Which of our Naja grow up the quickest?

[it_bit_me]

My idea of fast and slow is probably not the best as I have not kept that many cobras. So far I have only seen a few species grow from young to 6 and 12 months , thus far I'm ranking them like so.

Snouted cobra
Rinkhals
Cape cobra

[nvlooi]

My idea of fast and slow is probably not the best as I have not kept that many cobras. So far I have only seen a few species grow from young to 6 and 12 months , thus far I'm ranking them like so.

Snouted cobra
Rinkhals
Cape cobra

Rinkhals is not Naja...

[it_bit_me]

Alright make it cobras.Does anyone here think Capies are the slowest growers?

[Mehelya]

It_Bit_Me, are you referring to captive or wild animals?

Captive animals, depending on how often you feed them, and other husbandry factors, can make almost any snake grow faster, or slower. The more you feed the reptile, the faster it grows, in my personal opinion, and vice versa... Power feeding can also have many negative effects on the reptile, but that is a basket of cobras I would rather not dip my hand into...

Also, remember that some wild snakes might not catch a meal for extended periods of time, while others might live in areas where prey is abundant. In the colder seasons food might be rather scarce, and growth will slow, as where captive specimens are sometimes kept at warmer temps to continue feeding and growth during those periods. Just my two cents...

[it_bit_me]

Maybe your right, I might be feeding the ones I like the most a bit more. I have to say though that snouties really are something incredible when it comes to growing up.

[Smeegle]

My idea of fast and slow is probably not the best as I have not kept that many cobras. So far I have only seen a few species grow from young to 6 and 12 months , thus far I'm ranking them like so.

Snouted cobra
Rinkhals
Cape cobra

I acquired all three of these as babies at around the same time just over a year ago, and in my personal experience the Rinkhals is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest, followed by the Snoutie and then the Cape Cobra.

However, as Mehelya pointed out, my Rinkhals is probably the easiest captive I have ever owned and eats anything, anytime, live or FT. This is in contrast to my Cape Cobra that has a very nervous disposition, only eats live prey, and usually just kills the prey and doesn't actually eat it.

[it_bit_me]

I've got the same story with young Cape cobras. A good feeder will eat once a fortnight or one a month. They get pinkies and still treat them as a threat.
Have you got an idea of when your Rinkhals started spitting?

[Smeegle]

I've got the same story with young Cape cobras. A good feeder will eat once a fortnight or one a month. They get pinkies and still treat them as a threat.
Have you got an idea of when your Rinkhals started spitting?

Exactly what happens, it sees the pinkie and then gets defensive. Not fun at all, but hopefully we'll get there eventually:)

The Rinkhals used to spit like a trooper at any movement from day one. But since it has settled down over time it never spits anymore, not even when I remove it to clean the cage. It still spreads a hood though.

[michael]

It’s interesting what you guys are saying about Cape cobras. I had a number of them at one stage including some hatchings and I always found that they were fantastic feeders. The young snakes reached about a meter within their first year and would barely spread a hood anymore! I fed all my cobras’ dead prey with tongs.
I think it’s really hard to gauge which species grows quickest, but in my experience Rinkhals (banded phase) always tended to grow slower, perhaps because they are smaller as adults?

[Smeegle]

Man, I'm so jealous! You obviously have the magic touch:)

At the suggestion of a friend I moved mine from a substrate of emulch to newspaper. Reason being is that the snake would hide under the emulch and you wouldn't see it for weeks. Now the cobra utilises his hide and is aware if you place a food item in the cage.

I did have a heating pad at one corner of the cage, but the snake would permanently stay on the cool side, so I removed the heat.

One thing I have noticed is that the Cape Cobra doesn't even seem to "hunt" around the cage like my snouties do when looking for food. When they do this, they will eat anything you throw in.

Could you perhaps share some tips? Were yours kept in tubs or cages? Heat? Substrate? etc...

[michael]

@ Smeegle
I kept mine in tubs for the first year of their lives, then I moved them into more spacious cages. I noticed with adult Cape cobras that they seemed to settle down a lot quicker if I housed them in tubs first. I used newspaper as a substrate.
I found that they (Cape cobras) appreciate deep cages with plenty hides. I think this helps them to feel more secure. They appreciate a good temperature gradient in their cages, 30° at the hotspot cooling gradually towards the other end. A night time temperature drop of a few degrees is also a good idea. I always kept their cages very simple, hide boxes, water bowl and newspaper substrate, they can move quickly. You could also consider modifying a hide box to use as a shift box this would make cleaning the cage a lot easier and safer.
I never bred any of my Cape Cobras but I would assume that a good winter cool would be very necessary. The areas these snakes come from gets pretty cold, I believe Rinkhals would require similar temperature drops. I hope that helps.

[Smeegle]

Thanks for the info michael!

I'm definitely going to try the tub idea. Anything to make him feel more secure.

Will let you know how it goes:)

[michael]

One quick thing about the tubs if you can get ones that are more opaque or cover the very see through ones a bit, it work very well. Just make sure your tubs fit nicely in their racks it’s no fun looking for an escaped little cobra!

[Smeegle]

Ah, was going to ask about that! Will do, thanks:)

[armata]

Cape cobras reach maturity in their fourth season in the wild.