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Thanks for that explination Pilane.
I do not have ulcers or mouth sores and as much as I believe you there is no way I would ever put it to test.
I will let my son know and then have to find another argument that I can win, I hate loosing

just like to add to pilane's explanation

mamba venom has a low molecular weight therefore gets transported by the capillaries. non spitting cobra have a higher density and get transported via the lymphatic system the cytotoxic venom has the highest molecluar weight of the venoms. and I would also like to emphasise his warnings on capturing snakes unless you know what you are doing don't try this at home

Have just read this entire thread and Jumbo you are making me very nerves as we have just bought a house in Marloth as we are also a bit phobic about snakes,might have to find out from you how to contact the snake catcher.The repellent that works on spiders have you been able to establish if it works on snakes.

I dont know if it works, but have heard that if you grow garlic all around your property they snakes wont enter. A Jack Russel or cats are also good. My Jack Russel took out three mfezi's in his life, getting spat in the eyes on all three occassions, but he never learnt and kept killing them..... I beleive it was a fair fight on all occassions.

Hi Nannie

Congratulations! You are going to love it….real Eden (with the snake included of cause). I will PM you the detail of the snake man.
I believe the reason why we have so many snakes at our house is because it is in a very secluded spot….very quiet area.

The best way to get over the phobia is to face a few snakes, learn about them (get the book of Johan Marais) and also talk to knowledgeable people like Pilane and mfb. I’m busy with my counselling….haven’t reached the other side yet….
I think we have all been born with a fear for snakes (some peoples’ genes just got mixed up ) but the reality is that there are much more dangerous things than snakes….more people die from mosquito bites than snake bites…..but even though I know this, it that doesn’t prevent me from making my SO check under the beds every single night.

We sprayed the repellent last weekend…will see how things look this weekend….but I first have to look at what this stuff contains…having a house in such a area, you have to try and be responsible as to what you use…. A lot of other creatures can get affected.

@Jazil, I’m not a dog person, but if I ever have to get a dog, I will go for a Jack Russell…that little dog has the harts of a lion. I saw how the snake men tried to kill that M’fezi, and let me tell you, it is a difficult customer.

the only thing i could find on a bottle of "snake repel" is that it is ailicone based repellant

I’m posting in this thread…even though its got to do with a Black Mamaba, it did not happen in a SANParks….the quotes were taken out of the Black Mamba thread.
We had our closest ever Black Mamba encounter on 26 December at our house in Marloth. With this encounter I learned quite a few things that I wish to share.





First thing I learned (again) is that snakes do not read books and to presume a snake will react in a certain way because of the way its character is described in books, might cost you your life.

My SO was sitting just outside our veranda…this was in the middle of the day. The next moment a black mamba sails past him….was less than a meter away from him. At about 1.2m, it was still a youngster, but certainly not less scary or less venomous.
So much for a shy snake not allowing a close approach….suppose that only applies when you approach it and not the other way around?

The second thing we learned is that the product “Snake Repel” most definitely works. ….Christo first told us about this product on this Forum….we are forever grateful to you. The Mamba wanted to get onto our veranda, but at the spot where we sprayed the repellent the previous day, it made a u-turn….came back again, and again turned away.

The snake then went into a pile of doormats that was lying on the ground…and it disappeared….if we did not see it going in there we would not have even thought that there is a snake between them. My third lesson: The doormats was lying there because I was washing floors, if we did not know the snake was between those mats I would have picked them up after the floors were dry…and most probably got bitten. I will never pick up anything lying outside again without first checking what might be in/under it….even if it was just on the ground for a few minutes….a broomstick is now my aid.

What happened next has bearing on my first lesson. Firstly I should say that this snake was not at all cornered….it had the whole of the Marloth bush to retreat to. We thus figured that if we can chase it out of the mats it would rather return to the bush and leave us alone. The SO got onto the veranda and with a long stick shuffled the mats that was lying on the other side….the next moment with, its body raised up and with the speed of light, this snake dashed out of the mats, over the “Snake Repel line” onto the veranda and straight for the SO. Luckily for my hubby the tiles on the veranda was slippery for the snake and that broke its speed. Among all of this I have to admit that it was quite funny to hear the SO scream like a 4-year old girl.

With the SO chased away the mamba now climbed on top of the wall surrounding our veranda. I have previously seen how a Moz Cobra “sail” up a brick wall, but this mamba just lifted its body and in one step climbed on top of the wall….then the part that made me go cold….it wanted to use one of the tree stumps supporting our roof to get into the roof!!! I can still handle the crime in Marloth, but if we had to have a Mamba in the roof I would put the house up for sale immediately!!
The previous day we used the hosepipe to chase a Moz Cobra back to the bush (worked like a bomb ) and while the mamba was still between the mats I gave my SO a bucket full of water. As the mamba started climbing the tree stump, and me getting hysterical, the SO threw the bucket of water to the snake. The snake retreated and again disappeared between the mats.

At this point we called the “snake guys”. To make a even longer story shot, after a long struggle to first capture the snake, it was eventually killed ….this was sad but the snake was acting very aggressively and had no desire to return to the bush…our roof was where it wanted to be.
With a youngster of 1.2m acting like this I just pray that I will never encounter the mama of 4m!!!

I'm still learning about the snakes of Southern Africa. Nothing seems to be telling me about their hibernation patterns though. I know they must hibernate in the Cape, but around when (yes, 'winter' obviously, but...)? I also assume they don't hibernate in places like Kruger, but am I wrong?

Can anyone explain this to me? Thanks

You are partly correct. Some snakes will retreat for the entire winter, but many of the diurnal species that are active during the day will still come out on warm sunny days (like mambas, cobras, sand snakes, etc). Some species will disappear almost completely and hibernate in disused termite mounds and under large rocks that retain a bit of heat.

Your nocturnal species (house snakes, egg-eaters, etc) will most likely hibernate, but even they might come out if there is a series of nice and warm days. We have found snakes active and out hunting in the Northern Cape when it is 10 and 12 degrees celcius, so I guess some snakes can survive really cold temperatures! That said, I seriously doubt if you will find something out and about when it is less than 18 in the KNP.

In Gauteng, most snakes (and lizzards) disappear around April and only become active during September, and mostly only in October. It has a lot to with rainfall as well, and even in mid summer snakes go into hiding if the area is too dry!

It also depends on the species. Puff adders are especially active now (just before real winter sets in) but most of the other species seem to have gone to bed already in the bushveld areas (Ellisras / Lephalale area). But some snakes like pythons are often seen throughout the winter months.

Thank you for that great answer

I've just come back from Addo and had no real luck with snakes. You're right about the Puff Adders though. Both of my sightings were Puff Adders.

Can somebody tell me what's the maximum life span of snakes living in the wild? I've checked my books but couldn't find anything! Is there a way to detect the age of a snake, maybe scales

Can you tel me whitch snakes lifespan you looking for. All of them are not the same. Regards Eddie

Would be interesting which snakes can live longest
Otherwise the best known snakes like python, cobras, mambas, puff adder or boomslang are in my mind. I may be wrong but somehow I think that these snakes are the ones who can live for the longest time but I have no idea how long

Could found some info, but how accurate it is I can't guarantee

python - up to 30 years
puff adder - up to 13 years
boomslang - up to 8 years

Would be interesting to see what the others say

Thanks Boorgatspook
I get the feeling that there is not too much known about the lifespan and the age detection of snakes And it's not easy to find some infos in literature or the web