King Cobra In The Kitchen

[MJP]

I did wonder if it was a banded Krait when I looked at the picture Neverdie, but having read up about them, if it was, I think it must have been a young one (I do wish I'd taken a photo now!), as the bands seemed much closer together than on the one you've shown. How thick do they get? This one was only about as thick as a finger.

MJP - hmmm, haven't a clue as to why I locked the door!

From reading the posts, snakes seem to be very adept at getting in all sorts of ways and places, and a shut door (never mind a locked one!) obviously won't deter them if they want to get in. I'm beginning to wish I hadn't asked! Something tells me I'll be a bit more careful when I come back next year.

My son saw one similar where he lives in Pattaya, and used a hose to get it out of his yard, but neither he nor his Thai wife knew what kind it was. He now has dogs, and says that most households with dogs don't seem to be bothered with them. Hopefully I'll be staying with them next time!

It would have been my response to such a dilemma.

[scaredycat]

Until you asked, I didn't realise just how stupid (or useless) it was!

[neverdie]

Until you asked, I didn't realise just how stupid (or useless) it was!

I thought the door locking bit was cute.

I dunno about this thickness thing, your snake was how long??? and only as thick as your finger?

[scaredycat]

It was probably about a metre long. It was doubled back on itself but was still about half a metre long. From what I've read, some of the Kraits are around the thickness of a small bottle of water (500/600ml size), and it was nothing like that, definitely only about as thick as my finger.

[neverdie]

It was probably about a metre long. It was doubled back on itself but was still about half a metre long. From what I've read, some of the Kraits are around the thickness of a small bottle of water (500/600ml size), and it was nothing like that, definitely only about as thick as my finger.

At the risk of sounding sexist....are you a lady scaredycat? Ladies seem to have trouble with distances.....something to do with the husband I believe .

The snake the other day was about a metre long, but the same width as ur finger, these otherones as fat as water bottles...fat snakes. (I'm trying to picture a 600ml water bottle)?

I will post some pics, pick a snake, anysnake. Ok, back soon.

[MJP]

It was probably about a metre long. It was doubled back on itself but was still about half a metre long. From what I've read, some of the Kraits are around the thickness of a small bottle of water (500/600ml size), and it was nothing like that, definitely only about as thick as my finger.

At the risk of sounding sexist....are you a lady scaredycat? Ladies seem to have trouble with distances.....something to do with the husband I believe .

The snake the other day was about a metre long, but the same width as ur finger, these otherones as fat as water bottles...fat snakes. (I'm trying to picture a 600ml water bottle)?

I will post some pics, pick a snake, anysnake. Ok, back soon.

No, reverse parking and stopping distances.

[neverdie]

How bout one of these, kinda looks like a Krait, but its not?

[neverdie]

Whadda bout this one?

[neverdie]

How bout one of these two beauties:

or this little one we got down our soi the other day

[Alwaysright]

Nothing wrong with killing a cobra. Thailand has many. Well done, sir

I hope somebody ate it.They say it is bad luck to kill it in your house,Thai's get someone else to kill it.

[maccastime]

It would appear that the snakes are on the move again! BE WARNED!

I just came home after dining out.....easily excited by my bag of thai sweets in hand, I kick off my thongs at the front door & march into my house bare foot with only one thing on my mind (THAI SWEETS...mmmm ).

Anyway, I get myself into the kitchen, flicked on the light just in time to see the baby King Cobra striking at my legs & naked feet. Ok, I could tell you he was 6 foot long and all of that, but he was actually only about 60cm - YET very very cranky .

Anyway, I tried to move him along for about 10 minutes, keen to see him out of my house but he was non-compliant & after a couple of close call strikes HE LOST HIS HEAD!

Anyway....I'm not sure if it was the brave way I handled this or my girlie screams but the local security guard was quick on scene & confirm it was a Ophiophagus hannah (King Cobra).

The camera is at the in-laws place, so I have added this picture from the internet. I live on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Only one other more dangerous snake than the king cobra..to keep an eye on

The trouser snake.

[neverdie]

Nothing wrong with killing a cobra. Thailand has many. Well done, sir

I hope somebody ate it.They say it is bad luck to kill it in your house,Thai's get someone else to kill it.

You know there might be something in that. The GF was most upset at its demise & is dragging me off to the wat tomorrow....I have also been suffering from a really bad pain in the back of the neck....which she reminds me is exactly where the snake bought it. I hate killing things.....back home I had all the tools of the trade to deal with this sort of thing....You'd be surprised at what one can acheive with a long handle spade. I need to make some peace with the snake, goodness knows I don't need anymore bad luck.

[Mosha]

We (Expats) were discussing Cobras at a recent party at our house. I said I had read that KCs were not aggressive snakes. One of my friends said he had been told of one of their friends being chased and cornered by one. It was quite big and it's front end was raised up about 4' off the ground. Luckily someone saw it and came up behind and chopped it's head off.

[popshirt]

I'm on my way to a moo baan outside Pakchong later today for about a week.

Yes there are cobras there.

My in-laws have a particularly nasty and feisty little dog that I take with me when I go out in the fields. He is fearless, and has scared away a number of very large snakes, some of which could have eaten him I am sure.

[scaredycat]

OK you sexist lot! Yes, Scaredycat is female! I no longer have a husband (no didn't dispatch him like you do the snakes though maybe I should have!), can drive and park perfectly well (no accidents to date!), and do everything I need to for myself with no problem whatsoever!

We do have snakes here, (island off the west coast of Scotland) but in my 35 years here, I have only once seen an adder up in the hills. We both went in opposite directions rather rapidly!

The snake I saw certainly looks most like the banded Krait. I've measured a small water bottle and it's about 7" in diameter (or 18cm if you're young and don't know what that is!), but the snake I saw was only about 8cm in diameter.

I've not travelled much until the last few years when my son moved abroad to live, and have been to Singapore in 2004, and Thailand in 2007 and 2008. I may not be in the first flush of youth (I wish!) but manage to book my tickets online, and have no problem travelling on my own, even half way around the world (amazingly, that means I don't need a man to do it for me!).

I do not like snakes however, and never have! Even looking at them through glass in UK zoos makes me squirm! I guess I'm just going to have to get used to the fact that they're about in Thailand and think before I take any actions in future! Both times I've been I've stayed in hotels (my son's house isn't finished and is about 4 months late so far - it seems that builders are the same the world over!), but hopefully his two large dogs (and small bad tempered cat) will deter any from getting too nosy next time I'm there.

Scaredycat - not afraid of anything - except snakes and cockroaches!

[neverdie]

Scaredycat,

You sexy lady! You are welcome to visit my end of Bangkok anyday, I live in the slums of Bkk....not sounding too attractive is it? Anyway we have rats bigger than your sons cat, actually I saw a rat beat a cat up once, but thats another story...but since you only have dislike for the snakes and cockroaches you won't mind the rats

Seriously, those Kraits are everywhere, but snakes feel the vibrations of humans and try to almost always rack off, so you will be ok, uncle neverdie guarantees it! (also know as a 3. 3. warrantly...thats 3 minute or 3 yards, often comes with cheap watch purchases in Thailand).

Anyway, it would look as if you have the snake id covered & you don't seem too inaccurate with numbers either. Thankyou for sharing your wonderful door locking story with me......my doors don't actually have locks which is probably why the snakes are getting in.

take care and enjoy ur travels

[Jingthing]

Hopefully, I am safe from this in my high floor condo, right? I couldn't handle a cobra in my kitchen. You guys are brave.

[neverdie]

Hopefully, I am safe from this in my high floor condo, right? I couldn't handle a cobra in my kitchen. You guys are brave.

I don't have King Cobras in my country, so I have done a bit of reading up on them in the last day or two. Apparently Jingthing, they are exception climbers...google it, i just did thailand snakes & theres a good site with heaps of cobras.

if one does climb ur stairs....dont call me

[Jingthing]

Yeah I am sure they would climb for a meal but if there were lots of rats or cats in a building, hopefully they would find fulfillment on a lower floor. And I thought the ants were bad ...

Just curious, do they enjoy human garbage or go for live meals only?

Edited December 30, 2008 by Jingthing

[Geekfreaklover]

Snakes, including the King cobra are shy by nature and would normally not enter the house.

If you keep pets inside the home, like a Rabbit or Mouse then that may tempt the KC inside.

The only Snake I can thinkl of that is aggresive towards humans is the Black Mamba, from the African continent.

Saying that, I did see a KC in Khao Yai recently and it reared its head. I was driving at the time and he had a right to be alarmed .

Most snakes are nocternal and shy.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Geekfreaklover

[neverdie]

Thats a good question Jingthing, I'm no snake expert but I am well aware that many snakes thrive in the Urban Jungle, by that I mean things like dumps, car wrecking yards and all of that thing is the go. I think you will find that snakes still prefer fresh kill, I don't think red curry or left over phad thai is their thing. Most snakes feed off rohdents, lizards, frogs....small ladies living in high rise condos...stuff like that

Don't worry you can call uncle neverdie, afterall im the perfect to look after your snake problem....becos i neverdie

[Jingthing]

I don't think snakes know what SHY means, but I take your meaning. They are afraid of us too.

[Geekfreaklover]

Yeah, the snakes are a lot more afraid of us than we are of them.

The reason that some snake attacks on humans occur in Thailand is due to the old 'fight or flight' situation where the snake is cornered and panics.

We are not considered prey.

Mosquitoes, much more of a problem

[neverdie]

I don't think snakes know what SHY means, but I take your meaning. They are afraid of us too.

Snakes are scared of you, its just some become aggessive if disturbed. Forget about it, they're not coming up to your place, if ur walking around in the bushland and stuff you should just wear sturdy shoes and keep an eye peeled for the poor little snake sunny itself on a rock. Remember snakes are cold blooded, they like to heat up in the sun, the colder they are the slower they move.

I guess some of them also become more aggressive in breeding season....sound familiar?

Don't lose sleep about it, if you get bitten remain calm, you speak thai, you will be right to tell them what happened at the hospital..don't wash the site where you were bitten because if you cant identify the snake they can actually swab the bite wound & try and work out which deadly snake they are dealing with....if you wash the bite site....ur ass may be grass. If bitten you should apply a compression bandage & restrict movement of the limb where bitten & get to a DECENT hospital quickly....the more freaked out you get the quicker ur heart pumps the quicker the venom moves.

Many snakes arnt deadly, some just make you sick, others just cause pain, some dont bite.

Many people foolishly think that small snakes are not as deadly as big snakes....its actually been proven wrong with some breeds such as the eastern brown snake of Australia, the venom in the baby snake is more potent that the fully grown snake & you dont need much of that venom to call it a day.

Honestly you got more chance of being run over by a motorcycle taxi or a high speed vigo

Edited December 30, 2008 by neverdie

[rjk]

Some good points there!

Funny the number of times I have dealt with a tiger snake in the backyard, aggressive nasty things they are or a sleepy brown snake sunning on the concrete yet the idea of a King Cobra in my kitchen sends shivers down my spine. I guess it's just what you are used to and where you live.

As Neverdie quite rightly points out, in the (rare) event something bites you, simply remain calm, apply pressure to the site in the form of a bandage (there is plenty of snake bite advice on the web) and get right along to hospital. Antivenom is available at all the major hospitals so the worst outcome should be feeling very sick for a while.

All that said... I don't want one in my house!

I don't think snakes know what SHY means, but I take your meaning. They are afraid of us too.

Many people foolishly think that small snakes are not as deadly as big snakes....its actually been proven wrong with some breeds such as the eastern brown snake of Australia, the venom in the baby snake is more potent that the fully grown snake & you dont need much of that venom to call it a day.

Honestly you got more chance of being run over by a motorcycle taxi or a high speed vigo

[neverdie]

rjk,

I use to be married to a rattlesnake...so ive dealt with the snake in the kitchen before (Yes, she was Australian)

[rjk]

I've had a similar species in my kitchen too lol

rjk,

I use to be married to a rattlesnake...so ive dealt with the snake in the kitchen before (Yes, she was Australian)

[Norrad]

As Neverdie quite rightly points out, in the (rare) event something bites you, simply remain calm, apply pressure to the site in the form of a bandage (there is plenty of snake bite advice on the web) and get right along to hospital. Antivenom is available at all the major hospitals so the worst outcome should be feeling very sick for a while.

Also you should kill the snake and take the body with you to the hospital. I know that will alarm all the animal rights activists on the forum, but it will help the doctor to administer the right anti-venom and not make matters worse.

[Chang_paarp]

I've had a couple of snakes in and around my shop.

One morning when coming back from the toilet there was one between me and my bedroom door. I was not sure about it untill it raised it's head. I could not see much as I did not have my glasses on. I beat a hasty retreat and got a stick to assist in guiding it in the direction of away, well it had also beat a retreat by the time i got back.

Another time my cashier came out of the storeroom letting me know there was a snake in there. Again I got a stick to help it navigate back to the hole it came in through. I gave a moment's thought and realised the next hole alonf was one going into my bed room, so i had to encourage it to leave that room too.

About 6 weeks ago we had another one come in through the front of the shop. Again I was called on to remove it. After a bit of hunting around I found it under one of my fridges. Again i tried to usher it in the general direction of away, unfortunately it decided to rear up and argue the point. At this point I decided to be a little more assertive and hit it a few times till it stopped moving. I picked it up and offered it to the neighbours incase they felt the need ofr a snack, but to no avail. So it ended up in the park across the road. i guess it was about 1.6metres.

Ah the joys of living in Thailand, not had to deal with many snakes in Oz.

[qwertz]

Tidying my cousin's garden in Melbourne I came across a little brown snake so I cornered it and trapped it under a bucket.

Then I told the family and it was panic stations - it's one of the deadliest snakes in Oz.

I don't know much about snakes as there are only three kinds in Germany and only the viper is venomous. You seldom see them anyway

as they're very shy.