#Venomous Snakes

[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.

[j0celynh0rr0r]

Serpents

[felicia-murka]

P.V

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

[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

[consuocrochet]

Blue-lipped Sea Krait embroidery patch

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

When you say you believe venomous snakes to be largely unethical to keep are you including typically non-medically significant venomous snakes such as false water cobras? Im assuming you definitely dont mean hognose snakes since you own one, but im interested, since u ascribe such a moral position to it, where you draw the line (if this comes off as standoffish i dont mean it im just curious about your position)

Hello hello! My position is that it's unethical to keep hot snakes, and that's indeed herpetology slang for snakes with medically significant venom.

I think keeping hot snakes is wildly irresponsible because of the risk posed to keepers and others - most people just do not have the knowledge to properly secure and handle venomous snakes. That's part of why I think keeping hot snakes is also unethical for the snakes, because keepers who don't know how to work with them are more likely to neglect their basic needs. That's on top of the difficulty of finding appropriate, timely veterinary care for venomous snakes!

None of those issues apply to snakes without medically significant venom, like hognose snakes. That's not to say that these are snakes you should purchase without knowing any potential risks, however slim they might be, and I think it's inappropriate for breeders to sell snakes with even very mild venom without making sure buyers are informed.

[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!

[m00nb04rd5]

Can I have a moodboard for Master Viper?

Viper (Kung Fu Panda)

[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.

[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!

[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.

[timothybates]

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

[saying-odd-shit]

listen im NOT saying that when making venomous snake restriction laws we should NEVER consult hot keepers, but i AM saying that the word of veterinarians and zookeepers should be held to a higher regard than the word of Hotkeeper McFreehandlerson who has 45 inland taipans in tupperware containers