Cb'12 Hemachatus haemachatus (Rinkhlas)

[Louis Jacobsz]

These snakes are just to stunning and must be shared with everyone !

I haven't seen many of these in the USA so feel free to ask any questions if you have something you'd like to know...

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/shed_rink_002_28768_x_51229.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/shed_rink_009_28768_x_51229.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/Banded_rinkhals_012_28512_x_76829.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/Banded_rinkhals_014_28768_x_51229.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/Banded_rinkhals_015_28512_x_76829.jpg

I hope you liked them...

Regards.

[marvelfreak]

Gorgeous snake and sweet pictures.

[Trent]

Awesome pics!!

[Kingsnakechris]

Lol I just have one question, how much would these cost me? And would you be okay with making the box seem like grandmas cookies? Haha I'm jk, those are incredible snakes tho!

[Will0W783]

Oh wow..I love Rinkhals!!

[BarelyBreathing]

Oh wow! What are their common names?

[Louis Jacobsz]

Thanks a lot for your replies guys !

These are incredibly variable in colour from locality to locality so I'll be posting some more pics of the others soon.

@BarelyBreathing....Their common name is Rinkhals.

Are these freely available in USA ? (In the states that allow the keeping of venomous species.)

Regards.

[BarelyBreathing]

I've never even heard of these.

[jaleely]

I haven't heard of them either! There is a LOT i dont know though, being fairly new to the hobby. But i know around my area it's hard to even get involved in venomous snakes. There are like, no groups or breeders around.

[Caylan]

Rinkhals are amazing cobras, even able to spit venom. That first photo is sooo cool, never seen a baby Rinkhals...

[millertime89]

Wow, awesome little cobras! I've never heard of them either.

[jarich]

They really are beautiful man. The size of their eyes in relation to their heads is crazy!

[Louis Jacobsz]

Thanks guys ! They are stunning little worms ! And a lot of "fun" to work with as adults !

I've been a bit busy but I'll post some more pics of adults and different colours soon...

Regards.

[BarelyBreathing]

Please do!

[alessia55]

Those are fantastic! Thanks for sharing!! :yes:

[Louis Jacobsz]

Here's two more of the rare green variety I'm currently working with...I hope you guys like them because pictures do not do these snakes justice !

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/rink_green.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/rink_green1.jpg

Regards.

[BarelyBreathing]

That first picture is really cool.

[Robyn@SYR]

Not familiar with these at all. Interesting!

[millertime89]

That first picture is fantastic!

[Will0W783]

I've only seen them available maybe twice in my 8 years of snake-keeping... DTS Herps currently has them for sale for $500, but I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I could throw him. It is seriously tempting though.....

[Louis Jacobsz]

Thanks for your comments and complements guys !

I'll post some interesting facts about these for you guys tomorrow.

@Willow783, He's prices are way to high ! But don't worry, I'll be sending some over next season...;) They're just a must have for any venomous keeper !

Regards.

[jaleely]

If i ever find a local person to mentor me in hots i would love to get into them. These are so cute!

[Will0W783]

@Louis Jacobz- I'll be keeping my eye out for them! ;)

Btw, how do their temperaments compare to other cobra species? My only experience is with N. kaouthia, and they aren't terrible, as long as you keep aware of their movements and body posture.

[bushsnake]

These give live birth dont they?

[millertime89]

These give live birth dont they?

I may be wrong here, but I thought elapids laid eggs.

[Louis Jacobsz]

@Willow783, Most of them will calm down very well in captivity and will stop spitting and in some cases even hooding up. But you'll get the odd one that will always be highly aggressive.

@Bushsnake and Millertime89, Millertime89 you are correct in thinking all elapids lay eggs but these are the rare exception to the rule ! They give live birth as Bushsnake stated!Read more below...

Rinkhals are a unique species of snake, thus they are the only species in their genus. They appear to be cobras but they are in fact not true cobras. They have keeled scales where other cobras have smooth scales and as mentioned above they give live birth while other "true" cobras will lay eggs !

Rinkhals also has the amazing ability of raising their body temperature higher than that of the surroundings even on cold days !

Non-captive specimens can be highly aggressive and will not hesitate to defend themselves. Their first defence will be fleeing but if that's not possible, they will raise a large portion of their body off the ground, displaying an impressive hood (like true cobras). If this doesn't deter their attacker they will spit/spray their venom, with rather good accuracy it seems. If all of the above fails they will play dead as seen in the pic.

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/injured_rink_073_28768_x_51229.jpg

Regards.

[shaunyboy]

very interesting species mate

especially the part where they play dead

are there any other venomous species that play dead ?

great thread,thanks for sharing

cheers shaun

[millertime89]

That's crazy! Thanks for the knowledge.

[Louis Jacobsz]

It's always a pleasure millertime89 !

@Shaun, in South Africa the rinkhals, snouted cobra (Naja annulifera), forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) and even the boomslang (Dispholidus typus*) have been known to sham death when threatened or stressed. I know there's a couple other species exotic to SA that's also known to play dead.

* Not confirmed.

Regards.

[BarelyBreathing]

That's really cool. Thanks for sharing.

[Louis Jacobsz]

Hi guys...As promised, here are some more pics of the "common" colour phase found in Gauteng (Pretoria and Johannesburg)...

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/brown_rink2.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/brown_rink1.jpg

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/brown_rink.jpg

And starting to play dead...:)

http://www.ljafricancaptivebreds.co.za/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/brown_rink3.jpg

I hope you guys are still finding this topic educational and interesting.

Regards.

[Caylan]

I watched a couple shows with these guys featuring in them, amazing snakes I really like them! I was quite surprised no one here had heard about them, but you have some incredible photo's and information on them, so thank you for that!

[Will0W783]

Oh wow- the more photos you put up, the more I want one. The common color phase is just stunning!!!!

[Norm66]

Just amazing. Thanks so much for sharing these guys.

[millertime89]

I love how pitch black their head is.

[Louis Jacobsz]

Thanks guys...Here are some pics of a male in my friend's (Deon Nell) collection. The photos belong to him. Feel free to check out his site as well.

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy228/Apex_13/BandedRinkhalsMale.jpg

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy228/Apex_13/BandedRinkhalsHoodedShot.jpg

I'll post more color phases soon haha...

Regards
Louis.

[Caylan]

Great pictures, I love these snakes! They have such a cool unique scalation, they're just bizarre looking!

[BlueTongueDan]

Great photos!
I was lucky enough to see one of these in the flesh recently (at a reptile zoo, not wild) They really are beautiful snakes!

[Trent]

Very cool!!

[Lankyrob]

Great photos!
I was lucky enough to see one of these in the flesh recently (at a reptile zoo, not wild) They really are beautiful snakes!


Which zoo? always interested in days out where i can see me some reptiles :)

[Will0W783]

That very orange Rinkhal's is stunning...drool!!!

[BlueTongueDan]

Which zoo? always interested in days out where i can see me some reptiles :)

Sorry, this was while I was in South Africa.
A place called 'Dangerous Creatures' which is in Durban.

The only good place ive been to in the UK for venomous reptiles is London Zoo :hmm: