Black Mamba Snake (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a large snake with a somewhat intimidating appearance. It is one of the fastest moving snakes in the world and is known as the 'African Death Slayer' in Africa.
The Black Mamba Snake can reach speeds of up to 19.5 kilometers per hour and can also raise its body half of its length, but its purpose is to climb trees, not to attack humans. For various reasons, it is also often considered a very dangerous venomous snake.
Chinese name:
黑曼巴蛇
Chinese alias:
黑树眼镜蛇
English name:
Dendroaspis polylepis
Binomial name:
Dendroaspis polylepis
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Elapidae
Genus:
Dendroaspis
Species:
Dendroaspis polylepis
Distribution:
Africa
The Black Mamba Snake is distributed in northeastern Congo, southwestern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya; spanning south to Lesotho, Botswana, KwaZulu-Natal Province, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Djibouti; southern Africa and East Africa including Angola and Namibia.
The Black Mamba Snake rarely lives above an altitude of 1000 meters (3280.8 feet). Their distribution also includes the Central African Republic, Mali, Chad, and the border of Nigeria.
This can lead to some healthcare professionals who are not familiar with the distribution of venomous snakes mistakenly identifying the snake and giving ineffective antivenom to the victim.
Not recommended for keeping, the Black Mamba Snake belongs to the elapid family and its venom is neurotoxic and highly poisonous. The Black Mamba Snake is the longest, fastest, and most aggressive killer among all venomous snakes in the world. It can chase its prey at speeds of up to 19 km/h and just two drops of its venom can be lethal to humans. At any given time, the Black Mamba Snake's fangs contain 20 drops of venom. If a human is bitten by a Black Mamba Snake, it can quickly lead to death within 30 to 60 minutes.
The Black Mamba Snake (Dendroaspis polylepis) is one of the common diseases of snakes. It is characterized by difficulty in breathing, open mouth, unwillingness to prey, long stay outside the nest, and rapid onset. It can cause a large number of deaths when it is severe. It mostly occurs during the oviposition or parturition period of female snakes, because they are weak at this time and do not eat or drink water. In addition, the humid and hot weather makes snakes susceptible to disease. The preventive measures are to provide sufficient clean water to female snakes during oviposition or parturition, maintain good ventilation, and reduce the surrounding temperature.
The fungal spot disease is common in snakes kept in captivity, especially pit vipers and arboreal snakes. This disease often occurs in poor living environments, small activity areas, and humid environments. The main preventive measures are to keep the snake's habitat dry and allow the snake to have a certain range of activities. Lime can also be frequently used to sweep moisture or be wrapped in paper and placed in one side of the snake's nest, and it should be replaced regularly.
Treatment: Apply 2% iodine tincture to the affected area of the snake's body twice a day. Or soak it in potassium permanganate solution, it can be cured after one week. The fungal spot disease should be detected and treated early, and the treatment effect is not good in the later stage.
Do not extract venom from poisonous snakes too frequently.
There are many types of parasites that infect the bodies of snakes, including flagellate tongue worms, roundworms, tapeworms, and ascaris. Ticks and mites also parasitize the snake's skin.
Oral inflammation is almost the most common disease in snakes. It is prone to occur in venomous snakes because taking venom can easily cause oral injury. Improper repeated venom extraction methods and careless operation can easily cause oral inflammation. In winter, certain bacteria are prone to invade the cheeks, leading to oral inflammation. During the feeding season, biting or swallowing large prey can also cause oral injury and induce inflammation. If artificially fed, the incidence of oral inflammation is higher. The main symptoms are swelling of the upper and lower jaws, inability to open or close the mouth, affecting feeding. Sometimes, the gums and forehead of the mouth turn red (they are normally pale). In severe cases, pus may overflow from some tooth sockets. Ultimately, the snake cannot eat or drink water due to the spread of inflammation, resulting in exhaustion and death.
The Black Mamba Snake, like many snakes, has great patience in waiting for its prey to approach. It then attacks at the appropriate time and if the prey struggles, the Black Mamba Snake uses various means to take it down, taking different measures depending on the size of the prey.
When encountering larger prey, this snake usually allows it to escape after the attack, and with the scent, the snake can find the dead prey; however, when dealing with smaller prey, such as birds or mice, the Black Mamba Snake bites tightly and does not let go until the prey stops moving and devours it. In addition, they also prey on bats.
Reproduction
Spring is the breeding season for the Black Mamba Snake. Male snakes find females by scent, and once a male finds a female, it touches her body with its tongue. If she accepts, the two snakes will entwine and begin mating; after mating, the female snake can lay about 17 eggs, and the hatching period of the snake eggs is usually three months (usually in the summer). The young snakes already have the same deadly venom as adults when they are born, and their body length is usually 40 centimeters.
Pet Encyclopedia
