#Venomous Snakes

[snakesong]

The close up of a gaboon viper looks like a friendly dragon.

I wanna give it scritches

may I request a gaboon or perhaps a rhinoceros viper? They're my all time favorites, they're just so unique

Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica), family Viperidae, found in West Africa

Venomous.

This species has the longest fangs of any venomous snake, at a length of up to 2 inches (5 cm).

photograph by Mark Kostich

Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica), family Viperidae, Zambia

Venomous.

photograph by Johan Marais

Rhinoceros Viper (Bitis nasicornis), family Viperidae, Uganda

Venomous.

photograph by Cristian Torica

Rhinoceros Viper (Bitis nasicornis), family Viperidae, Uganda

Venomous.

photograph by Cristian Torica

[felicia-murka]

P.V

I decided to start my page with a sketch of my favorite "serpent" ;)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This, by the way, is the opposite of the situation I posted about yesterday, which was a case of misidentification by accident. I don't like the idea of anyone suffering through a serious envenomation (although this seems to be a case of someone who is not an especially nice person), even if they did basically bring it on themselves. But it does highlight a really nasty streak of arrogance toward parts of nature that really deserve extra respect because of the dangers they pose. I am already not enamored of the practice of breeding and selling herps with all the carelessness of a carnival goldfish stand, but the "hey, look what I got!!!" braggadocio shown by some venomous reptile keepers is the end result of an attitude that these animals are just living, breathing collectibles to be traded and shown off.

When we approach the rest of nature with respect instead of commodification, it completely changes the bedrock upon which our interactions with other beings and our shared environment occurs. The good news is that we can change our approach for the better any time--and hopefully before we find ourselves in such dire straits as this guy.

[trivia-polls-daily]

No cheating, please! Answer the trivia question to the best of your ability, then check below the cut! Please do not give away answers in comments or tags!

Answer below:

The inland taipan of Australia is considered to be the world's most venomous snake.

https://www.treehugger.com/worlds-most-venomous-snakes-5206598

[j0celynh0rr0r]

Serpents

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Did you ever hear of Callmethelamp? He owns venomous snakes, like a Gaboon Viper and Boomslang. What do you think of his videos?

Not a fan!

Now, my opinion is that owning snakes with medically significant venom as a private keeper is always unethical. I think it's just irresponsible, even if you know what you're doing (although the people who really know what they're doing will also never own them, so...). Securely housing and providing maintenance for venomous snakes is difficult, and finding veterinary care is even harder. Private keepers who own hot snakes often wind up neglecting them simply because they don't have the knowledge to safely perform regular maintenance (even as simple as changing water bowls), so the snake's needs aren't met as a result.

This guy has so many venomous snakes, I can say with 100% certainty they are not being cared for appropriately. I do a lot of work with a venom lab; taking dozens of venomous snakes to the vet in a day is a logistical nightmare. I am not exagerrating when I say there is literally no way a private keeper could do it. Many vets who will work with venomous snakes and have the experience to do so (which is not a big number to begin with) only work with licensed facilities. If you cannot provide an animal with veterinary care, including regular checkups, then it is unethical to own that animal. Full stop.

I also think his videos are incredibly irresponsible for showcasing private keeping of venomous snakes on the Internet the way he does. A good chunk of snakes at my venom lab came to us from private keepers who thought it would be cool to own them and then surrendered them to a zoo or wildlife center after they had a near-miss with a bite. Not everyone is that lucky. It's wildly irresponsible to act like it's appropriate to keep venomous snakes in your house.

[consuocrochet]

Blue-lipped Sea Krait embroidery patch

[strawlessandbraless]

tell me more about your second favorite venomous reptile

This genuinely made me laugh out loud, then smile, then 🥹. Haha, but since you so kindly asked…

It’s the Spiny Bush Viper. These guys are arboreal species, meaning they prefer being up in trees than on the ground. They’re great climbers and are usually found between 3000 - 8000 feet

Spiny bush vipers are so venomous that normal antivenins do not word against their bite. Luckily they are in more remote locations in African rainforests and there is very little human contact.

They will hang from trees, disguised as gnarled vines, to ambush and attack their prey, usually small mammals, lizards, frogs, and birds. Curling up into a tight S shape before they strike. The best part is that they’re nocturnal and during the day they much prefer to sleep among the flowers, and I love that for them

😘

[yraelviii]

I (metaphorically) ran into this baby while out walking this weekend. The little dude was pretty chill but right in the walking path, and I couldn't trust the families with small children or (even thankfully) leashed dogs to spot it and/or leave it alone, so I snapped a pic and then gently (and very cautiously) stomped my feet at a careful distance to help convince it to leave the path and slither back into the woods nearby.

Baby cottonmouth/water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus), family Viperidae, central Arkansas, USA

[comfortcritter]

Requested by @the-flowing-river!

[giulliadella]

Day 40 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:

Eastern Montpelier snake (Malpolon insignitus) is the largest European venomous snake. It’s a rear fanged venomous colubrid whose venom is mild, but it can still cause a lot of problems. The venom causes swelling, itching and burning at the place where the snake bit you and it can also cause bad diarrhea. The people who have allergic reactions to the venom can end up developing anaphylaxis and need immediate medical attention. However, nobody has died from this snake’s bite. The venom’s effects wear off in a couple of days.

Overall, getting bitten by this snake is rare. They avoid people in general. However, if you try to catch this idiot it will bite you. This snake has the mentality of “attack is the best defense”, so if you catch it expect it to aggressively bite you and even jump at you. These fuckers are the only native snake I’m uncomfortable around. I feel safer even around vipers who have much stronger venom, but they almost never bite and even if they do they usually don’t release their venom in you (so called “dry bites”).

In Croatian and Serbian they are called “velveđa” which means “big eyebrows”. The ridges above the snake’s eyes look like angry thick eyebrows which just adds to the charm. Western Montpelier snake (Malpolon monspessulanum) is equally angry.

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

This animal was requested!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This FB post (which was public at the time I grabbed this screenshot) is Reason #90510 I teach nature identification classes and am SO adamant that my students look at ALL the details of a given animal/plant/fungus. Also, I ran the photo through iNaturalist just for the heck of it. Its first suggestion was timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), but its second was western rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus). This is why you never, ever, ever use an app as our only tool for identification, because you need to also have the critical thinking and observation skills to be able to differentiate between species, to include when the app offers up two similar species where the difference can be a serious matter.

I hope the OP makes a quick and full recovery, because I can't imagine getting tagged by a venomous snake is much fun. Please skip any judgemental comments about Darwin Awards, etc.--I have seen plenty of intelligent people make bad mistakes, and have even made a few myself, though none with quite this level of consequence. It can happen to anyone; thankfully OP realized their error in time to get medical help.

[science-lover2941]

Langaha Madagascariensis

Malagasy leaf-nosed snake

The special thing about this snake is its nose.

It has a strange nasal appendage that is pointy in males and leaf-like in females. The males are dorsally brown and ventrally yellow while the females are mottled grey.

They are usually found in Madagascar and are poisonous (not dangerous for humans). They lay in trees with their snouts hanging down from the branches, resembling vines.

To be more plant like they swing with the wind. They can grow up to 1m (3 feet) in length.

They mainly eat frogs and lizards are oviparous with clutch sizes ranging from 5 to 11 eggs.

[m00nb04rd5]

Can I have a moodboard for Master Viper?

Viper (Kung Fu Panda)

[timothybates]

This random idea was stuck in my head, so I decided to bring it to life by making this into a cartoony artwork. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🦘🇲🇽🐍🍺