Durban — A pregnant green mamba laid nine healthy eggs three days after she was rescued in Amanzimtoti.
Durban snake rescuer Nick Evans said that last week, he went to a home in the Toti area for a green mamba hiding under sheets of asbestos and corrugated iron.
He said that November is the time of year when green mambas are seen more on the ground than usual, mostly because they are gravid (pregnant). They come down looking for a spot to lay their eggs.
“So I suspected this one would be too,” Evans said.
He said this did not mean people should run outside and check their gardens.
Evans said green mambas generally occur on the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, they stick to trees and are quite elusive.
“I think this is the first one I've caught this year,” Evans said.
“When I arrived, I looked under the pile of roof sheeting, and saw the mamba under all of it, on the ground.
“I moved sheet after sheet, going as carefully as possible, to avoid hurting her,” Evans continued.
“Eventually I was down to the last piece of asbestos. I flipped it, exposing the snake, and her hide-out. I could tell straight away she was gravid by her swollen back half.
“It looked like a decent place to lay. I haven't caught a mamba seemingly about to lay in such a place, and perhaps she wasn't going to lay there, but I reckon her eggs would have been fine.”
Evans said it was a quick and easy catch, apart from the roof sheeting in his way.
“I could see she was about to pop, so I put her in an enclosure with a box to hide in and lay.
“Three days later, she laid nine healthy eggs,” Evans said.
He said the snake would be released shortly and her snakelets would follow in two and a half and three months upon hatching.
Evans added that for snake removals in and around Amanzimtoti, the public could call Caitlin at 069 417 4394.
This was the second pregnant mamba Evans rescued last week.
Last Wednesday, Evans rescued a pregnant black mamba in Queensburgh.
The snake was looking for a spot to lay, so she is now in a “Mamba B&B’”, where she has been given a safe place to lay, after which she will be relocated far from people. As will her young, in three months or so, upon hatching.
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