Snake charming charmers may also use Russell's vipers. Indian and Burmese pythons, and even mangrove snakes are also encountered, though they are not as popular. In North Africa, the Egyptian cobra, puff adder, carpet viper and horned desert viper are commonly featured in performances. Except for the pythons and mangrove snakes, all of these species are highly venomous. At home, snake charmers keep their animals in containers such as baskets, boxes, pots, or sacks. For safety, some North African snake charmers stitch closed the mouth of their performing snakes, leaving just enough opening for the animal to be able to move its
Death-banded snake-eel Death-banded snake-eel The death-banded snake-eel (Ophichthus frontalis) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Samuel Garman in 1899. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the central Gulf of California, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 35–760 metres, and forms burrows in sandy and muddy bottoms. Males can reach a maximum total length of 86 centimetres. The species epithet ""frontalis"" is presumed to be derived from the Latin term for "forehead". Due to its relatively wide