Montpellier snake Venom

[Daniel Phillips]

How strong is the Montpellier snake venom? (rumoured to be potentially fatal in N.Africa, & harmless in Europe)

[snakehunter]

Corwin had one when he was in morocco, and handled it like a rat snake, I think the reason they are thought to be deadly is because they look like cobras, and hiss and hood.......but they are just bluffers.
-Jacob

[Dr. Bryan Fry]

Malpolon monspessulanus, like most other members of the Psammophiidae family, has very large venom glands and has caused some pretty severe bites.

Cheers
Bryan

[snakehunter]

WOW boy was I wrong, I must have had the wrong snake inmind, sorry........ :/
-Jacob

[Daniel Phillips]

Yea but how does all the books I look at say: Harmless
and all people I talk to say there's a danger with them, what have I missed? Did someone die? I've been bitten in the field many times, but only by 20-30 cm long ones, lucky escape with a 2m specimen once though!

[JimmyDavid]

The venom is quite powerfull, in fact. I'm not sure that it could kill a person, probably not.
The reason they are said to be harmless is not really related to the potency of the venom, but because they are rear-fanged.
There are very little chances that a bite will inject venom. That, along with the fact that those snakes run away from people (they don't attack, like legend tells) are the reasons why there is no data on fatalities.