Best King Cobra Exhibit

[Batto]

@Arizona Docent That is indeed a general issue (that I've mentioned several times on ZC), but it is becoming less prevalent in countries with updated minimum tank size standards. However, as previously noted: I'd like to highlight the positive examples in this thread, not the bad ones.
Thanks @Hvedekorn

 

[imaginarius]

What I don’t get is why most all zoos feed their kings the same diet they feed their other snakes — dead rodents. King cobras do NOT eat rodents unless they absolutely have to; they are snake-eaters, hence the scientific name Ophiophagus hannah. Zoos know that. They should be fed dead snakes instead.

 

[Batto]

What I don’t get is why most all zoos feed their kings the same diet they feed their other snakes — dead rodents. King cobras do NOT eat rodents unless they absolutely have to; they are snake-eaters, hence the scientific name Ophiophagus hannah. Zoos know that. They should be fed dead snakes instead.

For the very same reason why other snakes, including commonly kept species such as the North American copperhead (the diet of the juveniles in some areas can consist to >80% of insects) or the Western hognose snake ( whose main diet are amphibians) are fed rodents, despite eating different prey species in the wild: because it's easier from a practical perspective (and in the case of ophiophagous snakes, decreases the likeliness of snake disease and parasite transfer, such as Cryptosporidium serpentis). At least for European and North American snake keepers, mice and rats are a lot easier (and cheaper) to obtain as feeding animals than snakes.
It's a commonly debated topic among king cobra keepers, with a pro- and an anti-rodent lobby. A long-term comparative nutritional study between rodent - and snake - fed king cobras might shed some light on the issue, but I haven't heard of any institution undertaking such a major research project.

 

[red river hog]

It is not just king cobra exhibits that are too small. Almost all snake exhibits are too small. I mean a lot of them - maybe even a majority of them - the snake cannot stretch out its full body length. This is appalling in my opinion.

Exhibit A:

Photo credit to @Dhole dude.

 

[TinoPup]

What I don’t get is why most all zoos feed their kings the same diet they feed their other snakes — dead rodents. King cobras do NOT eat rodents unless they absolutely have to; they are snake-eaters, hence the scientific name Ophiophagus hannah. Zoos know that. They should be fed dead snakes instead.

I imagine the problem is dead snakes are a lot harder to get than dead rodents.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Exhibit A:

Photo credit to @Dhole dude.

No... Not the Cooler!

 

[red river hog]

No... Not the Cooler!

I had to.

 

[Dhole dude]

I had to.

lets not bring the Dreaded cooler back into the main stream . On the topic of beast king cobra exhibit, Dallas’s exhibits are pretty good.

 

[Batto]

I imagine the problem is dead snakes are a lot harder to get than dead rodents.

Not if you know the right providers. It's just pricier and constant availability not always a given. As for the rest - see my post above.

 

[Milwaukee Man]

I could be thinking of another snake species, but I think I remember Zoo Atlanta's king cobra terrarium being pretty nice, along with Fort Worth's.

 

[RatioTile]

The Australia Zoo exhibit, as seen on Animal Planet shows, looks nice, but it is opened from the front, rather than from a door in the back of the enclosure, which seems riskier.

 

[Batto]

I could be thinking of another snake species, but I think I remember Zoo Atlanta's king cobra terrarium being pretty nice, along with Fort Worth's.

I could be thinking of another snake species, but I think I remember Zoo Atlanta's king cobra terrarium being pretty nice, along with Fort Worth's.

Zoo Atlanta seems to go with the "bamboo forest" scenario as well when it comes to their king cobra exhibit. Can't say how big and structured it is, though. Fort Worth's tall exhibit appears to be larger than it actually is in regard to the space the king cobra can actually use.

 

[lowland anoa]

Here's some other exhibits I've seen for them.

Columbus Zoo:

Electric City:

It goes a bit more to the left, as well.

Metro Richmond:

Virginia Zoo: I don't have a photo of the entire exhibit, but here's part of it.
View attachment 469082

Dallas Zoo, which has several that look like this:

Catoctin:

And what is most certainly the worst, Luray Zoo:

Judging from the picture you posted of Luray’s exhibit, it still adheres to the needs of the inhabitant. Yeah that might not look appealing to the visitors, but do the cobra cares, no it has got a hiding place, some climbing structures (minimal though).

 

[red river hog]

Judging from the picture you posted of Luray’s exhibit, it still adheres to the needs of the inhabitant. Yeah that might not look appealing to the visitors, but do the cobra cares, no it has got a hiding place, some climbing structures (minimal though).

Good point, however, I think it could use more/larger hiding places.

 

[Jurek7]

I just checked what actually is the habitat of king cobra. Sources say rainforest and bamboo forest, especially near streams. So it could be that some rocks, leaf litter and a stream could be an exhibit design for this species.

 

[lowland anoa]

Good point, however, I think it could use more/larger hiding places.

That’s the only major problem i would associate with the exhibit, unless there”s actually a water source hidden somewhere to the right.