world, I dream of one day being able to replicate their amazing feat for my own self!

Who here wouldn't dream of being able to free roam and pet their own 18 footer as though it was just a family dog?

Does anyone have any insights or more info on this very special kind of husbandry? I don't travel much, but I am sure if I were ever in India, I would want to go visit this family and learn from them.

Calling it amazing is the understatement of the century! Yet, I have no other word to describe this thing. And I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it on film with my own eyes!

That is what I wanted to talk about.

cheers.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

I'm not sure about this particular individual but snake charmers in India are known for removing venom glands and even sewing the cobra's mouth shut before working with them.
Hopefully, that's not the case in this situation but you did mention that he was using the cobra as a gimick to sell something.
Chris

>>I'm not sure about this particular individual but snake charmers in India are known for removing venom glands and even sewing the cobra's mouth shut before working with them.
>>Hopefully, that's not the case in this situation but you did mention that he was using the cobra as a gimick to sell something.
>> Chris

Hi Chris:

No. I do not think they did anything to alter the snake. The family is said to respect the snake. Narrator said that the snake is tame. It was raised as a baby by that family. They did mention that it is a deadly snake that can easily kill its handlers.
On some level, I do believe that if there is a snake that can choose to become bonded with human-beings, it would be the king cobra (another snake that have been described as taking to its owners is the borneo short tail python). Cobras are intelligent animals. I have heard it decribed as: "you can see the intelligence in their eyes as you look into them." I got that quote from an article in Venomousreptiles.org. It was an article talking about a boy's experience catching a beautiful spitting cobra.

I would only imagine that king cobras are probably even more intelligent than even spitting cobras and can somehow bond with human families.

I do wonder about what this family feed this snake and what feeding times is like. I mean is this snake so intelligent that it won't bite frenzily with the smell of food? (The show didn't go into the details of what it feeds on--I almost wonder if the snake is just allowed to free roam and feed on wild rodents or reptiles). Also, the show did not go into breeding. I would imagine that they can't just pick up neonates like they do with this 18 footer who is used to humans.

Talk about an apprentice opportunity! I just don't htink you can get a better mentor this Indian family who probably have been dealing with cobras for hundreds of years. It would be my dream to go apprentice under them! (But it will probably always remain only a dream and a fantasy!). In short, I have a lot of respect for the snake and his family.

cheers.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

I'll let you know if my little P. curtus brongersmai starts following me around the house... He actually seems more afraid of me than my Cerastes does, even though I handle him a lot.

nm

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the short tail family. I just never got one because I know that they require very specific husbandry.

That is one gorgeous animal. I have often thought of the borneo short tail as a cross between a ball python and a Gaboon viper! Close your eyes picture such a theoretical cross. Now open your eyes and look at the picture. See what I mean?

cheers.
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Yeah, they rock pretty hard. They've got that gabby head, too. I think it's because they both live in forest environments, so they're both in the 'big fat terrestrial snake' niche. The husbandry really isn't that tough if you get a CB one. You just need to learn a bit about humidity, which is good for a herper to know anyway. They don't seem nearly as sensitive as, say, rainbow boas. Other than that he eats f/t and doesn't bite. I just hope he's as charitable when he gets so big I have trouble lifting him...

(if you notice the name change between the two pics... he went to the vet and hemipenes were everted at some point)
Why not? Another pic

I too have seen this episode of the family with the large (though not quite 18', since that is the longest record length for this species) king. It's not unimaginable that a snake like this could become "tame" just like almost all other snakes can be. Relatively intelligent snakes may tend to become more tame than others that are less intelligent because they may be more apt to realize that the people aren't there to hurt them. However, that's NOT a smart move of that family to make, like it or not. Yeah they think the snake is tame, but even tame snakes can have a bad day every once in a while. By the way, no the king wasn't a venomoid nor was its mouth sewn shut. It was actually in very good condition. But from the few clips they showed of it, they are probably leaving out stuff like the snake standing and hooding every now and again (though it did hood a bit at the pet dog), and probably even takes a few swings at them from time to time. If you are in any way considering trying to "tame" a hot snake, especially a king, to let it free roam in your house, well I just don't have anything nice to say to you so I won't say anything at all, lol. No, but seriously, please don't ever attempt anything like this. A very large king could make short work of you or anyone else on this forum if they tried a stunt like that.

That same family (kids included) was in the woods digging up a nest of baby cobras...That was pretty amazing too.