Just 3km off Entebbe road in Kajjansi is the famous Snake park in Kampala, Uganda. It started about 8 years ago when Ms. Challote Nankunda was given authority by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to start up the park.
It is now a major tourism attraction in Uganda. It is also home to over 20 species of snakes kept in about 22 cages. Most of the snakes here were displaced from their habitats by the human population and some were brought in from Kenya.
The snake shelters were built using the ‘Masengere’ brown stones, these rocks do not produce a lot of heat but instead provide the snakes with a cool, moist atmosphere that all snakes, even from different climatic conditions live well in. Inside these cages, you will see grass, tree branches, sand, stones and a pond of water so as to give the snakes a sense of nature.
Species kept at the snake park
The snakes here include Jameson’s mamba which is a fast moving and secretive tree snake, the forest cobra, African rock python, bush viper, olive snake, twig snake boiga, green mamba, rhinoceros viper and some leopard tortoises, most of these are venomous.
Feeding
The snakes usually feed once in a fortnight with exception of the python that feeds once a month. They feed on hens, chicks, chameleons, rats, toads and birds. The snakes are fed according to their weight. A python of about 8ft long eats goats while a smaller one eats rabbits. If a snake is over fed, it can die.