Hi All,
A disclaimer up front: I have neither experience nor interest in keeping hots. Back in the US I keep a range of boids, and the specimen pictured in this post was a "gift" from a friend. I look forward to releasing it shortly -- although not in the residential neighborhood in which I currently reside.
The snake was described to me as "ular sendok," which is the generic name for "cobra" in Indonesian. A friend's brother came upon it in the woods outside of Bogor, West Java. Knowing that I like snakes he captured it and gifted it to me...
I was suspicious of its description as a "cobra" since that seems to be the name folks reach for with an unfamiliar snake. However, on moving it from the tupperware it arrived in into a hastily arranged aquarium with an improvised hook (coat hanger), it definitely seemed to hood up. It is quite small and I would guess not older than 5-6 months. My off-the-cuff supposition was naja sputatrix, but I would be curious to hear from someone with a better sense of Southeast Asian elapids.
Thanks in advance!
Again: I have no interest in keeping it. By the weekend I should have a chance to relocate it back to the general area where it is said to have originated from. In my crowded residential neighborhood of Jakarta, it wouldn't make sense to release it. For the time being it is in an aquarium with a cardboard hide and and a water dish. Thankfully, since this is its native region, I don't have to worry much about temperature, which range in the room its located in from daytime highs of 90 to nighttime lows of 77.
