The Red Spitting Cobra (Naja pallida), is a medium-sized reptile in the Elapidae family of venomous snakes. It is an elapid.
The Red Spitting Cobra is usually bright salmon-red contrasted with a broad black throat band and teardrop markings, but the colour varies. The Kenyan Red Spitting Cobra has an orange-red colour, with a broad, dark blue or black throat band. Most of them have a throat band, but it fades or disappears in larger adults.
Red Spitting Cobra
It grows to 70-120 centimeters (27-27 inches) long.
The body of the Red Spitting Cobra is slightly tapered and moderately slender with a broad head. It has 21-27 dorsal scales at the mid-body, 197-228 ventral scales, and 61-72 sub-caudal scales.
It preys on small rodents, such as rats and mice, but also birds, lizards, toads, frogs, eggs and other snakes.
Like other spitting cobras, it can eject venom from its fangs. The venom can cause permanent blindness if it enters a person’s eyes.
The Red Spitting Cobra is found in East Africa, in savanna and semidesert regions, as well as locations near rivers. It is terrestrial, preferring to move along the ground and not in trees. It hides in termite mounds, logs, and holes in the ground.
It can be nocturnal (active at night) or diurnal (active during the day).
The Red Spitting Cobra is oviparous, which means that it lays eggs. Females lay 6-21 eggs, which take about 60-70 days to hatch.
Red Spitting Cobra
Location of photographs: Tbilisi Zoo, Georgia
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM