Venomous snakes are found all over the world. South Africa has a lot of beautiful snakes, but you must be careful not to pick up the wrong snakes. You can see these snakes in Nelspruit while you are staying at Nelspruit Lodge.
Here are some of the most venomous snakes in South Africa:
Black Mamba
The Black Mamba is an amazing snake, it has a very elongated body. The snack is not a black snake, the snake can be an olive-brown to gunmetal. It has a pale grey-green belly and sometimes have dark dots.
The Black Mamba has neurotoxic and cardiotoxic venom, this venom attacks your nerve system and reduces blood flow to your body.
Boomslang
The Boomslang has large and circular eyes and a unique head, the snake can be leaf-green all the way to rust-red.
The Boomslang has Hemotoxic venom, this venom prevents blood clotting. Bites are not quite common, but bites do happen when these snakes are being handled.
Mozambique Spitting Cobra
The Mozambique Spitting Cobra is a thin snake that can average at about 1.2 meters in length. The snake’s colors range from light brown to a black color. They usually have black bars on their throats.
The Mozambique Spitting Cobra has cytotoxic venom, this venom destroys soft tissues and cells in your body. They can accurately spit their venom for up to 3 meters.
Puff Adder
The Puff Adder can reach up to 1.1 meters in length. It has rough scales that can vary in color from brown, black, and yellow. It can camouflage very well in piles of leaves because of its scale colors. The snake is responsible for more bites than any other snake, the reason behind this is because the snake is very adaptable and can easily live in a wider range of habitats. Bites usually occur when people step on these snakes, it is not a fast-moving snake but it has an incredible fast striking speed.
The Puff Adder has a cytotoxic venom, this venom destroys soft tissues and cells in your body.
Vine Snake (Twig Snake)
The Vine Snake is a thin but long snake with a small head, they have keyhole shaped pupils. The snake usually lays perfectly still in a tree and its camouflage makes it blend in and look like a twig. That is why they are referred to as a twig snake. There is no anti-venom for the vine snake because these snakes do not want to waste its venom on humans. They don’t have a lot of venom so if they bite people, they will not be able to eat for a few days.
The Vine Snake has hemotoxic venom, this venom prevents blood clotting. Bites usually occur when snake handlers are releasing these snakes back into the wild.
Egyptian Cobra
The Egyptian Cobra can vary in color from a light brown to a dark brown, they can also be dark yellow, black, or gray. They usually have black rings around their necks. They average in length between 1 and 2.5 meters.
The Egyptian Cobra has neurotoxic venom, this venom attacks your nerve system, and it reduces brain activity.
Rinkhals
The Rinkhals usually has a dark belly with brown or cream color spots or rings on their body. They can be found through out the Easter Cape, Southern Cape, parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. These snakes are spitting snakes, incase you encounter these snakes, make sure you protect your eyes. If venom is not washed out thoroughly with water, it can lead to permanent eye damage.
The Rinkhals has a cytotoxic venom, this venom destroys soft tissues and cells in your body.
Cape Cobra
The Cape Cobra varies in color starting at black, light to dark brown, yellow, beige or speckled. Baby Cape Cobras has a dark bank around their throat. This snake is quick to stand its ground by hooding up and is ready to strike at any moment.
The Cape Cobra has neurotoxic venom, this venom attacks your nerve systems, and it reduces brain activity. Bites from the Cape Cobra can also affect your breathing in less than half an hour after the victim has been bitten.
