The first model for breeding king cobras in Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) - Through books, newspapers, and other media, Mr. Bui Trong Vinh in Quang Nhan hamlet, Quang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, has boldly invested in building a model for raising king cobra snakes, opening up a new direction in economic development.

On a garden plot of nearly 150 square meters, Mr. Bui Trong Vinh built 19 sturdy pig pens, each measuring over 2 meters in width.2It has an entrance to house 150 snakes.

To implement his idea, Bui Trong Vinh went to snake farms to buy breeding stock of yellow snakes and rat snakes (also known as Lai snakes) to release into his garden. He built a sturdy enclosure around the garden, using dry tree trunks or low green trees to provide shelter for the snakes in a natural environment. However, this method was ineffective; feeding was difficult to control, and the snakes' increased movement slowed down their weight gain.

After seeing a TV program about raising king cobras, Vinh continued to research, learn, and invest in a model of snake farming on his nearly 150 square meter garden plot.², built 19 pens, each more than 2 meters wide²It is constructed of brick and concrete mortar, providing discreet, airy shelter, with an entrance door and a wooden floor to allow snakes to move and crawl freely according to their natural instincts, and also to separate the snakes when they reach maturity and to facilitate care and monitoring.

King cobras are very easy to raise, docile, non-venomous, grow quickly, are rarely sick, and have a fairly stable market demand.

After three breeding cycles, he currently raises 150 snakes of various species in his enclosures, mainly king cobras, and 5 black cobras and puff adders for experimental breeding. The bearded cobras range in weight from 0.1-0.2 kg for the smaller ones to over 2 kg for the larger ones.

For venomous and dangerous snakes like the king cobra and black cobra, Mr. Vinh is very cautious, strictly adhering to the breeding process, and even adding boxes with holes for the snakes to enter and exit, making cleaning and sanitizing the cages convenient and safe.

Box for keeping king cobras and black cobras.

According to Bui Trong Vinh's experience in raising snakes, the rat snake is very easy to raise, docile, non-venomous, grows quickly, rarely gets sick, and has a fairly stable market. Its main food is readily available, consisting of animals such as toads, frogs, mice, or poultry, either live or frozen. It only needs to be fed once every three days; in winter, the snakes eat less and mostly stay in their nests.

Mr. Vinh is planning to expand and build more enclosures to raise approximately 1,000 snakes of various species, both for breeding, supplying hatchlings, and providing commercial snake meat for the market.

According to Mr. Bui Trong Vinh's calculations, the cost of feeding each batch of snakes is only 30,000 - 50,000 VND, and they can be sold within a year. Currently, the market price for breeding snakes is quite high, selling for about 300,000 - 400,000 VND/snake, while commercial snakes fetch around 700,000 - 800,000 VND/kg. Calculated this way, the rat snake farming model yields profits 3 to 4 times higher than other wild animal farming.

Mr. Bui Trong Vinh added: "Rabbit snake meat is a specialty, valuable, and its price is quite stable. Seeing the clear effectiveness of raising rat snakes, I plan to expand and build more enclosures to raise about 1,000 snakes of various types, both for breeding, supplying hatchlings, and providing commercial snake meat for the market."

Anh Tuan - Phan Hien

Yen Thanh Radio Station