And a massive dose of sympathy for the little victim.

https://www.sapeople.com/2018/...obra-strikes-sleeps/

I am not really scared of mambas, I have probably only met well mannered ones.
The cobras on the other hand are nasty, ill mannered creatures with their nasty habit of entering buildings leading to bites in the home.

The Mozambique Spitting Cobra also sports a mix of cytotoxic and neurotoxic venom and I fear this child may be disfigured with tissue loss.

I hope she recovers speedily.

I used to catch snakes in Thailand when I was young and dumb. Now I think any poisonous snake found around people (if you find it, it is around people), should be killed.

Better a few less reptiles then some innocent person having to suffer and perhaps die. JMO.

BH63

For anyone interested in the topic, Johan Marais' numerous books are the best of the best on African reptiles, and his photography skills are second to none.

I was hunting with Ian Blakeway in Kwa Zulu Natal in 2016 and he had his wife and three daughters in camp. The Camp manager killed a Mozambique spitting cobra in the laundry room.

Strange that it bit her in her sleep. Wish her the best and a speedy recovery.

Agree about killing snakes in dwellings/camps, but otherwise I've killed my last snake. Raised in South Texas we were taught to kill every rattlesnake we saw. Now, I'd only kill them if they were a threat -- taken up residence in camp.

Very common occurrence in the Northern Transvaal to have Mozambique spitting cobras bite young kids while sleeping or playing around kraals.

Most bites occur indoors ! The oddity about this snake is that it's a cobra but with mixed cytotoxic venom and neurotoxic venom. The snakes are quite large and the dose of venom injected per bite can be large.

Limb loss and disfigurement as result of surgery to deal with the tissue necrosis is common.

Another child bitten by a Mozambique Spitting Cobra last night on the hand.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
Very common occurrence in the Northern Transvaal to have Mozambique spitting cobras bite young kids while sleeping or playing around kraals.

Most bites occur indoors ! The oddity about this snake is that it's a cobra but with mixed cytotoxic venom and neurotoxic venom. The snakes are quite large and the dose of venom injected per bite can be large.

Limb loss and disfigurement as result of surgery to deal with the tissue necrosis is common.

Same goes with the Zebra Cobra in Namibia. They also carry a cytotoxic and neurotoxic payload, they like to hunt indoors, have no fear of humans and can be very aggressive. Mambas are docile and tame compared to the spitting cobras. I don't have much patience with them and we always have a few 12 gauge shells full of macaroni at each camp to deal with them.

Opus please share details of 12g shells loaded with Macaroni; genuinely interested. An indoor solution for the instances where no other options are safe or viable?

quote:

Originally posted by Manyathelo:
Opus please share details of 12g shells loaded with Macaroni; genuinely interested. An indoor solution for the instances where no other options are safe or viable?

Might as well eat the macaroni and load with coarse quartz sand from the river bed instead.

For snakeshot for indoors, load a couple of 12G shells with uncooked rice. Deadly on snakes without damage to furniture

quote:

Originally posted by Uwe Jaspersen:
For snakeshot for indoors, load a couple of 12G shells with uncooked rice. Deadly on snakes without damage to furniture

Second that.

Had a case of a little girl bitten in her bed up around Lephelele 6-8 years ago. She survived, little sweetheart.

There are few things in the African bush that scare me, but this does and mainly because of the dogs. A good dog is like your own child and some breeds like Jack Russels will will not let the chance of getting into a scrap with a snake go by. The problem is Mambas bite back and when they do your dog is done for !

Down in "My Africa" there have been summers where we have had almost daily encounters with Mambas and some of them very big adult snakes not like this juvenile I killed on the lawm in our camp.

A big Mamba will go to 9 ft and when they are alarmed and they move they will lift the front half of their body off the ground;

Bites, often multiple will occur when they are cornered and in flight. I have seen this !

The result often multiple central bites or high up on a thigh. These snakes deliver large doses of very very lethal venom ! The LD 50 of Mamba venom is off the charts ! The majority of bite are fatal, not many people around to tell the story of survival after a mamba bite ! To neutralize a mamba bite requires a industrial dose of anti venom that in itself dangerous because of the allergic response to foreign serum.

The remedy: In "my Africa" we all carry 44's:

CCI Shot cartridges with No 9 shot! First two under the hammer rest 320 gr JDJ hard cast for the other things that stomp or bite



44 Ruger Super Blackhawk with a Giant African Land Snail ..... Trophy Escargot ! They come out after the first Summer rains

quote:

Originally posted by Uwe Jaspersen:
For snakeshot for indoors, load a couple of 12G shells with uncooked rice. Deadly on snakes without damage to furniture

Also good for getting rid of wasp/hornet nests in the eave of your house.

quote:

Originally posted by Manyathelo:
Opus please share details of 12g shells loaded with Macaroni; genuinely interested. An indoor solution for the instances where no other options are safe or viable?

Rice or macaroni works extremely well on snakes indoors without shooting holes in walls and furniture. Sand is a no-no as it pulverises and will score a shotgun bore (if you care).

Just use what ever shotgun powder you have and find the lightest load available for it. Substitute rice v/v for shot.

I had one of those above the door of my cabin in Tanz. Laundry guy found it while going to take my laundry to the cabin while we were having dinner and yelled. My PH grabbed his .416 and ended that little fellas life. He looked at me and said "Don't leave your porch light on anymore". I didn't.

Solids or softs?

I like to watch the show "Snake city". It s filmed in Durban S.A.
Simon dosent like dealing with Moz. spitters. There definatly cranky and ill tempered. Spit, spit and more spit!

You can tell hes definatly pumped up when it comes to Mambas. He sweats profusely when its time to catch one.