In the African deserts, it has long been firmly established, horrified by aborigines, the horned viper. This creature alone can scare it with its appearance, because small but ugly horns flaunt over the eyes of the reptile. Everyone understands that the danger lies not in this unusual decoration for snakes, but they are still afraid.
As for danger, it’s worth remembering the well-known, very poisonous snake called Noisy. The horned viper is similar to it in that both have a toxic toxicity index that goes off scale. Its hemolytic toxins significantly increase the rate of tissue decomposition. In their family, these poisonous reptiles are in first place in terms of danger to humans. But today we’ll talk about one of them - the horned viper.
Horned Viper: Description
Ignorant people can confuse a horned viper with its relative, which also has a decoration in the form of small horns. It is called a horned tree viper. The differences between these poisonous individuals are significant. The tree reptile lives in mountain ranges in Tanzania, and its color from yellow with a green tint can reach black or gray, which can not be said about the horned viper. In a word, only one belonging to one genus, unusual poisonousness and horns on the head connects them together.
It's time to return to our main heroine of the article - the horned viper. Her body reaches 65-70 cm in length. The body is quite massive and thick, you cannot call this person thin. The tail is short, sharply tapering towards the end.
The head is triangular in shape, it is strictly limited to a neck interception from the body. Eyes large with vertical pupils. Scales are vertically elevated above the eyes; they have sharp tips. In appearance, such a serpentine “ornament” looks exactly like small horns, you look at them and feel double feelings - fear and admiration!
The whole body of the viper is covered by scales, they are directed at an angle downward, thus forming a kind of saw. The color of the back is yellow; olive spots are located along the sides and back.
Habitat
There is a horned viper in hot deserts and sand dunes. The range of this poisonous creature extends to North Africa and part of the Arabian Peninsula. Hot sands are the home of this reptile.
She moves laterally, throwing the back of the body to the side and simultaneously forward. When the offspring begins, the viper looks for a place with a little water. And the rest of the time it feels great in a waterless area, perfectly tolerating the sharp changes in the daily temperature.
Horned Viper: Lifestyle
The horned beauty is the one-man, she does not like companies, the only exception is the mating season. The viper leads an active lifestyle at night, likes to soak up the sun during the day, but sleeps more, burrowing in the sand or hiding among the rocks. "Sunbathing" under the sun's rays, she tries to settle down so that most of her body is open to the sun.
If a horned viper notices danger, immediately does everything to scare the enemy. Usually in such cases, it folds into a half-ring and rubs one side against the other. During such snake movements, the scales rub against each other, making an extremely unpleasant sound. Hearing him, I immediately want to go away from this dangerous place.
The snake goes hunting at night, but if in the light of day it comes across easy prey, the horned predator will not miss the opportunity to eat. Hunts, by the very eyes buried in the sand. In this way, she can wait for her victim for a long time.
As soon as prey appears nearby, the viper immediately attacks it, opening its mouth wide. The fangs move forward and stand upright. When the mouth closes on the victim’s body, the snake bites through their skin and injects poison. After that, having released the captive, the hunter calmly waits. The waiting time is calculated in minutes, then the reptile touches the immovable body with the tongue, if the prey does not respond, then the snake swallows it whole.
The viper menu includes: birds, reptiles, rodents and other small prey.
Breeding
The mating season for horned vipers runs from April to June. At this time, snakes are extremely active, they scurry about in search of a partner. Having met, vipers do not spend time together for a long time. As soon as mating occurs, they creep into their territories.
Being an egg-laying snake, a horned viper diligently looks for a place with wet soil. When the plot is found, the fertilized female digs a hole and lays eggs there. In one snake laying there are up to 20 eggs. Having buried the eggs with their future offspring, the satisfied reptile crawls away according to its deeds, and this is the end of its maternal mission.
After two months, small vipers appear from the eggs. They are not at all helpless, like most newborns. From the first day of life, they demonstrate the skills of predators, skillfully swallowing locusts. With growth, the production of snakes becomes more significant, and they themselves add in size. Horned vipers become sexually mature at the age of two.
As mentioned earlier, the bite of representatives of this species of snakes is deadly. It seems that there is no person who would like to be near this monster. But, despite the danger, many terrarium lovers start horned vipers at home. It is worth noting that in captivity, under appropriate conditions, these reptiles feel great.