25/02/2023
Here we have some newly hatch Egyptian cobras (Naja haje) - do you remember seeing the eggs earlier this month? These little guys hatched after an incubation period of about 2 months. It's amazing to see the diversity of colour and pattern in these hatchings from one clutch.
They may look cute but these guys are venomous and have venom ready to use straight away.
We usually milk all the newborn hatchings in the first week, and the mother and father (if we know who it is), so we can identify what differences there may be in their venoms.
With snakes and some other reptiles, the female doesn't actually need to be with a male to fertilize her eggs. The female can store s***m for at least 5 years within her reproductive tract, and use it when she needs to.
Most of these hatchlings were released and just a few were kept for venom production. You should see them now - they are about a meter long!
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