Cobra In The Cupboard

[Rimmer]

My wife came running over from the staff house around mid day today shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

I picked up the nets and poles from the swimming pool and headed over to the staff house, Horror of horrors My wife’s sister had hold of the tail of a snake which was trying to get inside one of the cupboards, the cupboard door was mostly closed and the rest of it was inside one of the cupboards of the outside kitchen, I could tell from the tail he was a big guy maybe a meter long and hissing like a steam train. Mmmm thinks me I've heard that hiss before, only Cobra's do that Let go, Let the critter go inside the cupboard for goodness sake screams me. So she lets it go and sits on top of the cupboard and holds the door closed from the top, whilst I fetch the sack barrow so we can truck the whole lot outside to the dried up river bed that we laughingly call a road.

Got the cupboard outside opened up the door and started to pull boxes, shoes and pans out of the cupboard, Mr. Snakey meanwhile is sitting up opening his hood and spitting like an asthmatic 90 year old with TB at anything that moves outside HIS cupboard.

My wife thinks it will be fun to poke the snake in the hope it will come out of the cupboard, Duh! It just gets further in to a corner and spits even more.

Go and get the snake hook say I to my wife’s sister, she goes away and comes back with nothing, what part of go and get the snake hook do you not understand? I ask her, I have to make a shape like a snake hook all the while dodging wedges of cobra venom that are being spat at me from inside the cupboard,

I kid you not the shelves in the cupboard were dripping venom.

My wife is yelling it's no good kill it kill it, ‘Get the snake hook will you and shut up’ says I, by this time a motor bike taxi driver with a bright yellow jacket had stopped and is eying Mr. Snake as possible supper, also the driver of a big blue water tanker truck that delivers water to the golf course for the greens sees it as food if it should go under his truck, cheering me on from the sidelines is a farang walking his dog with his 15 year old daughter. All the while I'm ducking and weaving and my wife is trying to spear the poor snake with the blunt end of the swimming pool pole.

Young sister finally returns with the snake hook, I bravely kick her inside out of the way and with one deft flick of the wrist flick the poor snake into the jungle where it disappears no doubt looking for another cupboard to hide in.

Everybody cheers, I take a bow and pass round the hat whilst young sister loads up her kitchen cabinet with all her tot. We get it back on the sack barrow and push it to the door guess what? Young sister has somehow locked the side gate AND the main car gate so here we are standing in the middle of the dirt road outside our house with a kitchen cabinet on a sack barrow and we can't get in, sheez, nothing for it I push the barrow up to the gate and tell young sister to jump on the cupboard whilst I give her a push from below, averting my eyes of course as the young lady straddles the 2 meter gate and drops down the other side and opens up the gate.

What a day!!

[singa-traz]

We caught a 3-4 meters python two days ago in the back of the house.

I was not there when it happened, and only saw the snake in the bag ... on the way to the crocodile farm on the motocycle.

[craigt3365]

Great story! Seems like you are getting to be a pro at this!!!!!! I hope that is something I don't have to do myself.

[sharecropper]

Great snake saga, although, much as I like snakes, I might have been inclined to off this one in the circumstances.

One question - can you still be poisoned if you were to physically touch the venom in the cupboard, through skin surface contact?

[Naam]

"My wife came running over from the staff house around mid day today shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!"

aircondition your house, keep doors close. result = very few cobras in cupboards!

[Rimmer]

How right you are Naam Our house is 1 meter off the ground with aircon through out but Mr,Snake was in the staff house, where young sister stays, she has an outside kitchen and no air con.

One of our cats actually found the snake and chased it into a cupboard but it left it's tail out so young sister thought it would be a good idea to pull it out, NOT

Wish I could get pictures of these comic events.

"My wife came running over from the staff house around mid day today shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!"

aircondition your house, keep doors close. result = very few cobras in cupboards!

[Rimmer]

Great snake saga, although, much as I like snakes, I might have been inclined to off this one in the circumstances.

One question - can you still be poisoned if you were to physically touch the venom in the cupboard, through skin surface contact?

I wondered that, I know you can get poisoned from a dead snake if you get a scratch from it's fangs.

I think just to be safe I will get the girls to wash the cupboard out if they have not already done so.

[tutsiwarrior]

reminds me of the time when me sister found a large spider in the bath tub of the grand parents' house...when she hastened to raise the alarm regarding the offending arachnid our Tennessee grandad spat tobacco juice and calmly said 'well, I s'pose ye could have 'em arrested...'

Edited February 6, 2010 by tutsiwarrior

[Trickcyclist]

you're well equipped!!

mate of mine found 6 cobra in their house.

'How did you get rid of them?' I asked.

He replied. 'They got rid of us. We moved!'

[phetaroi]

...so young sister thought it would be a good idea to pull it out, NOT

I saw something like this happen once when I was a kid. They were tearing apart the wooden parts of a cement block outbuilding on an old farm to prepare for renovation. The owner saw the tail of a snake, grabbed it, and pulled it out of the structure. We didn't have poisonous snakes in that part of western New York State. But as he flung the snake, it hit his little boy (age about 12) who was wearing shorts, wrapped right around his leg, and repeatedly bit him! Just a relatively harmless "milk snake"...but not a good experience.

[neverdie]

shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

Well lucky it was you, because if she was yelling, "Noo Noo" I would of thought she was talking about a big 'Rat' in the kitchen.

Perhaps you meant she was yelling "Nguu Nguu" ? Very hard for us farangs to say Nguu

PS: A couple of weeks ago a very very large Cobra snake killed one of our dogs, they were having a disagreement on the back doorstep and the Cobra kissed the dog on the cheek

Edited February 7, 2010 by neverdie

[zzdocxx]

What a story Rimmer, thanks! ! !

[Rimmer]

shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

Well lucky it was you, because if she was yelling, "Noo Noo" I would of thought she was talking about a big 'Rat' in the kitchen.

Perhaps you meant she was yelling "Nguu Nguu" ? Very hard for us farangs to say Nguu

PS: A couple of weeks ago a very very large Cobra snake killed one of our dogs, they were having a disagreement on the back doorstep and the Cobra kissed the dog on the cheek

You are right neverdie, it was a nguu nguu but even after extensive coaching by wife and young sister I still have problems with some words and lessons usually end up in them rolling on the floor clutching their sides at my attempts to get the sound right, first off I thought she was saying rat rat, my poor old ears just can't tell the difference.

Very sorry about your dog, It's terrible when you loose a friend.

[katabeachbum]

What a story Rimmer, thanks! ! !

yeah. great reading

Past week I killed a small snake I found in my garage, actually in my gf shoes. My neighbor says its a cobra and he has also killed 3 of them same week. 30-40cm long. How old would it be, and if its a baby, how many more can we expect to be hunting for?

My rottweiler was bit by a snake a month ago outside the house. His leg swollend up to double size, he ate the flesh off his foot, and now only has a coinsize wound to heal. I didnt see this snake, could it have been the same cobra type?

[Alwaysright]

What a story Rimmer, thanks! ! !

yeah. great reading

Past week I killed a small snake I found in my garage, actually in my gf shoes. My neighbor says its a cobra and he has also killed 3 of them same week. 30-40cm long. How old would it be, and if its a baby, how many more can we expect to be hunting for?

My rottweiler was bit by a snake a month ago outside the house. His leg swollend up to double size, he ate the flesh off his foot, and now only has a coinsize wound to heal. I didnt see this snake, could it have been the same cobra type?

They are good eating.

[PoorSucker]

shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

Well lucky it was you, because if she was yelling, "Noo Noo" I would of thought she was talking about a big 'Rat' in the kitchen.

Perhaps you meant she was yelling "Nguu Nguu" ? Very hard for us farangs to say Nguu

PS: A couple of weeks ago a very very large Cobra snake killed one of our dogs, they were having a disagreement on the back doorstep and the Cobra kissed the dog on the cheek

Is rat snake Nguu Noo or Noo Nguu?

[WarpSpeed]

Great snake saga, although, much as I like snakes, I might have been inclined to off this one in the circumstances.

One question - can you still be poisoned if you were to physically touch the venom in the cupboard, through skin surface contact?

I wondered that, I know you can get poisoned from a dead snake if you get a scratch from it's fangs.

I think just to be safe I will get the girls to wash the cupboard out if they have not already done so.

Yes you can!! Not likely just on the skin but if you have any open sores of any kind or touch it and rub your eyes or happen to get it in your mouth, not worth taking the risk..

Edited February 7, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[Rimmer]

shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

Well lucky it was you, because if she was yelling, "Noo Noo" I would of thought she was talking about a big 'Rat' in the kitchen.

Perhaps you meant she was yelling "Nguu Nguu" ? Very hard for us farangs to say Nguu

PS: A couple of weeks ago a very very large Cobra snake killed one of our dogs, they were having a disagreement on the back doorstep and the Cobra kissed the dog on the cheek

Is rat snake Nguu Noo or Noo Nguu?

That's very good I'll have to ask my resident experts

[bangkokrick]

Good story Rimmer. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers, Rick

[Nignoy]

Good story rimmer, all very steve irwinisch, do you wear glasses ??just a drop of venom in your eye and it is stevie wonder time!!just hope no one else imitates your actions,one of our neighbours lost his 16 yearold son to a coastal taipan a few years back, he had seen steve irwin catch a taipan on tv, lots of funny anecdotes around but only room for 1 mistake, dont want to spread doom and gloom, but some of thailands slippery little suckers can kill you to death

[Rimmer]

Good story rimmer, all very steve irwinisch, do you wear glasses ??just a drop of venom in your eye and it is stevie wonder time!!just hope no one else imitates your actions,one of our neighbours lost his 16 yearold son to a coastal taipan a few years back, he had seen steve irwin catch a taipan on tv, lots of funny anecdotes around but only room for 1 mistake, dont want to spread doom and gloom, but some of thailands slippery little suckers can kill you to death

Yes Nignoy you are right don't mess with these guys. Cobras have a neurotoxin venom that is potentially fatal if left untreated. I wear glasses but not a bad idea to put on safety glasses as well if you are going to play with Cobra's. We have 10 cats roaming around our 2 1/2 rai so we can not leave these guys to fight at will. Our plot has a 2.50 meter wall all around with rubber snake seals under the big swing gates but still they manage to get inside, I have no idea how, could be through the drains. Part of the attraction for Cobra's is our large pond and frog population.

For handling them we use two swimming pool bag nets on ten foot poles, the snake hook is home made from an extendable alu pole. It is important to stand well back from them as they are crack shots with their spitting and will hit the eyes every time if in their 2 meter range.

This is maybe the fourth or fifth one we have put outside but never had the problem of getting them out of a cupboard before.

We now have some experience handling them and never kill them but as Nignoy says if you are not sure or don't have the right stuff to handle them then go get help from someone outside, the Thai boys are usually very good and know how to deal with them.

[Thongkorn]

My Wifes family live on the out skirts of Bangkok,The house is raised off the ground, There are snakes living under the house, The wifes family will not kill any of them, Because my wifes uncle is a devout Budist, He will not even let me spray mossie Killer in the House,He has two dogs that go crazy every night, obviously barking at the snakes, I have come near to a death experience a few times when i have stayed there with my wife.The last time i was about half a meter from the biggest cobra i have ever seen, I just froze it was about four meters long, it just looked at me then disappeared like an eel through water, After i had changed my underwear I realized how close i had been,

[Gonsalviz]

I've heard you can drink the venom but can not let it get directly into the bloodstream.

I had a brother in law that used to catch scorpions for the sole purpose of pulling out the stinger and drinking the venom with a shot of Mekong.

[Gary A]

As amazing as it may sound, there are no documented cases of deaths in Thailand from a King Cobra bite. Many people have been bitten but for some reason the King Cobra doesn't inject enough venom to kill. The snake handlers have had their hands bitten and in some cases have lost fingers. They very obviously had agitated the huge snakes and deserved to be bitten. The Monocled Cobra kills more people than any other snake in Thailand.

[Rimmer]

As amazing as it may sound, there are no documented cases of deaths in Thailand from a King Cobra bite. Many people have been bitten but for some reason the King Cobra doesn't inject enough venom to kill. The snake handlers have had their hands bitten and in some cases have lost fingers. They very obviously had agitated the huge snakes and deserved to be bitten. The Monocled Cobra kills more people than any other snake in Thailand.

That's the one, Mr Monocled Cobra in the cupboard!! Very handsome guy I almost hated to turn him out

The second one in two months

[neverdie]

shouting NOO NOO which I took to mean snake snake!!

Well lucky it was you, because if she was yelling, "Noo Noo" I would of thought she was talking about a big 'Rat' in the kitchen.

Perhaps you meant she was yelling "Nguu Nguu" ? Very hard for us farangs to say Nguu

PS: A couple of weeks ago a very very large Cobra snake killed one of our dogs, they were having a disagreement on the back doorstep and the Cobra kissed the dog on the cheek

You are right neverdie, it was a nguu nguu but even after extensive coaching by wife and young sister I still have problems with some words and lessons usually end up in them rolling on the floor clutching their sides at my attempts to get the sound right, first off I thought she was saying rat rat, my poor old ears just can't tell the difference.

Very sorry about your dog, It's terrible when you loose a friend.

Yes, you are right & he was a beauty at that. Strangely enuf, I was the only one sitting by his grave having a moment, meanwhile everyone else just continued on barely battering an eyelid.....apparently, according to them, the dog had a bad day .

[NADTATIDA1]

Very funny story,i always laugh with thais at how we try to pronounce the word snake in thai (ngu) ( งู )

sounds like a deranged cow mooing lol!! try it?

[Nignoy]

you want true snake stories I got a million of them!!back in the dark ages about 1964, was stationed north east of Ubon, one morning a a group of thais ,rocked up to our medical centre,one of them had been bitten by a cobra , we rushed to give him antivenene, when his mate said mai pen rai He only need big bandage to stop bleeding , Ichop his foot off one of the other thais had the foot in a bucket!!new years morning 1964 villagers called me they had a snake for my belt or hatband collection, so a little bit hungover I went with them, under one of the huts was the biggest most beautiful burmese python I have ever seen in my life she was 18 foot 4 inches in old money and all the colours of the rainbow , so 6 of us carried here to camp and we released here that night near the river as far away from the nearest village as we could.