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Rousing reptiles

By Raphael Slama, Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

Located on the grounds of the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute on Rama IV Road, the Snake Farm was established in 1923 with the support of the Thai Red Cross to develop serum to treat snake-bite victims. It�s also a place to educate the public about these slithering reptiles.

SEEING SNAKES

The snake farm is housed in a four-storey building, two of which contain exhibition areas where visitors can see snakes in cages and temperature-controlled glass boxes. There is also a multimedia facility, complete with slide shows and information about these cold-blooded reptiles.

On the second floor, baby cobras hatch from eggs in an incubator. There are also various specimens of snakes preserved in glass cylinders.

DEADLY VENOM

On weekdays at 11 am, a snake handler demonstrates venom extraction in the auditorium. The handler works behind a glass enclosure, milking the fangs of some of Thailand�s deadliest snakes.

SNAKE SHOW

On weekday afternoons, visitors can get up close and personal with a number of venomous and non-venomous snakes in the outdoor auditorium.

	Seasoned handlers make sure that the snakes don�t get too close for comfort, but at the end of the show, brave audience members are given the opportunity to pet a python. serum (n): liquid taken from the blood or venom of an animal and given to people to protect them from disease, poison, etc. slither (v): to move somewhere in a smooth, controlled way, often close to the ground hatch (v): to come out of an egg incubator (n): a piece of equipment in a hospital in which new babies are placed when they are weak or born too early, in order to help them survive venom (n): the poisonous liquid that some snakes, spiders, etc. produce when they bite or sting you extraction (n): the act or process of obtaining a substance from something seasoned (adj): having a lot of experience of a particular activity