A resident from Clare Estate in Durban was left shaken after a frightening encounter with a Mozambique spitting cobra in a kitchen on Monday.
Local snake catcher Nick Evans said he went to the home on Monday afternoon for what sounded like a black mamba in a kitchen. He said he had caught a few there before.
“The large snake had given the resident a fright, and vice versa, so the snake moved under a floorboard,” said Evans.
Evans said he peered under, lighting up the space with his torch and saw the distinctive scales of a Mozambique spitting cobra.
“After running back to my car to fetch my visor, two friends from the neighbourhood watch assisted me in moving a fridge that was on the floorboard, and watching that the snake didn’t come out,” he said.
Fortunately, he said the snake stayed there until he moved the board.
“It was a bit of a handful, but fortunately I didn’t get spat at, which is always the aim when catching these snakes (well, dodging a bite is first prize),” he said.
Evans said the snake was a healthy specimen of around 1.4m in length.
In an unrelated incident last week, Evans said he was surprised that when he went to remove a brown house snake from under tiles, there was another snake there.
“The larger specimen was not happy with being disturbed, especially being in the blue (about to shed), and gave me a cheeky bite. Both were frozen, although still very lively.
“It’s not mating season for this species (well, not that I’m aware of but you never know), and I haven’t sexed them, but I presume it’s a pair that just found a nice winter retreat,” he said.
Evans said female house snakes are generally a fair size bigger than males.
“Notice on the lighter coloured specimen, the lines on its head and patterns near the top half, a key feature to look out for when identifying this non-venomous constrictor.
“They have since been released. When it’s not cold, they’ll take care of any rats that may move past,” he said.
