Big, fast and alert, these vipers pack a real punch. It has been found that the viper has a few unlikely preys like a small Royal antelope, Tree monkeys and the Brush-tailed porcupine. They have light colored scales, with dark brown patches that closely resemble fallen leaves.

Then, right before you got home, I dug out all of the folded laundry and rolled in it. " These names include the Gaboon Viper, Forest Puff Adder, Whisper, Swampjack, and Gaboon Adder, and the Gabon Viper.
However, the largest specimen ever recorded was nearly 7 ft. long! If you enjoyed this article and want to help us continue our dream of writing, gifts are always welcome. They can eat a diet of rats, mice, rabbits, and chicks. The offspring are born at approximately 30 cm long, and have no parental involvement after their birth. The West African Gaboon Viper has larger nasal horns, and only has a single dark triangle beneath each eye, not two. However, bites from Gaboons are rare due to their unaggressive nature and the fact that their range is mainly limited to rainforests away from people. Despite the fact that Gaboon Vipers are venomous, some of the are kept as pets by experienced reptile owners. Gaboon vipers are mostly active at night, or nocturnal.

If threatened they will hiss loudly as a warning, and slightly flatten their head. In a zoological setting, keepers must take extreme care when handling or interacting with this animal. The main staple of the Gaboon viper’s diet is rodents. In my mind I thought well this would be amazing to have a best friend for life whom I can spend all day with and take to work. Dune mining in Africa (e.g. Though intimidating, and rightfully so, these snakes are not ruthless killing machines. The Gaboon Viper has two different subspecies, which are the East African Gaboon Viper (Bitis. These fights occur until one snake is able to pin the other to the ground by its head, and raise its own head off the ground. All Rights Reserved. Written by Frank Indiviglio

In fact, bites from gaboon vipers are quite rare.

However, they are not particularly active, so the enclosure doesn’t have to be quite as large as a similarly sized, active, snake might need.

The largest individuals have heads nearly 6 inches (15 centimeters) across at their widest point. They use those two-inch fangs to inject enough venom to kill a slew of adult men.
There are also reports of these snakes preying on some odd creatures, like porcupines and small royal antelopes. Don’t assume it is a venomous species, and don’t attack it if it doesn’t pose a threat to your safety. The largest vipers in Africa, Gaboon vipers are lethargic and placid-natured. Most gaboon vipers reside in the rainforest, or surrounding woodlands, where they most often remain in low altitudes rather than mountainous regions. In addition to its unwillingness to bite, the viper can control whether it injects venom and how much, so the result of a strike can range from no effect to rapid death. Gaboon Vipers are popular attractions at zoos due to their size and appearance, and general docile behaviour. Breeding season is around September to December, and the gestation period for the babies can be up to seven months. In a 1995 conservation project, many Gaboon viper species were translocated from the Dukuduku Forest (that suffered from severe deforestation) to the Umlalazi National Reserve.