I thought I'd go ahead and oblige your request by relating a story about my first interactions with a forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca).
After a couple of years of handling other "lesser" Naja, I thought I'd give forests a swing. Keep in mind, at this point I had successfully kept and handled several other Naja species and hadn't had any real problems. I had always used the same handling techniques, occasionally employing the extra protection of chem goggles when I was dealing with a spitter. The point being, I felt fairly prepared to deal with this 4.5-5' w.c. forest. My my...was I wrong.
The snake arrived and I brought her home. I had the enclosure ready to go, but she had been shipped inside her trap box (shouldn't this have told me something??) inside the other crate, and the trap box wouldn't fit through the existing opening, so I had to first remove her. I generally make this a practice anyway so that I can get a good look at a new arrival before putting it away to its inevitable several-day sebatacle in the hide box. By now you know where this story is headed.
I unfastened the door of the trap box with hook in hand, then opened it with the hook and waited. Nothing. I cautiously peered into the opening with a flashlight and, sure enough, there were some black scales. I waited a while long, and still nothing. I went ahead and closed the trap door and decided that to get this snake out of there within a reasonable time frame, I was going to have to just take it apart. It was homemade and screwed together, so that was easy enough. I unscrewed one of the sides and, with the hook, slowly slid it off to the side.
As soon as she was exposed, she stood up. This 4.5-5' cobra lifted herself at least a good 2-2.5' off the ground. Upon looking back, I can venture a guess that with forest cobras, it is their pure fury that allows them to lift themselves more than the typical 1/3 of their bodies off the ground.
Not thinking too much of it, and actually kind of glad she was standing her ground instead of running, I approached her in the same manner I had several others. I carefully lifted her tail with the hook while keeping her focused on my foot rather than my hand which was moving steadily toward her waiting tail. I placed her tail in my hand and lifted her onto the hook. Well duh, the term 'forest' and the knowledge that they are semi-arboreal should've clued me off. She saw this shiny piece of metal and the warm ape arm holding it as a route to escape, so up she went!
Needless to say, I was no anticipating a Naja being as agile as a Dendroaspis, and therein lay my error. Before I could do anything else, she nose butted (or ricocheted) off of my closed fist, at which point I dropped her and the hook. That was my learning experience and my warning. I decided that she was a tong-only snake and quickly grabbed a pair of Gentle Giants while she was unwrapping herself from the hook.
Once I had her in the tongs, the rest of the experience went fine. Though of course, she was furious at being grabbed. I definitely learned a good lesson through all of that: Forest cobras are not your typical Najas!
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com
