Egyptian Cobras (Naja haje)

The Egyptian cobra is one of the most know species in the cobra family. By many tribes is it honoured and also feared, but is also used by snake charmers in there shows. Another well know story is that Cleopatra probably commit suicide with this cobra species.

Common names:

* Egyptian cobra
* Aspis

Zoological description:
- Morphology;
The Egyptian cobra is one of the largest cobras of the African continent. The head is large and depressed and slightly distinct from the neck. The neck from the Egyptian cobra is dilatable like all other species of the Naja complex. The dilatable neck or also called hood can be 15 -18 cm wide. The snout of the Egyptian cobra is just like the head moderately broad. The eyes are quit big with a round pupil. The body of the Egyptian cobra is cylindrical and stout with a long tail.

Length;
The length of the Egyptian cobra is strongly depending of the subspecies, population and geographic range. We can say that the average total length is 100 – 200 cm, with a maximum of 300 cm.

- Coloration;
The coloration of the Egyptian cobra is highly variable. The ground color may be yellow, crèmes, grayish, brown grey, copper-red, pale or dark brown or black with sometimes pale or dark spots over the body. In the neck they often show a black band or bands. The ventral side is mostly yellow white, yellow brown, grayish, blue grey, dark brown or black in coloration, often with dark spots.

Juvenile Egyptian cobras are yellow brown, crèmes or grey of color, with often darker spots over the body. In the neck do the juveniles show a dark cross band. The subspecies Naja haje legionis has a complete black head and neck, there body is yellowish white with black spots, after the juveniles get older they change there color and turn black.

Subspecies:

In the past we recognized 5 subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, two of those subspecies are now divided and placed as a new species with one subspecies. The two lost subspecies of the Egyptian cobra were named as Naja haje annulifera and Naja haje anchietae in the new taxonomic way are they renamed and we will call them Naja annulifera annulifera and Naja annulifera anchietae. The tree other subspecies are still recognized as subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, they are named;

· Naja haje haje – South of the Sahara , from Senegal to East and North- east Africa

· Naja haje legionis – Morocco

· Naja haje arabica – South- west Arabia east wards to South- west Oman .
These differences between the subspecies can be found in colouration and scalation.

Geographic range:
The Egyptian cobra has a big geographic range over Africa and the Middle East . In Saudi Arabia lives the subspecies of Naja haje arabica they occur in the South and West of the country till heights of 1500 meter, with a yearly rainfall of 300mm. The subspecies Naja haje legionis can only be found in Southern Morocco . The subspecies of Naja haje haje has far out the biggest geographic range and lives in many different habitats. A list of countries were this subspecies occurs is listed below.

Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia (?), Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen

Habitat:

Egyptian cobras are not snakes that live in the real desert as people often think. They occur in a wide variety of habitats like, steppes, dry savannahs, semi deserts with some vegetation and water. The Egyptian cobras also are found in oasis, agricultural ground, hills with sparse vegetation, and grassland. These cobras do also occur in the presence of humans were they often enter houses. They are attracted to the human villages by chickens and rats that are attracted by garbage. There are also notes of Egyptian cobras swimming in the Mediterranean sea, so they seem to like water were they are been found quit often.

Captive behaviour:

Egyptian cobras are nocturnal in wild, but seem to be more diurnal in captivity. Egyptian cobras are in my opinion very curious animals that will follow every movement in and outside there enclosure. My experience with Egyptian cobras is that they are quit docile, but other keepers of this species also tell me that they are quit often aggressive. My animals will bluff sometimes but don’t stand up higher than 30 cm they also do not spread there hood very wide. When I need to handle them do they stay calm, they will ride quit easily on a hook and tailing them makes no problems either. My Egyptian cobras will only give problems when I need to feed them. When feeding time is there I need to get them out if the enclosure and they will get in a total feeding rush they bite to every movement even when it is there own tail. Juveniles are in compare to my adults quit aggressive. But this is more to do with there size than anything else.

Feeding:

Egyptian cobras are snakes that eat almost everything that moves. In the wild they feed with a wide variety of prey items like, toads, tortoises, lizards, snakes, small mammals, birds and fish. In captivity are these snakes quit easy to feed with birds, rodents and fish. I feed my Egyptian cobras mostly with rodents like mice, rats, small guinea pigs and rabbits. Sometimes I will feed them chicks, eggs or fish but the faeces of the snakes smells terrible after they digest there food. Juveniles are fed with baby mice and pieces of fish. I always provide my snakes with fresh water.

Breeding egyptian cobras:

Egyptian cobras are oviparous and lay 8 – 33 eggs in a clutch. Eggs are laid 60 – 100 days after oviposition. The size of the eggs is aproximally 47 - 60 X 25 – 35 mm. De hatchlings will appear from the egg after 48 – 70 days, but this depends on the incubation temperature. Out of one clutch the eggs hatched after 50 days on a incubation temperature of 28 – 300C, a second clutch hatched after 68 days on a incubation temperature of 27 - 290C.

Hatchlings are at birth 20 – 42 cm long and have a weight of 10 – 18 grams. Hatchlings will usually molt after 2 – 11 days.

My experience with the Egyptian cobras is that they breed quit easily in captivity. The subspecies Naja haje haje and Naja haje arabica are provided with a semi hibernation where I drop the temperature in there enclosure till about 200C. After the temperature is raised again will they mate.

The enclosure:

Because of egyptian cobras are big and robust snakes, do they ask quit allot of space. I keep my animals in enclosure with a size of 150 x 50 x 60 cm (length x wide x height). I made these enclosures out of chip wood with 6 mm glass windows in a slide rail. Egyptian cobras are the masters in destroying everything you place in there enclosure, this is the reason I keep my animals quit sterile with only some rocks. I don’t use a hide box but provide my snakes with a bucket that I place up side down in there enclosure. In the bucket I cut a hole as an entrance. The substrate in the enclosure is a mixture of potting soil, sand and coco bark, this mixture is a good absorber of faeces and fluids, which make cleaning the enclosure quit easy. Heating control is done in the enclosure with a 100 watt spotlight and a 40 watt light bulb on either side of the enclosure. The temperature under the spotlight can grow up to around 350C, the average temperature in the enclosure is around 25 – 280C. I also provide the snakes with a small water bowl, only when they come up for a shed I give them a 10 litter bowl with water so they can take a bath to if they want.