Hello!
I had a question about cobras; more specifically, their hooding. Whenever you see pictures of them, they're in the classic loose curl with the front part of their body up and neck hooded. I was wondering, though, can they lift the front part of their body up like that without hooding, and can they hood while laying on the ground?
P.S. I hope your Grandma is doing okay!
Hello hello - great question! Cobra hoods are essentially long sections of ribs that can unfold and fold at will, so technically yes, they could be in any position with the hood unfolded or folded.
An important thing to understand right off the bat is that raising up in the typical cobra posture with the hood spread is a defensive display. It's a specific behavior that all cobras will adopt when they feel threatened.
They can lift their heads without hooding...
But you'll notice their posture always looks much more relaxed, simply because the snake is more relaxed. That stiff, straight-up posture is something we pretty much only see in cobras who feel threatened (or if they're getting a good look around their surroundings, but that's harder to find a picture of!).
Similarly, a cobra could spread their hood while laying down - they're physically capable of it - but that's not something you'd ever really see. A snake who's laying down is usually relaxed and calm, so they're not really going to want to spread their hood, and if they do start to feel threatened, one of the first things they'll do is lift their head.
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how come king cobras aren't considered true cobras? i know they look quite different from true cobras, but then again, not all family members look alike. also, have you ever been near a king cobra?
Common names are vague and fickle things. True Cobra is the common name of snakes belonging to the genus Naja. But taxonomically, the contents of that genus has varied over the years, with debate as to whether some members belong to it or not. Other snakes the hood, like Ophiophagus (king cobra) fall in various groups outside that one, but are still quite closely related to it within the family Elapidae. The choice not to call those true cobras is really motivated by not wanting to call everything in between, which includes things like Aspidelaps and Hemibungarus, cobras. And because it’s a common name, no rules govern its use, meaning it’s in the court of public opinion and prevailing usage.
I have seen them at zoos, and we have some great specimens in the collection, but I’ve never been to Asia, so I’ve never had the pleasure to see one in the wild.
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Ranking Plush Cobras 🐍
Part 1: ranking plush anacondas 🐍
"Cobra" is a little vaguer than anaconda, because "cobras" include a specific genus and the common names of a variety of snake species. As such, I'll give them more leeway in terms of color accuracy, but I think the shape of the hood will make or break these snake plushes.
Cobra Stuffed Animal by Wild Republic
Length: 54 in
11/10. I chose cobras after I found this guy because I love him, so much. Her cute little face. Their perfect little hood. They look like they're smiling. I can't see the back, but I think this is a creative interpretation of a monocled cobra, which can be striped. The spectacled cobra also has similar front-hood ornamentation, usually seem more "freckled" than "striped". I think this could pass for a creative interpretation of both. Unlike most snake plushies, the proportion of the head is much more accurate and in my opinion, cuter. Wild Republic really redeemed themselves from last time.
Cobra Snake Plush by Top Toy
1.5m
4/10, this guy certainly has the look of maybe a king cobra, and that chunky head shape so many retailers seem to use for snakes actually fits the cobra. But if I want a plush of a deadly snake I would prefer it have the :< expression of a cobra and the big, charming eyes. Also, king cobras should have round pupils.
Cobra Pillow Snake by Unknown (via whiteblackstore)
2.1m
8/10 This is one of the longer cobra plushes, and he has an excellent shape, very huggable, soft, and does look like he'd work as a pillow although I couldn't confirm whether there is wire in her body. I'll note that even the product photo seems to have a manufacturing defect in one eye. This cobra was found on several websites, but I couldn't find the manu. The cape cobra can be orange, so even that works!
Plush Cobra by Haihuiyuan (?) (via aliexpress)
Length unknown
10/10 considering the size and simplicity I actually really like these ones. They all look a little angry but extremely cute, which is what I want in a cobra stuffie. Not angry as in vicious but angry like you just walked in on them at a bad moment and they turned around in surprise. Again, the cobras have heads the same size as their body, which I think is great. There are no blue cobras (I think) but I will accept this inaccuracy for the sake of cuteness.
Cobra snake plush by iharttoys
1+ m
2/10. My partner described these as "muppet like" and I actually added a point of that because thats a cute concept, but I hate these. I despise cartoon animals with this much white in their eyes, but other than that I think the hood just looks awful, like terrible finds, and the scales look too fish-y because they're big. I wish more plushies had open mouths, though, but I would definitely put fangs in them if I did an open mouth.
Cobra Stuffed Animal by WildRepublic (2)
12in* *standing up, longer uncoiled.
6/10 This small cobra is like the platonic ideal of cobra plushes. Its fairly accurate in color, fairly accurate in shape, and uses simple patterns effectively. Its like an 8/10 for accuracy, but it just doesn't charm me as much as some of the others I've seen.
Realistic stuffed cobra by Aurora (via stuffedsafari on pinterest)
13in* *may be standing up, couldnt find confirmation, looks to be longer uncoiled
9/10 another excellent cobra plush. This is more perfect than I ever could have imagined. The material used looks to be textured with different textures on top and bottom. My only complaint with the toy is the hood should be connected a little lower to match the shape of the head. My other complaint is that I can't actually find this anywhere for sale- I think it was sold out but still appeared on the pinterest page for the online store.
Foilkins Cobra by WildRepublic (3)
54in
7/10 I really like the vibe of this guy. Definitely a more flashy variety, not really trying to be realistic with its gimmick of having shiny scales, but it has a cute shape. Could use a bigger hood, maybe. Adorable though.
Cuddlekins cobra by Wildrepublic (4 or 2b?)
12in* *probably longer uncoiled, unclear
7/10 I have no idea if this is real. This snake is present on the wildrepublic amazon page and I could find no other pictures of it. Here is the saga of what I found about it:
One US reviewer posted a photo (2022) of what they purchased and it was clearly the cobra reviewed in WR 2, which does not have the fancier materials. The WR website has the WR 2 snake as being $23 but the amazon listing lists WR 4 as $55. In fact, a UK reviewer on Amazon from 2023 posted that the snake was not shiny and in the photo it looks the same as WR 2. I do hope people aren't buying for $55 from amazon when it is only $22 on their website- assuming everyone is getting WR 2 instead of the above picture. I did check and confirm the prices for plushes are normally the same on amazon and their website. I also went ahead and reported this to amazon, although I have no idea whether they take action on things like this.
Stuffed cobra from Sunny Toy (via stuffedark)
62in
8/10 Now THIS is what I'm looking for when I see a snake with an open mouth. This guy is discontinued so I couldn't find many details but he appears to be a puppet. I love his little fangs and delightful expression. Definitely a shape > pattern and color design, but it works.
Stuffed cobra from Fiesta Toy (via stuffedark)
49in
10/10 I think this snake has excellent vibes and could be my friend. no notes.
Wild Eyes king cobra by Animal Planet
38in (?)
1/10 I despise this snake. Its so ugly. why would you do this to me.
In conclusion
There are way more cobras than anacondas, and I would say they're generally more charming. I think the hood makes the cobra plushes instantly recognizable, but it also seems to be the only thing that will convince designers to make a snake plushes head a reasonable size compared to its body. Most of the hoods do tend to be a bit fin-ish and the nicer ones have the hood taper down the body.
Cobras dont always have their hood up- they do so as a threat display- so I've been ruminating on the techniques one could use to make a fold-out hood without ruining the plushness of the toy. I have not been able to think up a good solution.
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You’ve seen the new Flight Rising familiar for Starfall Celebration, yeah? The flowers being asters make sense for the Arcane flight’s link to stars, but what can you share with us about the snake? Seems to me it might be based on an Indian cobra.
Definitely looks to be based on an Indian cobra, yep!
A few fun facts about Indian cobras (Naja naja):
They're also called "spectacled" cobras! The name comes from the marking on the back of their hood, which is usually two circles connected by a curved line, like a pair of spectacles drawn with a bit of artistic license. The spots are meant to look like eyes to confuse predators.
They have pretty big hoods, even by cobra standards! They can spread them out really dang wide.
I love seeing them with their hoods down because they always look vaguely confused as to what they're doing.
Indian cobras are among the only true cobras who cannot "spit" venom (the other species that can't is the Caspian cobra).
Baby cobras are the cutest things ever. Look at this baby!
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