Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a friend who has a breeding pair and when he first obtained them sometime last year they were really moody, meaning they would spit at anything that moves. Now he claims that the female cant spit anymore, for some reason or another, that she just strikes if annoyed. Is there any reason why a spitter would be unable to spit venom after a certain period of time or because of some sort of stress or trauma? thanks

Considering that spitting is a function of the fangs' openings and the muscle pressure on the glands forcing the venom out of those openings, it is completely possible that trauma of some sort could physically prevent her from spitting. She might've banged the glass out of fury and damaged one of both of the fangs, or possibly even the musculature of her head that controls the venom's fluid pressure.

More likely though, she's just settling down to captivity and no longer spitting. This is something that very commonly occurs with any snake that puts on an elaborate defensive display: cobras in general tend to stop hooding, hognoses stop hooding and playing dead, and baby pythons eventually stop biting! It's just a natural reaction, or numbing if you will, to the daily stresses of captivity.

I would advise your friend to keep an eye on her. If it was trauma that caused the change in behavior, he needs to make sure an infection doesn't develop. Mouth rot is *not* fun to treat in venomous snakes.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

>>It's just a natural reaction, or numbing if you will, to the daily stresses of captivity.

I agree with everything up to here. Although this may be the case with some behaviors in some snakes, I would say it's the other way around with others. I believe that generally, cobras stop hooding because they feel more comfortable after they settle in and learn that humans are not a threat. Spitters stop spitting for one of two reasons. Either they are calming down and don't feel threatened, or (maybe more likely if she's still striking the glass) they realize it doesn't work when they're in the cage. Trauma or disease is certainly a possibility too.

It might be interesting (although not neccessarily a good idea) to get her out of the cage and see if she spits.

Thanks for the input. I kind of figured it was some sort of calming effect. I dont believe it's mouth rot, (although not for sure), because she seems healthy other than the fact that my friend said its not eating as much as he thought it should. About once a month. F/t mice has been the choice food, but she has also been known to accept a hamster or two.

You're completely right Larry. I should've thought a bit more about the type of snake in question. Cobras and other 'more intelligent' snakes probably do more get used to captivity rather than get numbed to it. Watching a family in India handle their gigantic king cobra on t.v. with impunity is somewhat indicative of that fact. I've had spitters in the past of various species that went both the way of calmness and the way of unending nuttiness. One case in point was a rinkhals that was bonkers when I received him, then within a month, wouldn't so much as mildly flare a hood. Of course this species is known for calming down in captivity. Most of the spitting Najas I've kept remained inclined to spit, at least on occasion. Most likely in this case, the snake is just realizing that spitting is a waste of a valuable resource. I too would change the scenery and see how she acts.
-Chance
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

I have had Naja siamensis and sputatrix many times over the years and my experience is that the sputatrix calmed down and rarely spit after a few months of captivity. However, the siamensis never stopped spitting! LOL! I currently have N. pallida and you can't make them spit! Go figure!

That's interesting Randal. I've had several siamensis and all were relatively calm compared to the other Asian and African spitters I've kept (save the rink). I've not kept sputatrix for any length of time, but assumed they were more similar to the other Asians like sumatrana and such.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

I appreciate all the input. I was wondering what your experience, Chance or anyone for that matter with the red spitters has been like. I have done my research and wanted to know some more info on this before i start making my decisions

I've not kept red spitters before, so I'm not qualified to give a whole lot of input there. I do know that they typically stay smaller than many other spitters (that being said, I've recently seen two that were at least 6'). They also typically calm down as they reach adulthood if raised properly (again, not always the case). They are one of the less toxic Najas, but of course they can still easily kill you. All in all, I believe they qualify nicely as a good early elapid simply for the above averages. Additionally, I think black and white spitters (N. siamensis) tend to be fairly easy to deal with, not to mention have a very attractive appearance.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

Black and White Spitters arent counted out either i suppose. The reds are the more attractive of the two and from i hear dont get that big.