Are Horned desert vipers aggressive?

Sahara horned vipers are generally even-tempered snakes, but they are capable of administering toxic venom if threatened.

Despite their reputation, Nose-horned vipers are not aggressive and tend not to bite without considerable provocation. If surprised, wild specimens may react in a number of different ways. Some remain motionless and hiss loudly, some hiss and then flee, while still others will attempt to bite immediately.

Saharan horned vipers are solitary and nocturnal creatures. They spend their days resting burrowed in the sand, hiding in holes, under rocks, or in abandoned burrows. They typically move about by sidewinding, during which they press their weight into the sand or soil, leaving whole-body impressions.

In venom glands, adult specimens of horned viper have 10-45 mg of venom, and one bite can excrete as much as 20 mg of venom, which can be a lethal dose for a healthy adult, especially children, and chronically ill patients.

Venom yields vary, with ranges of 19–27 mg to 100 mg of dried venom being reported. For venom toxicity, Brown (1973) gives LD ₅₀ values of 0.4 mg/kg IV and 3.0 mg/kg SC. An estimated lethal dose for humans is 40–50 mg.

The saw-scaled viper, Echis carinatus, is considered the deadliest snake in the world, according to Britannica. This type of snake is said to be responsible for "more human deaths than all other snake species combined." The venom of the saw-scaled viper is not as lethal as other snakes, but it is far more aggressive.

(Bitis nasicornis)

Sahara horned vipers are among the most abundant and easily distinguishable of the venomous snakes of the North African and Middle Eastern deserts. Cerastes cerastes is generally distributed all across North Africa, including southwestern Arabia and southwestern Israel.

A sharp upright scale above each eye resembles a horn. The desert horned viper moves swiftly across the loose sand by sidewinding, throwing oblique loops first with its top half and then with its lower half. With its sharp-edged scales it can shuffle into the sand with amazing speed, burying itself up to the eyes.

Marlin Perkins, who was the host of television's ''Wild Kingdom'' program for many years and who died in 1986, was one person who survived a bite by a Gaboon viper. The adult viper is typically only four feet long, a stumpy creature with a beautiful tapestry pattern on its skin.

It might be obvious, but the thing to do if you are bitten by a venomous snake is to get to a hospital quickly and receive an antidote. Many people think that the venom kicks in instantly, but it can take between 20 minutes and 72 hours to die if left untreated.

Cerastes cerastes is generally distributed all across North Africa, including southwestern Arabia and southwestern Israel. Common in the Sahara desert, it is most frequently found between Egypt and Morocco. Its range extends to southward to northern Mali, Niger, northern Chad, Sudan, and Mauritania.

Compared to most snakes in the region, this species is short in length, averaging between 30 and 60 cm. Hatchlings are usually between 12 and 15 cm. Although females are larger, both sexes share the same general body structure and color patterns.

The horned viper's predators include honey badgers, Nile monitors, and feral cats. When threatened, the viper curls and produces rasping sounds by rubbing its keeled scales together. The honey badger is one of the horned viper's predators.

Of the bunch, corn snakes are considered the most docile and gentle. They are also known for being easy to handle and easy to feed.

The inland or western taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus, is the most venomous snake in the world, according to Britannica. Native to Australia, this snake has the deadliest venom based on median lethal dose, or LD50, tests on mice.

The hedgehog (Erinaceidae), the mongoose (Herpestidae), the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) and the opossum are known to be immune to a dose of snake venom.

Antivenom is the treatment for serious snake envenomation. The sooner antivenom can be started, the sooner irreversible damage from venom can be stopped.

If you see a snake

These snakes have a reasonably placid temperament, but if threatened, they may hiss, assume a C-shaped posture and rapidly rub their coils together producing a rasping noise. Saharan horned vipers are ambush predators; they hunt their prey laying submerged in sand adjacent to rocks or under vegetation.

The small horns that stud the heads of many viper species may play a role in camouflage, suggesting they evolved as a result of the varying environments the snakes inhabit.

This family includes rattlesnakes, horned vipers, copperheads, white-lipped vipers, and ruby-eyed green vipers. Viper snakes live almost everywhere in the world except for on some islands, like Australia and Madagascar, and north of the Arctic Circle. They are best-known for their huge fangs and their deadly venom.

They are oviparous and lay their eggs, usually 10, up to 16, in abandoned holes, where they hatch after 6 to 8 weeks. Cerastes cerastes is a typical desert snake and thus as adjusted to life in hot dry areas. The Horned viper moves side-ways over the losse sand, the so-calles side-winding.

Reproduction. It is oviparous, and sexually mature females lay 11-21 eggs. When produced, these already contain well-developed embryos, each of which can be as much as 8.5 cm (3.3 in) in total length. As a result, they hatch after only 30–32 days at 31 °C and then measure 14.0 to 16.2 cm (5.5 to 6.4 in) in total length ...