Variable Bush Viper

Variable bush vipers are often yellow to orange and may or may not be banded. By Dick and Patti Bartlett This small bush viper is appealing to hobbyists who enjoy venomous species. A true viper, Atheris squamiger has no temperature sensitive labial (lip) pits. The variable bush viper attains an adult length of 18 to 30 inches. Females are usually larger than the males. Scales are strongly keeled. Despite the snake’s small size the venom is known to have caused several human deaths. There is apparently no specific antivenin. The colors vary populationally. The snakes in one population may all be of pretty much the same color while other populations may vary from green to yellow or orange. Some snakes may be banded, others may be basically unicolored. Neonates are often dusky olive but the color may change radically as the snake grows. This species is found in rainforest areas over West and Central Africa. They apparently prefer flowering shrubs over the taller forest trees.

This was the only charcoal neonate in a clutch consisting otherwise of green and yellow babies.

Note the elliptical pupils and lack of sensory pits.