My good friend Darren had 26 pairs of Trimeresurus puniceus (Hump-nosed pit viper, or ashy pit viper), so he sent me a pair free of charge for me to grow up and breed when they are old enough!
The male is dark black, grey and brown, with lighter bands...quite the ominous looking viper! The little female is 10 months younger, and is shades of cream, light brown, tan, and grey with striping on her face. Both are FAST!!
They've settled in nicely and both ate two days after arriving. I'm looking forward to growing these two up and possibly adding a second female at some point. There is a lot of variety among puniceus, with animals ranging from the typical bark-colored phases, to orange, pink and even yellow. They almost resemble eyelash vipers, but with fatter heads and smaller "eyelashes." In fact, another of the common names is Indonesian eyelash viper.
Common to southeast Asia, from Malaysia, Java, Thailand, and Borneo, these snakes are easy to keep in captivity, voracious eaters, and in my opinion are quite underappreciated. They are not terribly common in the US, but several breeders do have them available from time to time.
Trimeresurus puniceus- the hump nosed ashy pit viper
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