How big is a horned desert viper?

Physical Description. Sahara horned vipers are amongst the most distinct of the North African desert snakes. 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.

The Desert Horned Viper is known to be a quiet one. They usually are not aggressive when approached. This snake comes from the Sahara Desert in Africa where it was found.

In the wild, they are typically ambush predators, lying submerged in sand adjacent to rocks or under vegetation. The diet of this carnivorous species consists primarily of small rodents, geckos, birds, and a variety of lizards. These vipers are also known to eat jerboas, yellow wagtails, and chiffchaffs.

Like all vipers, the snake's bite can be dangerous. Its venom effects include, among other things, creating blood clots and straining the heart. In rare cases, humans have ended up as fatalities resulting from this snake's venom.

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.

Only a fraction of these bites are fatal, but toxins in snake venom can trigger serious medical emergencies that occur within hours; they can cause organ failure, uncontrollable bleeding, severe tissue destruction and paralysis that may restrict breathing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Antivenom Therapy is the mainstay of treatment for Rhinoceros Horned Viper envenomation. Many of the signs and symptoms are ameliorated or entirely eliminated by the antivenom alone. Other symptoms will require additional therapeutic modalities in order to be corrected.

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.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Saharan horned viper is the presence of supraorbital "horns", one over each eye. However, these may be reduced in size or absent. The eyes of this snake are prominent and set on the sides of the head.

The desert horned viper can be found in the SAHARA desert. It is the most commonly found snake in North Africa. This species dwells in sandy habitats, and prefer temperatures that range around 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

They eat small animals and hunt by striking and envenomating their prey. Vipers are characterized by a pair of long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs attached to movable bones of the upper jaw (the maxillaries) that are folded back in the mouth when not in use. Their eyes have vertical pupils, and their scales are keeled.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

But wait, there's still more on the Saharan horned viper!

Believe it or not, these vipers do have predators. Those brave enough to go after one are honey badgers, monitor lizards, and wild feral cats. 12.) If threatened, they take up a “C” shape and rapidly rub their keeled scales together, making a rasping noise.

Notable bite cases

Danie Pienaar, who was at various times from at least 2009 to 2017 head of South African National Parks Scientific Services and acting managing executive, survived the bite of a black mamba without antivenom in 1998.

Rule Number 1: Don't Try To Outrun A Snake

Not because your kid can't — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.

Though some are dry bites, which aren't as dangerous and will likely cause some swelling, others are venomous bites, which, if not treated carefully and quickly, can result in death. Always seek immediate medical attention if you've been bitten by a snake, as it could be a matter of life and death.

If you see a snake

Caution

The venom of rattlesnakes and other pit vipers damages tissue around the bite. Venom may cause changes in blood cells, prevent blood from clotting, and damage blood vessels, causing them to leak. These changes can lead to internal bleeding and to heart, respiratory, and kidney failure.

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 ...

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.