Egyptian False Cobra, The Best Pet Snake?

Cobras are awesome! Cobras are not good pets. But what if I told you that there is a snake that looks and acts like a cobra, but won't kill you? Well good news, the Egyptian false cobra (Malpolon moilensis) exists! But is it a good pet? And is the Egyptian false cobra the best pet snake for you?

#clintsreptiles #cobra #falsecobra
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Clint is a professional biologist and educator, but above all, Clint LOVES reptiles and he loves to share that love with everyone he meets. Whether you're lover or a hater of reptiles, you can't help but get excited with Clint!
We post a new video every Saturday morning! So stay tuned!

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You guys are so RAD!

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Fan mail? Yes Please!
Clint's Reptiles
770 East Main Street # 127
Lehi, UT 84043

[yehiahuzayyin]

As an Egyptian myself, I'm extremely grateful for this particular video. Availability and cost aren't a problem for me with this one, but up until now, I've never been able to find a decent care video anywhere. Thanks so very much, Clint. You guys are stinkin'-rad ❤️

[thomasmotz]

Unrelated to False Cobras: Within the last year, this channel has ignited my interest in reptiles, and two days ago I brought home my first lizard Norbert the Uromastyx! Learning about these animals has been such a delight. Thanks, Clint!

[stormevans]

False water cobra: Evolved like a cobra. Egyptian false cobra: Evolved to look like a cobra.

[cmcdow]

We've owned one of these for about a month now and she's unbelievably fascinating. She spends all day scooping sand with her neck and moving things around. She's adorable.

[GuyHaimovitch]

Regarding its venom, I was bitten by it in the thumb for around 2 minutes since didn’t want to break its teeth and was stupidly curious about its venom. It was slightly more painful and slightly more swelling then a bee sting. Nothing serious at all. The individual was around 50cm (1.7 ft) and was found in the southern Arava desert in Israel. I keep free handling when seeing them in the wild from time to time. I would give them a 3 in hand-ability 😉

[heyher_the_odd]

Been subscribed to Clint's Reptiles for a number of years, and I still say 'Well hi there" in response to Clint and also count on my fingers with Clint when he is listing off the five categories. I've done it for every best pet reptile video I have watched (which is basically all of them) and I will continue to do so. Clint's videos just always seem to bring a smile to my face.

[brandonbutler]

Hey Clint! We stopped by the Reptile Room last night and had an absolute blast! Just spent an hour holding snakes, it was bliss. Hope to see you there next time!

[metikla]

I've been waiting for this video for a while! Though I'm surprised at some of the scores, but we only have our one Egyptian False Cobra to judge by and may have simply won the attitude lottery. In our experience she's a very sweet snake, never even had an inkling of thinking of biting us, and she's never hooded for us. She's *very* alert and attentive and we actually have some bird toys like a little bell in the tank for her to play with. She's already trained me to check on her by ringing it lol. She's not the best climber, but she does like to do so, so we have one of those bird ladders she can crawl up, and since the substrate is walnut shell 'sand' and she's not high up there's no risk if she falls. We've had her about a year now, and she seems to need a lot of mental engagement and we have to supply her with a lot more toys than our other snakes. She has a nice large area to crawl about and will watch me whenever I'm on the computer. She's even watched some of your videos with me!

[dmc]

The first 2 and a half minutes of this video was brilliantly done. Like a never ending tongue twister packed with biological knowledge to the brim. Well done Clint!

[mannyms]

“Just get a nice enclosure for a bearded dragon with a nice lid and nowhere for an athletic, persistent shoelace to escape and your probably pretty close to right on.”
It’s quotes like these that really make me appreciate this channel 😂. Love you and your word play to death Clint.

[mermadicamerican]

I love this type, I've handled a very friendly one before (for just a few seconds before calmly noping out). I did get to sit with her a while and she was so inquisitive, she didn't just look for a hiding spot, and wanted to explore a tripod we had set up. (She wasn't a good climber... Clint is right when he says they're lizards, they move a lot like legless lizards) I think they're some of the more intelligent species. Thank you for sharing, I love all your videos, you make reptiles so interesting!

[FowlTerror]

Actually since you brought up the old Halloween episode I got a fun fact for you: that's how I found your channel because YouTube knows I'm into "weird" reviews of stuff as recommended it. I was thinking of getting a pet at the time but more on the side of a mammal like a rabbit or guinea pigs but after watching a bunch of your vids (and doing much research) I ended up getting a baby crested gecko.
I had never owned a reptile in my life or even thought about them as potential pets but your channel "converted" me so to speak so be proud of that lol.

[mahoganydoughnut]

Clint: "there are no wild cobras in the Americas"

1950s Springfield Missouri: "and I took that personally"

[adg]

I was so surprised when I saw today's video cause I literally learned about these guys the day before yesterday. And here we have clint breaking them down. So ironic, such appropriate timing!

[stefanostokatlidis]

We have a snake of the same genus in Greece as well.

It is considered quite common, although it is very difficult to approach, as it has extremely high vision for a snake and can perceive you from tens of metres away and escape.

Even the small ones are mostly impossible to catch. A very fast, alert and intelligent snake.

Sadly its dramatic defence display gets interpreted wrong by ignorant people, and some people believe that they are very dangerous or even that cobras have been released into the country. However, they are quite fast and most of the time escape those humans.

They even keep dogs and cats at bay.

Cars are the big danger to them, because they are diurnal and they bask in the early morning hours on the roads.

They are very adept hunters of rodents, lizards and snakes.

That is why in Europe they are mostly called the lizard snake. Sadly another common name in Greek is rotter snake, due to the superstition that if it bites you you will rot. The venom is mostly neurotoxic though and doesn’t cause that.

Many people have caught them.

Most of the time they are extremely difficult to handle and thrash around repeatedly.

A momentary bite isn’t going to transfer any significant venom to you. They must grab and hold on for around a minute to be effective. Even then, most of the time people have some small swelling and local pain which dissipates relatively quickly.

Only in very rare circumstances some people may have generalized weakness and mild neurological symptoms that go away in a few hours. So not dangerous. In captivity they have been described as extremely intelligent animals that watch what happens around them and even learn to take food from the hand gently. Although they are cannibals, they have been kept in communal settings and if they are well fed they seem to have a hierarchy of a sort between themselves.

Like other snakes of the same family, they secrete an oily substance from a gland between the nostril and the eye, which they rub on their belly.

So they can mark pathways when they are hunting. Probably they meet pathways from other conspecific snakes as well and can know who is around. In breeding season, larger males defend the smaller females and even bring food to them. This is unique for a snake.

People just don’t know a lot about it, because it happens to live in less developed areas with less research. The most well researched species is the western European lizard snake or the Montpilier snake.

They are much more social than we think. Overall, we call it the Cobra of Greece or the Eagle of snakes, and it deserves these names. What it lacks in color, it compensates with character and intelligence.

[willnolan]

Husbandry Tip: Egyptian False Cobra’s love to tunnel under their substrate as well as prefer very low humidity! For my Egyptian False Cobra Artemis I put her on Aspen as it doesn’t hold humidity well but does in fact hold their tunnels and it is quite cute seeing them going in and out their tunnels. She is by far my most active pet and will drag things she likes into her tunnels! In my experience she does not enjoy handling so I keep that to a minimum but has never acted defensively with me and I got her from an expo. She also did not have parasites/any signs of being imported so it is definitely possible to find them considering I found mine by accident at repticon! They run from about 275-350 in my experience. While you want to keep them in similar temps to a bearded dragon I definitely would say they are basically Egyptian hognose snakes and they will thrive if you put them in a husbandry representative of that

[robertcalifornia]

I’ve been waiting for this video for so long. There are so many reptiles that just don’t have a lot of information out about their care. Any time I get interested in a new reptile I always check to see if Clint has made a video, because he always has the best and most up to date information

[studbourbon]

I got one a few weeks ago and it seems to be the sweetest thing. Never bit at me and only hooded up when I first put him in his tank. So far so good .

[commandermercury]

I had the pleasure of seeing one of these beauties at a reptile expo. He was definitely wild caught, and based on this video the seller was definitely giving me some…let’s just say questionable information, but in a room full of ubiquitous pythons and boas I’d never been more fascinated by a snake. I didn’t buy him—and thank Arceus for that—but the thought did run across my mind for a second. 😅

[stuchly]

Your script writing for these videos is absolutely excellent.
Incredibly informative of course but engaging and entertaining as well.