Will0W783
08-10-14, 08:03 PM
My friend Ryan needed to make some room, so I took this trio of adorable little saw scales off his hands.
Leakey's sawscale viper is a small (12-14 inches max) Middle Eastern viper native to semi-arid and arid areas. They are not shy snakes and won't hesitate to defend themselves- they grind their heavily keeled side scales against each other to make a loud rasping hiss sound. They do not hiss in order to avoid moisture loss through the mouth and nasal cavities. These tiny little snakes have very large round eyes and blunted snouts, giving them a somewhat "cute" appearance, but don't be mistaken- they can absolutely ruin your day. And week... month.....year....even life. Their venom is very necrotic and will eat right through bone tissue. Survivors very often end up losing the bitten extremity.
I've always been fascinated with sawscale vipers. I think they are adorable, have very neat patterns and their behavior is interesting. They are a communal snake, and seem to fare better in captivity when housed in small groups. My group consists of a large male, a medium-sized mature female and a small male. They usually curl up together on the cage rock decorations. They live in a 3' X 2' cage, but are almost always together.
Here they are:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140718_172107_zpscdsrdv9e.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140718_172120_zpsza5mw7id.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/20140809_231236_zpsyihck8t5.jpg
Leakey's sawscale viper is a small (12-14 inches max) Middle Eastern viper native to semi-arid and arid areas. They are not shy snakes and won't hesitate to defend themselves- they grind their heavily keeled side scales against each other to make a loud rasping hiss sound. They do not hiss in order to avoid moisture loss through the mouth and nasal cavities. These tiny little snakes have very large round eyes and blunted snouts, giving them a somewhat "cute" appearance, but don't be mistaken- they can absolutely ruin your day. And week... month.....year....even life. Their venom is very necrotic and will eat right through bone tissue. Survivors very often end up losing the bitten extremity.
I've always been fascinated with sawscale vipers. I think they are adorable, have very neat patterns and their behavior is interesting. They are a communal snake, and seem to fare better in captivity when housed in small groups. My group consists of a large male, a medium-sized mature female and a small male. They usually curl up together on the cage rock decorations. They live in a 3' X 2' cage, but are almost always together.
Here they are:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140718_172107_zpscdsrdv9e.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140718_172120_zpsza5mw7id.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/Will0W783/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/20140809_231236_zpsyihck8t5.jpg