Green Mamba

(Dendroaspis angusticeps)
VERY DANGEROUS

The Green Mamba is build a bit lighter and more slender than the Black Mamba but has the same shaped head. The scales are smooth and not keeled as in the Boomslang. The total length seldom exceeds 2.5 metres making them a smaller snake than the Black Mamba.

Being a arboreal snake they are restricted to the more thickly forested and bush-covered areas, this making there distribution range quite small. There distribution covers from Kenya in the north through Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe into North and South Natal and Transkei.

The green mamba is highly arboreal and seldom ventures to the ground unless following prey or basking. Green mambas are diurnal. Unlike the black mamba, it is a shy and nonaggressive snake, and does not often gape and strike if threatened but usually makes a swift and elegant escape. Continued provocation will cause the snake to strike, and bites, although serious, are uncommon.

Green mambas make their homes near trees, often in evergreen forest, coastal scrub, or moist savannah. Bamboo thickets and mango plantations are also known to be mamba habitat.

Their diet consists primarily of adult and juvenile birds, birds' eggs, and small mammals. Young mambas occasionally eat other reptiles, such as chameleons.

The green mamba is oviparous, laying 6-17 eggs in summer. The eggs are usually laid in a hollow tree among decaying vegetation. Hatchlings measure between 35 and 45 cm (13 to 18 inches) and are venomous from birth. Males of this species are known to engage in combat for mating rights, similar to the combat practiced by male king cobras. The combat involves wrestling matches, with snakes twisting and pushing each other to the ground, which may last several hours. Combat does usually not include biting.

Behaviour

Venom

The green mamba's venom is highly neurotoxic. The venom is similar in composition and action to that of the more famous black mamba but only one-tenth as toxic, and the amount delivered is less due to the snake's smaller size. Despite this, the bites are still potentially fatal and should be treated by professionals immediately.

Lifestyle

Green mambas make their homes near trees, often in evergreen forest, coastal scrub, or moist savannah. Bamboo thickets and mango plantations are also known to be mamba habitat.

Breeding

The green mamba is oviparous, laying 6-17 eggs in summer. The eggs are usually laid in a hollow tree among decaying vegetation. Hatchlings measure between 35 and 45 cm (13 to 18 inches) and are venomous from birth. Males of this species are known to engage in combat for mating rights, similar to the combat practiced by male king cobras. The combat involves wrestling matches, with snakes twisting and pushing each other to the ground, which may last several hours. Combat does usually not include biting.