Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After any additional information on FWC's. Keepers advice's and experience's.

How big they can get.?

How tame can they become.?

How toxic are they.?

Any tips on reproduction.?

Cheers,

Pele

here is a link to an article from GVS in Lodi
http://www.snakemuseum.com/cobra.htm
there are post below-my advise is to be careful when handling ANY snake & should find out as much info BEFORE aquiring it.
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norcalsnakemaster@comcast.net

You might want to check this forum further down for discussion that occured recently about the FWC's. Check this thread link
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=975718,975822.
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Tim Cole
www.Designeratrox.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Conservation through Education

How big they can get.?---- 6-7 ft. on average, some large specimens are up to 9ft.

How tame can they become.?---Pretty nippy as babies and juveniles, generally quiet down as adults, but they have an absolutely insane feeding response throughout their entire lives (if they are healthy) which must be seen to be believed...most bites from adult snakes occur during feeding.

How toxic are they.?--- venom has been compared to C. atrox, C. horridus, etc...HOWEVER, one must keep in mind that C. atrox venom is actually pretty weak drop for drop, and it's only by virtue of the sheer venom output that atrox are even dangerous. Expected output from a LARGE H. gigas that holds on for a few minutes and chew MIGHT be in the order of 10-20 mgs...compare that with 400 mgs from a large atrox and there is a world of difference in the severity of bites, even if the venom is comparable in toxicity. All that being said, caution should be excercised with ANY venomous snake, regardless of whether it it considered to be lethal or not.

Any tips on reproduction.?---This species is not hard to breed. Specifics are easily found on any number of discussions on this site.

Tim, I respectivly have to disagree with you that a FWC venom can be compared to a rattlesnake bite. The info out there implies more of a hemolytic component in the venom(excessive bleeding). Granted there needs to be more research done & anyone who has a snake should treat it with the upmost respect. I do not think that just because a Boomslang snake venom has caused deaths means all rearfanged snakes can be equally harmful. Like I said in earlier post-It is better to be safe than sorry. Until more research is done, caution should be on the first. There is alot of misinformation out there on all reptiles & I think everyone needs to be accountable for THEIR actions. As I tell people all the time "if they don't KNOW, Don't touch!"
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norcalsnakemaster@comcast.net

>>Tim, I respectivly have to disagree with you that a FWC venom can be compared to a rattlesnake bite.

Actually, using that comparison is rather helpful in that it puts it in context: that it is on par with a venom that takes 100 of injected venom to be lethal. In contrast, a chemically stimulated Hydrodynastes will yeild up to about 20 mgs. There are three points to be kept in mind: 1) the chemical stimulation shows what the max is, but this is an amount that Hydrodynastes would take 10-15 minutes of chewing to produce 2) the venom delivery system of Hydrodynastes is rudimentary, in contrast the vipers posess an extremely complex venom delivery system, the most advanced of all venomous snakes. Its like comparing a Model T with a Ferarri. Both are cars but we know which one will get you laid (unless she's into classic cars). So the Hydrodynastes is going to deliver much less efficiently than a viper. So of that maximum amount, only a proportion will get in. As you can see we are down to a few milligrams of venom that could be realistically delivered. Enough to knock a prey item around but not enough to severely harm a human. You might notice the symptoms but they will be transient and not life-threatening (and this risk of allergy is very low unless the person works around large amounts of dried venom). 3) Can't remember the third point

Cheers
B
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
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Australian Venom Research Unit,
University of Melbourne
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Population and Evolutionary Genetics Unit,
Museum Victoria
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http://www.venomdoc.com

Feeding response can vary. I hand feed the babies without any problems. Guess if you know the animals you can pretty much do anything?
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John Light
JL Exotics
Contact Me
Web Site

I have looked for info on false water cobras and can not find much. About the only thing I can tell you is that if you live in Cali, there is a breeder in Lodi. They are the only place I can get info. Larry gave you the link to their site already. It is where I got my pair. If you can, visit the serpentarium in lodi and see the ones they have there. They have their breeding adults on display and you can see how big they get. If not, visit the great valley serpentarium web site that Larry gave you the link to, it all goes to the breeders that I was talking about. All I can tell you is the experience that I've had from my baby FWC. Make sure they are fed in a seperate container and pay attention to detail when handling. My two are very active when held, but do not show aggression when being handled. They do the "tent" when in the cage if you sneak up on them, but seem to me that they'd rather get away than fight. Again, this is my own experience, and I have yet to hold adults.
As with any poisonous snake, handle with caution
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------Misty-------
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More pets than one room can hold. I listed them all but it looked ridiculous!!!
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