Mangrove Pit Viper - Page 2

possum · 05-27-13, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

Apparently my dry sense of humour didnt come through there. I cant seem to find the smiley for "Im just being a smart ***".

Yes it did thanks, I was just teasing too.

Will0W783 · 05-31-13, 11:19 AM

Nice-looking little Mangrove viper! However, that bedding is bad news for that species. Mangrove vipers live in trees near the waters of mangrove swamps. They need high humidity and lots of perches.

Aspen simply will not work...it will mold, or the snake will shed horribly...probably both. You would do well to switch to cypress mulch or jungle floor mix bedding. You should provide plenty of perches, lots of fake vines and plants to hold water, and mist several times a day.

Here are some pictures of the setup I have for my baby C. purpureomaculatus:

I hope this helps; If you have any more questions, feel free to message me. Good luck with the little one. Be careful- their bites can be lethal, but usually do not kill. However, I've heard that they are one of the more painful bites a keeper can endure.

smy_749 · 05-31-13, 11:57 AM

How toxic is the venom of that species Kimberly?

Will0W783 · 05-31-13, 02:01 PM

It really depends on how you personally react to it. They're more potent than a copperhead but less so than a rattler. Most bites cause swelling, blistering, extreme pain and some clotting problems. They have caused fatalities in some cases, but death is not common.

SSSSnakes · 05-31-13, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

How toxic is the venom of that species Kimberly?

Mangrove Pit Viper is LD50 = 0.9 compared to the Monocled Cobra which is LD50 = 0.4

SSSSnakes · 05-31-13, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Nice-looking little Mangrove viper! However, that bedding is bad news for that species. Mangrove vipers live in trees near the waters of mangrove swamps. They need high humidity and lots of perches.

Aspen simply will not work...it will mold, or the snake will shed horribly...probably both. You would do well to switch to cypress mulch or jungle floor mix bedding. You should provide plenty of perches, lots of fake vines and plants to hold water, and mist several times a day.

Here are some pictures of the setup I have for my baby C. purpureomaculatus:

I hope this helps; If you have any more questions, feel free to message me. Good luck with the little one. Be careful- their bites can be lethal, but usually do not kill. However, I've heard that they are one of the more painful bites a keeper can endure.

Thanks for the advice, but I have been keeping high humidity tree snakes on aspen for 30 years. I keep my snakes in a snake room that has high humidity and high temps. The aspen has never molded on me and I never have to mist any of the snakes. In fact, I breed ATB's which do great in this set up. This works for me and has for years so I'll stick to it, but other may want to do it differently.

Will0W783 · 05-31-13, 03:06 PM

OK, well do what you feel works for you I guess. I've just never had luck keeping higher humidity snakes on aspen, and find that tree vipers act more relaxed and eat more readily when kept in naturalistic enclosures. Just my observations, but you know what works for you.

smy_749 · 05-31-13, 05:29 PM

ssnakess are you Jerry from the website in your signature? If so, sweet beard.

SSSSnakes · 05-31-13, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

ssnakess are you Jerry from the website in your signature? If so, sweet beard.

Yes I am. Thanks you.

Louis Jacobsz · 06-01-13, 04:24 AM

Interestingly the LD50 value does not mean much when it comes to the effect of the venom on humans. It is usually determined by using rats/mice so the value is in essence more applicable for those species. If the LD50's were calculated by using other animals or even humans

as test subjects the values would be of more use to us.

But that said it does give an indication of the potency of the venom. What it does not indicate/compensate for is the amount of venom injected by an individual snake that would make a massive difference in the outcome of a bite.

All said, I've seen two mangrove viper bites here in S.A (note we have no anti-venom readily available for exotic species) and both caused heavy swelling, extreme pain, little bleeding from the bite site and sore kidneys. In both cases the victims fully recovered without any lasting effects.

SSSSnakes · 06-01-13, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louis Jacobsz

Interestingly the LD50 value does not mean much when it comes to the effect of the venom on humans. It is usually determined by using rats/mice so the value is in essence more applicable for those species. If the LD50's were calculated by using other animals or even humans

as test subjects the values would be of more use to us.

But that said it does give an indication of the potency of the venom. What it does not indicate/compensate for is the amount of venom injected by an individual snake that would make a massive difference in the outcome of a bite.

All said, I've seen two mangrove viper bites here in S.A (note we have no anti-venom readily available for exotic species) and both caused heavy swelling, extreme pain, little bleeding from the bite site and sore kidneys. In both cases the victims fully recovered without any lasting effects.

Excellent post. Very true, LD50 gives us an idea of how potent the venom is. It does not however tell us what effects it will have if bitten and the amount of venom that is injected in each bite. Each person reacts differently to venom and the amounts injected will be different in each case.