Gaboon Viper

The Gaboon Viper, or Bitis Gabonica, comes from the rainforests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa and is one of the fastest striking snakes. They also have the longest fangs of any venomous snakes with fangs that are 2 inches long. Gaboon Vipers are considered to produce the most venom out of all the venomous snakes; a single adult has enough venom to inject lethal doses into 30 individual men. These snakes have enormous venom glands which produces the lethal amount of venom. Although a bite from a Gaboon Viper is rare because of their unaggressive nature; the Gaboon Viper normally does not bite unless they are stepped on and sometimes even then they may not bite. These snakes, like most venomous snakes, can lash out when scared.

The Gaboon Viper is a light and dark brown color with pink and purple arranged in diamond shapes on their backs. Light and dark lines radiate from around their eyes. Their heads look like a fallen leaf, making camouflage easy in their habitat. An adult Gaboon Viper can get up to 69 in, and their head width is 4.7 in. Their girth size 14.65 in, and they normally weigh about 19 lbs. They have a head size of 6 in. Though these snakes are short and stout, they make up for it with their 2 in long fangs and their venomous bites. These snakes can open their mouths almost 180 degrees and can rotate their fangs. When their fangs are not being used, they are folded and lie against the roof of the snake’s mouth. Though the Gaboon Viper does not normally bite even when stepped on, they have a cytotoxic venom which destroys tissues and cells. It is a very painful bite for this reason. The symptoms from a bite can cause rapid swelling, intense pain, server shock and blistering. The only time you hear about a bite from a Gaboon Viper is if it was a handler or a transporter. Though it is rare that these snakes bite, this does not mean that while hiking through the rainforests of Africa you can hike carelessly; you should still be cautious about stepping on one of these snakes.

These animals are wild animals with ways to kill its food; these animals are making their way into people's homes because some people think that they can tame them or they think that these snakes have human feelings and emotions. This is not true; we cannot tame these wild creatures. Also, these animals do not have human emotions, they only care about their next meals. People make a mistake bringing these snakes into their homes, allowing for an accident to happen, and when someone is bitten, it causes harm to them and the snake because the snake ends up getting killed because someone thought they could tame it or that the snake actually cared about that person. Though these animals are very beautiful, that does not mean that people should bring these creatures into their home and treat them as pets. These snakes are more dangerous than any other pets. These snakes are not tamed nor can they be tamed; these are wild and dangerous animals who should be left in the wild and not brought into people’s homes. Though yes, many zoos do have these snakes, the people who work with them are in danger on a day-to-day basis. These animals do not care about who feeds them or where their food comes from, they only care that they are getting food. These snakes can lash out at people who are handling them which is why zoo workers who work with them have to be very cautious about what is happening and what could happen.