Cape Cobra (Naja nivea) - venomous and very dangerous.
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A family near Philadelphia found this young Cape Cobra in their driveway and the son captured it with a pool net, then they called me to come retrieve it.
It's very easy to hurt a snake's spine or ribs when using tongs, so I prefer to use the hook-and-tail method whenever possible. However, in this case I had to use my left hand to manage the net so I unfortunately had to use my tongs.
Please try to not ever handle snakes yourself - it's safest to leave handling to the experts and rather just keep an eye on the snake until one of us arrives. Luckily no-one got hurt and I was able to release the snake elsewhere.
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Also known as a "Koperkapel" or "Geelslang" in Afrikaans, the Cape Cobra is a common venomous snake in our area that can range in color from yellow through reddish brown to black.
When threatened or cornered, it's quick to spread a hood and won't hesitate to bite. Cape Cobra venom is highly neurotoxic (the most potent of any African cobra), which means that it attacks the nervous system and causes respiratory collapse (the victim stops breathing), which in turn leads to suffocation.
As in most cases, this snake was doing its best to try and get away from us humans. Even though it's essential to be respectful of the danger that a snake like a Cape Cobra poses, if you give them room to escape they will always try to get away and hide - there's no snake in South Africa that will aggressively chase you.
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Cape Cobra (Naja nivea) - venomous & very dangerous.
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I relocated this juvenile Cape Cobra from a power station in Parklands North earlier today.
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Also known as a "Koperkapel" or "Geelslang" in Afrikaans, the Cape Cobra is a common venomous snake in our area that can range in color from yellow through reddish brown to black.
When threatened or cornered, it's quick to spread a hood and won't hesitate to bite. Cape Cobra venom is highly neurotoxic (the most potent of any African cobra), which means that it attacks the nervous system and causes respiratory collapse (the victim stops breathing), which in turn leads to suffocation.
As in most cases, this snake was doing its best to try and get away from us humans. Even though it's essential to be respectful of the danger that a snake like a Cape Cobra poses, if you give them room to escape they will always try to get away and hide - there's no snake in South Africa that will aggressively chase you.
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Read more about this species here: https://bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/snake-profiles/naja-nivea-cape-cobra/
Find your nearest snake catcher's contact details here: https://snakeremoval.co.za/
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Aurora House Snake (Lamprophis aurora) - harmless.
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I collected this little Aurora House Snake from a place in Richwood a couple of days ago - unfortunately the home owner's cats had gotten hold of him but I treated his wounds.
These little snakes are very secretive, seldom seen, and completely harmless. Adults average 45-60 cm, but can occasionally reach lengths of 90 cm.
They are shiny olive green in color on top with a distinctive bright yellow to orange stripe running from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Below, they’re yellowish to light greenish white.
Favouring damp localities in grasslands, moist savannah, lowland forest, and fynbos, these snakes are mainly nocturnal (active at night) although they may be found basking in the early mornings or late afternoons.
They feed on nesting rodents, lizards, and frogs, and are oviparous, laying 8-12 eggs in summer.
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Spotted Skaapsteker (Psammophylax rhombeatus) - mildly venomous but harmless to humans.
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Spotted Skaapsekers average 45 - 85cm in length and can be found inhabiting fynbos, grassland, and moist savannah throughout most of South Africa.
They're diurnal (active during the day), and actively hunt rodents, lizards, birds, frogs, and other snakes.
Spotted Skaapstekers are mildly venomous, but they pose no danger to humans.
They are oviparous (egg-laying), and the 8-30 eggs they lay in the summer hatch about 6 weeks later.
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Read more about this species here: https://bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/snake-profiles/psammophylax-rhombeatus-rhombeatus-spotted-skaapsteker/
Find your nearest snake catcher's contact details here: https://snakeremoval.co.za/
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Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) - venomous and very dangerous.
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Read more about this species here: https://bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/snake-profiles/dispholidus-typus-typus-boomslang/
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A couple of minutes after I released the Cape Cobra I caught earlier today, I was called out to a house in Melkbosstrand where the home-owners saw a Boomslang in a tree.
Apparently this snake had been around a couple of times over the past few weeks, luckily I was able to capture it quickly and move it somewhere safer.
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Boomslang are known for their strikingly large eyes - the largest of any African snake. Females are light to olive brown with dirty white to brown bellies, whereas males may have a variety of colors but usually present dark green on top with yellow bellies and black markings in-between their belly scales.
Shy and diurnal (active during the day), they spend most of their lives in trees and shrubs where they hunt eggs, birds, frogs, chameleons, and other tree-dwelling lizards.
Their venom is haemotoxic, which means that it affects the clotting mechanism in blood and leads to severe internal and external bleeding, or even haemorrhage if untreated. Although potent, the venom is slow-acting and may take more than 24 hours to produce serious symptoms - an effective anti-venom is available in some locations.
There are two common myths about the Boomslang: firstly, that they drop from trees onto people who walk by (they don’t), and secondly that because they’re rear-fanged they can only bite you on your little finger (they are rear-fanged, but can open their jaws 170 degrees and bite you almost anywhere on your body).
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The #MotherOfAllStorms didn't hit Table View as hard as other parts of Cape Town, but here's some footage of the weather picking up as the storm approaches.
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