The Naja haje is an Egyptian Cobra. Egyptian cobras are the most known species in the cobra family. There eyes are usually very dark with round pupils. They usually live up to be 100-200 cm long!  Usually you would find cobras to be a yellow, crèmes, grayish, and brown grey, copper-red, pale or dark brown or black color. The Egyptian cobra has the fourth most toxic venom. 

 

You usually find Egyptian Cobras in a dry, moist savanna and semi-desert regions with at least some water and vegetation but never in desert regions is may also be found in oases, agricultural grounds, hills with vegetation, and grasslands.  These types of snakes aren’t afraid of humans. Sometimes they have actually entered people’s homes. They like human villages; they are attracted to them by rats and chickens       

 

Egyptian cobras eat whatever they can find. In the wild they eat foods like toads, lizard’s snakes, small animals, birds and fish. They are not picky eaters.

 

This species has the fourth most toxic venom out of any other kind of cobra. It has neurotoxic venom. What it does is affects the nervous system, stopping the nerve signals from being transmitted to the muscles and then later stages are stopping those transmitted to the heart and lungs, causing death due to complete respiratory failure. This species doesn’t spit venom.

 

I really liked the animal I got. I liked it because I found out some very interesting facts about it. One is that this is the snake that was believed Cleopatra committed suicide with. Also I thought it was pretty funny how they would go into people’s houses. Another is that a lot of people have an Egyptian cobra or Naja Haje as a pet.

 

Author: Mayra R

Sources: 03/2010

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_cobra

http://www.kingsnake.com/elapids/egyptian_cobras.htm

 

Photo Credit:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:L14cobra.jpg