Posts Tagged ‘gaboon viper’

Size and Description

The Gaboon Viper is a short and very heavy snake. They are very round in comparison to their body length. The average grown Gaboon will weigh about 18-20 pounds while it may be just four or six feet long.  The Gaboon Viper is very heavy bodied. It is excellently camouflaged with  a black or dark brown body and brown markings that run the length of its body. The head is triangular, said to be shaped like the leaves on a tree.

The Gaboon Viper has the longest fangs of any venomous snake and also makes the most venom of any other venomous snake. It is a good thing that the snake is known for being more placid since the venom is also particularly toxic. They can be very harmful if not fatal to adult humans, but they have often been said to be so placid that they can be handled by experts with nearly as much ease as handling a non toxic snake

What they Eat

The Gaboon viper is nocturnal, meaning that it hunts at night. It is not limited to the rainforests and are often seen on the roadways or logging paths. They will eat small mammals, as well as birds, frogs, and other amphibians. The Gaboon Viper is an ambush hunter, who will lie in wait on a well camouflaged area and wait for prey.

Habitat and Location
The Gaboon Viper is found in the rainforests and other moist lowlands of the  Africa. It is also found  living in or near the cacao plantations in West Africa and has been noted to be found near the  coffee plantations in East Africa. In addition they seem to be prolific in the evergreen forests that are part of Zambia.

Breeding

Gaboon Viper males engage in some very odd “wrestling” matches or combats to gain the attention of the female. The victor is the breeder.

Gaboon Vipers give birth to live babies rather than laying eggs. The term for this is that they are viviparous.  They will give birth to anywhere from 25 babies up to fifty or more per breeding, but the average is about twenty or twenty five.
The Gaboon Viper babies take nearly a year to be born. The breeding cycle for these big snakes is thought to be about every 2 or 3 years.

Gaboon Viper – Venomous Rainforest Snake – African Gaboon Viper