How Do King Cobras Reproduce?

As the largest poisonous snake alive, the king cobra lives in tropical forests and the grasslands of India, southern China and southeast Asia. While there is no visible difference between a male and female cobra, keepers differentiate a snake's sex by inserting a probe into the cloaca. The probe will not slide very far into the tail of a female. A male snake, however, discovers a female by smell and then tries to mate with her. After this happens, the female is dedicated to keeping her eggs safe while they mature.

  1. Mate Attraction

    • When the weather warms up, a male king cobra goes in search of a mate. He finds a partner and sees if it acts aggressively. If so, he engages in battle and then moves on. A female king cobra will not react, however, which is his clue to verify the sex. The male cobra uses his vomeronasal organ to see if pheromones, or smells, are emitted from the female's skin. If so, the mating begins.

    Insemination

    • If the female is receptive, the male cobra starts mating with her. Lifting his head onto her back, the male winds his tail around the female's ears and tries to join cloacas. The male has two penises, called hemipenes, which are covered with bendable spines. When he actually penetrates the female's cloaca, his penis enlarges and the spines work to keep it in place. The act itself can last anywhere from two minutes to two days; sometimes the snakes are still, but oftentimes the female takes the male along as she moves to other places. After the mating is over, the male stays with the female for three days and then tries insemination again. If the female is not ready to have offspring, she can save the sperm for several years.

    Egg Fertilization

    • When fertilization takes place, the ovule and the spermatozoid meet high in the oviduct. The fertilized egg then moves down the oviduct where the uterine glands spray substances around it. After an incubation period of 60 to 90 days, the eggs are ready to hatch. Right before this happens, the mother leaves to get food for herself, so that she is not tempted to eat her babies.

    Laying the Eggs

    • The female king cobra is oviparous, which means she lays eggs instead of having live births. She may travel a long distance to find the right spot to lay her eggs, a place where the temperature and humidity are right. The king cobra begins building a nest by piling up vegetation, branches, bamboo and leaves. Once finished, she deposits anywhere from 20 to 50 white, leathery eggs. The eggs remain in the bottom chamber while the snake coils herself around the top of the nest. She guards the babies from any animals wanting to eat or trample them.

    Giving Birth

    • When the eggs are ready to hatch, the snake cracks the egg with its tooth and emerges 14 inches in length and 1/2 inch in width. The baby snake's venom is already as strong as an adult's. Ten days later, the hatchlings shed the outer covering and start to look for food. The mother wanders away.