A resident of Bhubaneswar in eastern India saw a stranger releasing an Indian spectacled cobra on April 15 and called Snake Helpline for help.

A volunteer, Arun Kumar Barala, went to the spot and saw the deadly snake writhing in agony. It's believed that someone had purposefully sealed its mouth with glue and then abandoned it.

Unable to open its mouth or even expand its hood, the cobra was in great distress.

On April 16, Snake Helpline founder Subhendu Mallik and team took the snake to the Veterinary Surgery department of Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology.

Professor Indramani Nath took an X-ray to check for any bone injury and surprisingly found that the cobra was pregnant with eggs in its abdomen.

He gently dipped cobra's head in lukewarm water mixed with lemon juice. He then cleaned the insides of its mouth thoroughly with an ear bud dipped in fresh lemon.

It took nearly two hours to remove all the synthetic glue flakes from the cobra, which was all along restrained by Snake Helpline volunteers to prevent accidental biting.

The cobra was later given water through an injection syringe. The cobra recovered quickly and started flicking its tongue.

Dr Nath said: "We chose lemon juice as it contains citric acid which can remove the synthetic glue easily. It is also a safe alternative to chemicals which would have been ingested by the pregnant snake. "

Subhendu Mallik said: "The snake’s mouth was glued to prevent it from biting during a superstitious ritual. The barbaric act had even partially clogged its trachea. The forest officials must trace and arrest those who did that."

The snake will be kept in observation for a day and then released into the wild.

A resident of Bhubaneswar in eastern India saw a stranger releasing an Indian spectacled cobra on April 15 and called Snake Helpline for help.

A volunteer, Arun Kumar Barala, who went to the spot saw the deadly snake writhing in agony. Someone had sealed its mouth with glue possibly to use in a religious ritual and then abandoned it.

Unable to open its mouth or even expand its hood, the cobra was in distress.

On April 16, Snake Helpline founder Subhendu Mallik and team took the snake to the Veterinary Surgery department of Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology.

Professor Indramani Nath took an X-ray to check for any bone injury and surprisingly found that the cobra was pregnant with eggs in its abdomen.

He gently dipped cobra's head in lukewarm water mixed with lemon juice. He then cleaned the insides of its mouth thoroughly with an ear bud dipped in fresh lemon.

It took nearly two hours to remove all the synthetic glue flakes from the cobra, which was all along restrained by Snake Helpline volunteers to prevent accidental biting.

The cobra was later given water through an injection syringe. The cobra recovered quickly and started flicking its tongue.

Dr Nath said: "We chose lemon juice as it contains Citric acid which can remove the synthetic glue easily. It is also a safe alternative to chemicals which would have been ingested by the pregnant snake. "

Subhendu Mallik said: "The snake’s mouth was glued to prevent it from biting during a superstitious ritual. The barbaric act had even partially clogged its trachea. The forest officials must trace and arrest those who did that. "

The snake will be kept in observation for a day and then released into the wild.