Echis occellatus

[Maik Dobiey]

Hey Guys,

I would like to know what I would have to pay for an Echis occelatus the West African or Occelated Carpet Viper or Saw-Scaled Viper.
Is there anyone breeding them or do I have to take WC?
And who is importing them?
Is it a popular species in the USA or are Echis considered to be to dangerous or so?

Best wishes,

Maik

[psilocybe]

Most of the people I know of that keep Echis keep E. carinatus. I wouldn't say Echis sp. are the most popular hots here in the U.S., by no means are they, but there are a decent number of people here who do keep them.

[Maik Dobiey]

And what do you think is a good price for a couple?

Maik

[psilocybe]

Originally posted by Maik Dobiey
And what do you think is a good price for a couple?

Maik

Well, I just saw an ad on another site for a single E. carinatus for $125, I would guess a captive born pair would go for anywhere between $200-$300, depending one who you got them from.

Neonates would likely be cheaper, but I have never owned nor bought Echis before, so this is just through observations of ads I've seen.

[skin78]

I know that they are not kept that much because they are prety dangerous snakes.. their venom is very strong and you hav eto know where your animal comes from so the right AV can be used when you got bitten otherwise you´ll die twice :)

I keep Echis carinatus and have 4 animals and 2 of them are pregnant . I live in Holland so shipping is out of the question i guess lol .

[psilocybe]

Echis are problematic, in that, like other genera like Daboia, venom composition varies so much from species to species (and from locality to locality within the same species) that you are majorly screwed if you don't have correct species and locality information.

I know that there was some concern here in the U.S. a while back about some possible Echis hybrids floating around...not a good thing :(