View Full Version : Largest king Cobra
JimmyDavid
05-05-04, 02:33 PM
I've been curious about this. Does anyone know wich zoo keeps the current largest Cobra? I know the record in India is from a 14.3 feet specimen in Pilikula Park. I also know that the Philadelphia zoo keeps a big old cobra as well. But is there any zoo with a King cobra close to 18 feet (the all time record)?
psilocybe
05-05-04, 05:07 PM
The record for O.hannah might be 18 ft. (i think I read it was actually 19.3 or something, but I could be wrong, can't believe everything you read :) ), but the average is about 15ft. for females and slightly smaller for males. An 18ft. king would be a rare sight indeed, at least in captivity...I'm sure there are a few huge ones roaming in the wild somewhere.
AP
cobraman
05-05-04, 10:36 PM
I recently sold a male that Ray Goushaw and I measured out at 14 feet 9 inches to a zoo somewhere in S.C. (see pic attached)
snakeylesnake
05-05-04, 10:47 PM
What a great pic!!! thanks for sharing that one.
i know that in the london zoo they had to decapitate a huge king during the second world war ( for fear of it escaping after a bombing raid) i'm pretty sure it measured in at a very impressive 18'9" could be wrong, but i know it was in that size range
cheers
paul
JimmyDavid
05-06-04, 05:29 AM
Wow. What an impressive snake.
If you have more pics of that kind, please post them, cobraman.
Here is one of three that we have at the Everglades Outpost this one is close to 15'
Sloane Russeck
Great pics guys.....
Ray is that same snake the one in your avatar?
I really love those kings.. keep the pics comming :)
cobraman
05-08-04, 07:30 PM
"Ray is that same snake the one in your avatar?"
No, Gary, The one on my avitar is only 12 feet, this one is a much bigger male.
So Ray how many Kings do you have right now?
OHHHH ONLY 12 feet, that's nothing... lol
cobraman
05-09-04, 08:46 PM
Only two 13 footers for sale, the rest is top secret :)
So Scott is right you are greedy lol.
13 footers huh. That is a big long snake. It has to look bigger sence it does not have the girth. What is the girth of a 13 foot King?
SCReptiles
05-11-04, 10:52 AM
To the best of my knowledge, this is the largest venomous snake in captivity. It belongs to Roark Ferguson of SC and she is around 16 feet long. She also has the most girth of any cobra I have ever seen!
SCReptiles
05-11-04, 01:33 PM
TT, you would be in the know....is this gal the biggest?
JimmyDavid
05-11-04, 02:59 PM
I had seen that photo before. I always thought that was a huge cobra but somehow i don't understand why they don't have bigger in India.
As far as I know, yes.
I did a lump removal and biopsy on one exceptionally large animal imported by ERJ. I could not restrain this animal with one hand around its neck; I had to use a two handed grip. That was one big king, not just in length but in girth.
I do not know the length of this animal but it was impressive. Ray Hunter would recall who purchased it and its subsequent measurements. I do not think it would have exceeded the 16' specimen in length, but in girth and weight it may have been a match from what I can see in the photo.
I wanted to buy it VERY badly, but I couldn't afford two kings and I had my heart set on rescuing the orange one that was in much worse shape than the giant. The growth on the big king turned out to be a benign minor abscess, probably one that grew up around the head of a tick. The orange guy needed intensive veterinary support care a lot more than the big one did, so I chose him.
How is the orange one doing now?
The orange one started out an emaciated, weak, tick infested mess. You could count his vertebrae through the skin. Currently he is fat and sassy, eats anything including f/t rats, and he bred two nice looking females this season. One appears to be gravid. :)
Great new!!!! CONGRATS! It is always cool to here of a turn around like that.
psilocybe
05-12-04, 12:29 PM
I have drooled many times over Tanith's pic on her venomousreptiles.org profile...wait, that sounds wrong...Tanith's pic OF HER ORANGE PHASE KING, lol...Not to say I wouldn't drool over Tanith, but I've never seen her pic, lol :)
AP
SCReptiles
05-12-04, 02:05 PM
Has anyone ever seen Tanith? Are we even sure she is real? =) ha ha
I confess, I'm actually a were-snake. I type with my tail most of the time, which is why I can be slow to respond.
psilocybe
05-12-04, 02:49 PM
Originally posted by MsTT
I confess, I'm actually a were-snake. I type with my tail most of the time, which is why I can be slow to respond.
LOL, so that explains it...
Question about your king...how common is that color phase? I'm assuming that the coloration is locality based, and that it's just a aberant coloration...and where was the snake imported from? It would be awesome if there was a locality based population of orange kings ,hehehe...:)
AP
There have been other specimens from Malaysia with similar coloration, golden body and orange throat. I think that mine is certainly one of the more high colored specimens however.
I need pics lol. Is there a link somewhere. Is it on your site somewhere MsTT?
psilocybe
05-12-04, 10:58 PM
I'm sorry, my last post should have read:
"I'm guessing it's NOT locality based, and that's it's just an aberant coloration"...lol. Need to proofread better. I've just never seen a king as bright orange as yours Tanith. That snake makes me want to scream...lol. Heres to hoping that he passes on some "orange genes" to his offspring...is just one female gravid, or did he nail 'em both?
AP
Only one of the girls is gravid, and she's about to pop.
www.snakegetters.com/pics/ven/orange-king.jpg
Mustangrde1
05-13-04, 08:30 AM
Damnit there is that king """ DROOOLLLL """""
psilocybe
05-13-04, 10:39 AM
That is an amazing snake Tanith...I'd only seen the one pic on your profile on SHHS, and just saw all the other ones of it...spectacular...how big is he in terms of weight and lenghth?
AP
I have not measured him for about a year now, and he has grown considerably. He was just short of 10' a year ago, I expect he's bigger now. Certainly his girth has become impressive.
I don't like to stress my snakes for cosmetic or ego reasons, so the next time he would be measured is if he needs to be sedated for a vet checkup.
TheRedDragon
05-13-04, 12:21 PM
Man, that's one impressive O. hannah!! I wouldn't mind seeing that female in person one day. :)
BEAUTIFUL animal Tanith! I have never seen a King like that before.
psilocybe
05-13-04, 05:21 PM
Gary,
I have been drooling over Tanith's king for some time now...first time i saw a pic, my jaw hit the keyboard. By the way Tanith, what locality is the female your boy knocked up? It would be interesting to see the offspring they produce (assuming the female looks different than the male)...
AP
Outstanding snakes........
TNPAuTo
05-19-04, 11:39 PM
The King Cobra that was sold to the zoo here in SC, is only about 3/4 of a mile down river from my appartments. From what Scott (curator of reptiles) tells me the king has been doing fine, eating on F/T watersnakes and is very 'secretive' staying in his tunnels most of the time.
-Richard
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