Malayan Krait Blue Krait Bungarus candidus Highly Toxic Venom

Transcription

1 Malayan Krait Blue Krait Bungarus candidus Highly Toxic Venom Adult Malayan (Blue) Krait from Thailand. These are common across much of the country, and have a very potent neurotoxic venom. Contact with this krait should be avoided. Note: About 50% of all bites from this krait results in human death even with the administration of antivenin (antivenom). Death is the usual result if no treatment is given. The closely related Bungarus multicinctus is ranked 3rd in the world for toxicity of venom based on some LD-50 data (terrestrial snakes). Do be careful. [Last updated: 4 April 2018]

2 Bungarus candidus (Malayan Krait or Blue Krait) Thais say: Ngoo tap saming kla, or ngoo kan plong Length: Max length about 1.6 meters. Range: All over Thailand and much of Southeast Asia. Notes: I ve caught scores of these snakes since 2006 in Thailand. They are quite distinctive from other black and white banded snakes when adult, but when hatchling or juvenile, the differences are almost negligible. Do be very cautious to not hand-hold any black and white banded snake in Thailand. The risk is too great. The head of the Blue Krait is not nearly as large as the yellow and black Banded Krait (B. fasciatus). This krait s body doesn t have the high vertebral ridge either. Be careful around these snakes, their venom is very potent. Habitat: These snakes appear to favor flat country though I have found them on hills of 250 and 300 meters elevation. Not found higher than 1,200 m above sea level often. They prefer proximity to water, rice fields, and rice dams. To find a nest, this krait invades and takes over rat holes in the ground. Active Time? The snake is mainly active at night and is not fond of the sunshine. They are shy and attempt to cover their head with their tail. I tend to find them active most consistently between 9 pm. and 11 pm. Food: Other snakes primarily, but also lizards, mice, frogs and other small animals. Defensive Behavior: Not what I would consider aggressive or strongly defensive. They don t tend to bite unless really

3 provoked. Still, you should never hold one. I have only seen one in a dozen of these snakes attempt to bite, and it was the result of being grabbed with tongs near the head. Venom Toxicity: Very toxic even stronger on the LD-50 scales than Naja kaouthia (cobras). Bungarus krait venom is neurotoxic and attacks the human nervous system, shutting it down. Coma, brain death, and suffocation due to paralysis of the muscles and nerves necessary for crucial functions like the diaphragm, and or heart, are frequent causes of death. Death results usually hours after an envenomed bite that is not treated. Little or no pain is usually felt at the bite location. After envenomation approximately 50% of bite victims will succumb to the effects of the venom, dying usually from respiration stopping when the diaphragm stops. Bungarus candidus. Malayan Blue Krait, Malayan Krait. Highly toxic and potentially deadly venom. White/black. Scroll down for 1 more photo. Here s a short overview of what happened to one victim of a bite by Bungarus candidus (black-white striped krait): A patient bitten by Bungarus candidus (Malayan krait) developed nausea, vomiting, weakness, and myalgia 30 minutes after being bitten. One hour later, ptosis and occulomotor palsies as well as tightness of his chest were noted. Respiratory failure requiring mechanical respiration appeared 8 hours after the bite and lasted for nearly 96 hours. The two bite sites were virtually painless and resulted in slight transient erythema and edema. No specific antivenin was available, and treatment consisted of respiratory support and management of aspiration pneumonitis. Recovery was complete. (Source: Department of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University Hospital and the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute of the

4 Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand) Handling: The banded and Malayan blue kraits are not known to bite during the daytime. That doesn t mean they don t, it just means they don t do it commonly. At night these snakes bite rather easily, as evidenced by the numerous bites that occur at night to people usually laying down to sleep on the floor. Handholding the kraits for any reason seems rather absurd to me, yet snake-handlers across the globe do it regularly. The krait venom is so toxic, it s just not worth the risk however small. After catching many of these snakes in the wild I ve seen them bite the snake tongs just once. Antivenin Antivenom: There is a specific krait antivenin that is given for Malayan Krait bites. If you don t have access to that antivenin you can ask the hospital if they have Tiger Snake antivenin which can be used as a substitute for krait antivenin and works well. Offspring: Lays 4-10 eggs. Juveniles are 30 cm long at birth. Hatching occurs in June-July in Thailand. Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Elapidae Genus: Bungarus Species: B. candidus (Classified as Bungarus candidus by Linnaeus in 1758.) Notice the thickness of the bands on

5 this deadly Krait Wolf snakes have similar coloring and style of bands, but the bands are much thinner. Wolf Snakes are harmless. Very Recent Malayan Rainforest (5/19/16): Krait Find in Malayan Krait Attempting to Prey Upon Sunbeam Snake (and fails!) Save 50% if you before April 15! Venomous Misses! order Snakebites and Near More than 34 stories of venomous snakebite and very

6 near misses from Southeast Asia s most deadly snakes King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Monocled Cobra, Banded Krait, Malayan Krait, and more! Digital Book with over 100 pages by Vern Lovic. HERE JUST $4.99 for Today! Monocled Cobras Venomous Very Deadly Naja Kaouthia Venomous VERY dangerous and very common Thailand snake. (Last Updated: 8 November 2017) Naja kaouthia Cobra Monocled The monocled cobra is one of Thailand s most deadly snakes with highly toxic (neurotoxic + cytotoxic) venom. One bite on your toe from one that jumps out from under your outdoor refrigerator can kill you. I heard the story direct from a woman which had this happen to her husband. Monocled Cobras are nearly everywhere across Thailand. I had a friend that found them in his kitchen often. I ve seen them crossing the road (see video below), and there was a family of these cobras living under the office of my wife s workplace with many 18

7 baby cobras. I just heard about Grant Thompson, an 18-year-old man in Austin, Texas who was bitten on the wrist by a monocled cobra and died of cardiac arrest. Authorities are looking for the snake. Tips that might catch the snake 1. If cool in the mornings, the snake might be found in bushes sunning itself. These cobras prefer hot weather over 80 F. 2. They are most active during daytime, but can move at night. 3. N kaouthia will eat eggs, mice, rats, if no other snakes are to be found. They prefer snakes, but I don t know what Grant fed his snake. It might be unable to stalk prey and feed itself and die within a month. Releasing a monocled cobra at a mountain location after it was found in a populated area of a village in Thailand. Screengrab from one of my videos ThailandSnakes.com. Thais respect (fear) this snake because many have friends or relatives that have been envenomated (bitten and venom injected) by this snake. They even make Buddhist amulets with cobra snake images.

8 I ve worked with two hatchling monocled cobras, and even at inches they are fierce. One snake handler described monocled cobras as spastic and I have to agree. If you are bitten by any cobra get to the hospital as fast as you can. Monocled cobra venom is on par or even more toxic than some of the Thailand kraits, and much more toxic than King Cobra venom when compared drop to drop. Even if the bite is a small one, a nick, or a scrape, get to the hospital immediately. All it takes is a drop of venom to hit your blood stream for biological chaos to ensue. Appearance: Monocled cobras are easily identified by looking at the back of the hood there is a monocle or eye type shape there. They are light brown to dark grey to solid black. Most are very close to black. Thais say: Ngoo how hom, Ngoo how mo (long o sound) Length: Typical maximum length about 1.5 meters. Recently I saw one in a mangrove forest that was 2 meters long, a giant. They can get up to 2.2 meters about 7.5 feet long. Range: All over Thailand and most of Southeast Asia. Notes: Neuro toxic venom affecting nerves, brain, and causing death very quickly without treatment. They are very fast strikers. The baby monocled cobras are every bit as deadly. Please be CAREFUL! Recently a friend and I found a 1.5 meter long N. kaouthia on a dirt road near where we were herping. It was nearly paralyzed but gaped its mouth when touched on the head with a snake hook. The body didn t move. We think it was just bitten by either a krait, or a King Cobra both of which prey on this species. There was one visible bite mark on the side of the body and nothing else. I m guessing King Cobra. Habitat: Both flat and hilly regions. I ve seen them on hills,

9 but usually near people under houses and in places rats and frogs are likely to be found. I ve seen them most often in residential areas bordering forest, or near the ocean. In the mornings they can be in trees and bushes trying to get some sun to warm up. They love to hide under leaves, wood, anything really. Lifespan is around 30 years. Active Time? The snake is mainly diurnal active by day, but I have seen a number of them still active at night. In fact, in Thailand I ve seen about a dozen active at night the rest were active during daytime. Food: Rodents, lizards, frogs, birds, eggs, other snakes. Defensive Behavior: Lift head off ground and flatten out neck. The hood flares quite wide compared to the width of the body. When comparing the monocled cobra and the king cobra, the monocled cobras have a hood flare that is more extreme in relation to the width of their body and heads. They can hiss when they strike. Monocled cobras are very active and ready to strike especially as the temperature climbs past 35 C (about 95 F). Do be very careful with them during this temperature range because they are very easily agitated and strike much more often.

10 Skull from adult Monocled Cobra shows medium length, strong fangs. Photo from Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute in Bangkok, Thailand. Venom Toxicity: Very toxic, deadly. Even a small bite can kill you. See neurotoxic and necrotoxic / cytotoxic venoms (link). Offspring: Lays eggs. Young are fully prepared to envenomate as they hatch. Mating takes place after the rainy season. Eggs incubate in about 2 months. Eggs hatch between April-June. Hatchlings are between 8 to 12 inches at birth. Monocled Cobra Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Scientific

11 Suborder: Serpentes Family: Elapidae Genus: Naja Species: Naja kaouthia Classified by: Lesson, 1841 LOOKING FOR OUR KING COBRA FACT SHEET? > Monocled Cobra video My Recent Baby Monocled Cobras: Two Monocled Cobra Rescue at House in Krabi, Thailand: Save 50% if you before April 15! order

12 Venomous Misses! Snakebites and Near More than 34 stories of venomous snakebite and very near misses from Southeast Asia s most deadly snakes King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Monocled Cobra, Banded Krait, Malayan Krait, and more! Digital Book with over 100 pages by Vern Lovic. Order PDF HERE JUST $4.99 for Today Did you get our FREE PDF file yet? PHOTOS OF COMMON THAILAND SNAKES It s HERE> 83 pages many snakes featured: Cobras, Kraits, Pit Vipers, Corals, Rat Snakes, etc. facts and photos! Small Spotted Coral Snake Venomous Dangerous Speckled Coral Snake Calliophis maculiceps

13 Calliophis maculiceps (Speckled coral snake, Smallspotted Coral Snake) (Last updated: 26 July 2016) Length: Average max length is 35 cm Range: These small coral snakes are found all over Thailand and some other countries in Asia. I have seen a couple dozen of these snakes in southern Thailand, usually found by people in their potted plants outside. Habitat: These snakes enjoy the leaf litter, loose dirt, and cool areas under rotting trees and other foliage. Occasionally they are seen dead on the road during or after rain when they probably come up above ground to avoid water. They are very rarely found during the daytime, and one scientist said they are usually only seen during September and October. But, I ve seen them year round. Active Time? Nocturnal active almost exclusively at night, or underground during the daytime. Food: Very small snakes like the Brahminy blind snake, worm snakes, worms, and probably termite, ant, and other insect eggs. Defensive Behavior: They curl up their bright red (pink or orange), white and black spotted tail as a defense mechanism. These snakes have little else for defense, as they don t usually attempt to bite. The mouth on the Calliophis maculiceps is very small, yet they are fully capable of biting and envenomating humans. Venom Toxicity: This is a coral snake, so, the potential for life-threatening envenomation does potentially exist. Their

14 venom is neurotoxic. There are places on the human body where this snake could get a good bite in, given the chance. Between the fingers and toes is an ideal piece of skin to bite. Just be very careful with these, and all coral snakes. Just because a snake has not been known to cause significant envenomation in the past, doesn t mean it won t happen. If you keep this snake as a pet be very careful not to get too comfortable holding it it is potentially a deadly snake. Offspring: One scientist noted a clutch of just 2 eggs. Notes: These are remarkably beautiful snakes, and yet so small that they could be mistaken for a worm of some sort if. Body patterns can differ slightly. Some, like this juvenile exhibit black stripes and spots. Some have just spots. Some are almost uniformly brown with very few or light spots. The body of this coral snake is round, without a pronounced vertebral ridge. The belly is bright orange, and the tip of the tail has white and black. When the tail is raised, it is quite stunning. These snakes are common, and are kept as pets across the world. This juvenile speckled coral was about half the diameter of a pencil. Defensive behavior of Calliophis maculiceps. All Photos 2011 Vern Lovic Classification: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes

15 Family: Elapidae Subfamily: Elapinae Genus: Calliophis Species: C. maculiceps Calliophis maculiceps (Discovered by Gunther in the year 1858) Small-spotted Coral Snake Video: Wagler s Pit Viper Venomous Dangerous Tropidolaemus wagleri Wagler s Pit Viper Dangerous and potentially deadly bites. Tropidolaemus wagleri also called: Wagler s Pit viper; temple viper; bamboo snake; speckled pit viper [Last Updated: 5 May 2017] Thais say: ngoo keow took geh Length: Average length of 60 cm. Male smaller than female. Female maximum length at 100 cm. Appearance: Wagler s pit viper is a short green (ง เข ยว ) pit viper and the female is considerably thicker (3-4 times as

16 thick) than the male. A marked difference in patterns is noted with the female becoming darker and with strong banding as you can see in the above image. The males are so radically different that they look like completely different species (sexual dimorphism). In three reptile identification books I have for Thailand, they make no mention of the differences between the sexes. The female is pictured in each case. Dorsal scale count ( 23 to 29 ) ( 21 to 27 ) ( 17 to 21 ) and usually 21 to 23 mid-body dorsal scale rows in males and 23 to 27 mid-body scale rows in females. Dorsal scales are strongly keeled in females, and lesser keeled in males. Coloration can vary significantly among females. Here is a very yellow T. wagleri. Yellow and black female Wagler s Pit Viper from Southern Thailand. Here is a darker colored female, but not nearly as much as the top and bottom photos on this page. Not nearly as much lateral yellow as the previous photo. Gravid and ready to bear young. Soon to be the parent of dozens of hatchling vipers.

17 Besides the difference in size, thickness, and pattern, the body type is also quite different. The male grows to be around 60 cm and is long and thin, more like a wolf snake or something similar. Below is a photo of a male Wagler s pit viper found within one meter of a very gravid female. Obviously quite a big difference. Male Wagler s Pit Viper note the remarkable difference between male and female (Sexual dimorphism). Range: Southern Thailand south of Khao Sok National Park, Suratthani province. Other countries: West Malaysia; Indonesia; Philippines. There is a concentration of these common vipers on the island of Phuket, Thailand.

18 Habitat: Elevations up to about 1,200 meters but most abundant at elevations from 400 up to about 600 meters in lowland primary forest, secondary forest and jungle especially coastal mangrove. During the day these vipers can sometimes be found as little as a meter off the ground, up to a couple meters. They seem to prefer bushes over trees. Recently I found a gravid female at one meter off the forest floor and resting on a strong vine just 1 cm in diameter. Active Time? Mainly nocturnal, but occasionally found during the day, especially during or after rain. Crepuscular in nature, they are more often active during dusk and dawn, or on an unusually dark day during heavy rain. I have found these snakes during the day in a moderate rain at 400 meters elevation, and at 2000 hours after a light rain. Food: Birds especially baby birds in the nest, mice and other rodents, lizards, frogs. Defensive Behavior: Coil back into s-shape before striking. Strike is typically less than.3 meters in distance. Mouth wide-open exposing very long fangs and white tissue. Can strike in succession rather quickly. Their strike is not very fast in comparison with some of the other vipers. The heatsensing pits between the eyes can sense temperature difference as little as degrees Celsius. If continuously threatened they may hold their mouth wide open, like the photo above. Venom Toxicity: Potentially deadly. Strong venom that usually does not result in death to humans. Victims experience a strong burning sensation upon envenomation, and swelling, necrosis of tissue. The multi-valent antivenom for green pit vipers treats envenomation by this snake. Antivenom Code: SAsTRC01 Antivenom Name: Green Pit Viper Antivenin Manufacturer: Science Division, Thai Red Cross Society Phone: (up to 0164)

19 Address: Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, 1871 Rama IV Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok Country: Thailand Offspring: Live birth in September is common, with up to 41 young per litter. Male and females look different from day one, the females having light banding and the males with creme / red or brown dots on the top of the body. Notes: Though these snakes are said to be exclusively arboreal and nocturnal, I found one on a mountain recently during the middle of the day, on the ground, during a rain shower. See the video below. Tropidolaemus wagleri Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Crotalinae Genus: Tropidolaemus Species: T. wagleri Binomial name: Tropidolaemus wagleri Classified by Boie, in the year Top of head very triangular, and thin neck (female): Video 1 Wagler s Pit Viper found during daylight hours during a moderate rain shower with dark skies at around 400 meters elevation on a mountain in Krabi province, Southern

20 Thailand. Thailand Snake Journal 1 Yesterday I had a great time. Two guys from England came over to hunt snakes in Krabi. They ve seen my ThailandSnakes.com site and my snake videos on YouTube and asked if I would help them find snakes in Krabi. We met at the Cobra show. I introduced everyone to each other Yaya, Jackie, Ip, Maak, Johnny, Mark and Tom these last two were from England. Before Matt and Tom arrived Jackie brought me a small 24 inch reticulated python that was not tame that was great fun, and I was bitten within 10 minutes talking to Jackie with my hands and not watching the snake! It was a weak bite, little blood. That was great anyway I ve not played with a wild retic before. There was a baby monkey there they have a monkey show at the cobra show and it was amazing. It immediately climbed all over me and held on tight. It was way too young to be away from the mom but this is how they do it here. The monkey LOVED me then I found out why- the Thai guy that ran the monkey show was a barbarian and smacked the hell out of it a hard palm smack to the head and knocked it off the table when he took it from me. I ve no idea why it looked like that s just what he does with it. I watched my anger inside rise and subside So i watched this monkey get smacked in the head and fly off the table to the concrete floor and showed no

21 reaction. I ve had to accept seeing much worse than this without doing anything. So eventually, after the monkey got loose and came running to me to hide him and asshole was trying to catch him but I didn t help him. Tom and Mark arrived. They showed the snake guys pics of these ultra venomous snakes Tom keeps back in the UK. Wild colors Tom breeds them now and sells them. He makes a living off that and working with kids with mental illness in a group home setting like I did in Tampa for 3 yrs. Yaya owner of with snakes and back and see the friends would be the cobra show 35 yr old guy, great skills 10 yrs experience asked if we wanted to go snakes. I had already set up with him that my coming so he he kindly offered. Tom is a King Cobra nut. We walked around the cages. There was a 2 meter long rat snake, a giant falcon, and then about 15 reticulated pythons some of them 5 meters long these are chicken wire cages and you can get right up to them. Next was the monocled cobra cage there were about a dozen in there up to 2 meters. They are ultra deadly too their venom affects central nervous system as well as being cytotoxic and causing those black necrotizing wounds that you might have seen people suffer from Thailand snakebites. Really sick stuff. Tom pulled one out and was playing with it Johnny was bored and stuck his snake hook into the pack of them and pulled about 10 monocled cobras over to Tom s feet. Tom now had 11 of the most dangerous snakes on the planet at his feet to deal with. We were all laughing me nervously, others for other reasons lol. This began a sort of competition between the Thais and westerners. The Thais of course winning and proud to show all they could do with the snakes without taking a bite and winding up dead.

22 After they saw Tom COULD handle 11 cobras they were impressed to some degree, but the next cage was the king cobra. It s 4 meters long and Tom s favorite is the King. He has a 3m king at home in England. Tom played with that and then I asked Yaya, can we take it to the floor? He was nice enough to agree, and Johnny came up and whipped that snake out of the cage, across the rain gutter and through the plants over to the show floor. Amazing this guy can handle a 4 meter king like a toy. The king cobras in Thailand are awesome. Though their venom is not near as deadly as the smaller monocled cobra it can inject 7ml of venom in one bite. This can, has, killed elephants, water buffalo, etc. Oh and people. Johnny s younger brother just 2 yrs ago was killed by a bite that happened right there on the show floor. A new 5 meter king twisted around unexpectedly and lunged biting his chest. He died in the car on the way to the hospital 20 minutes away. He was dead in 10 minutes with Yaya driving furiously. Yaya had to call Johnny and tell him come to the hospital, he brother was bit by a cobra. Johnny asked, King?. Yep. Well, just give him the antivenin and I ll come up tomorrow. Yaya said, no, today Johnny your little bro is dead already. There were tears in Yaya s eyes when he told me the story. Johnny s little bro wanted to be like Johnny and was testing himself with the bigger, new King they had just got. Everyone has been bitten there by cobras a couple of times, Johnny is missing a finger from a king bite he survived. Surprisingly, before we left I asked Johnny and Jackie what their favorite snake was and Johnny said, the King Cobra.

23 Anyway it was a great time a competition between us with the Thai guys outshining Tom and Matt just based on their years of experience and also their familiarity with the snakes we were working with. I wasn t even in the picture, but I did hold up the 4m King by myself for a couple of seconds while someone distracted his attention to the front away from me. Something I thought I d NEVER do. It s hard to argue with so many expert snake handlers saying you CAN DO IT, you can So I did. However, I wouldn t, for any amount of cash touch the head of the king cobra from the front. Matt did it though! Tom even kissed the top of the head of the King like they do in the cobra show Johnny taught them how to do it. They are both good snake handlers with years of experience versus my years of playing around. I did as much as I cared to without dying They brought out a big python then and I played with that a while. The strikes are vicious on those things, but at least they aren t venomous. After we all gave a donation we were ready to go to the cars and Jackie brought out this wicked big 8 centipede. Same as I ve seen in Hawaii but in Hawaii I ve seen them 11 inches. Tom, Matt, and myself we re all scared to death of centipedes Jackie had it crawling on his arm. We re freaking out cuz he wants to put it on us. Everyone s laughing like made. We had just played with some of the most deadly snakes in the world confidently, and there we were pulling away like little children with this centipede. Problem is they bite QUICK and for no reason at all. I ve been bitten in Hawaii by a tiny venomous Hawaiian centipede 3 inches and it hurt a lot. Jackie disappeared with it then came back with the centipede on his face.

24 That was enough for me I said, let s go guys Nope, Jackie wouldn t allow it and told us he took the pincers off the centipede. Well, that s another rather sick thing about living here they don t think twice about things like this removing the pincers so we could play with it. The centipede would never catch food in the same way again Not sure they grow back. So at Jackie s insistence we all let the beast crawl all over our arms and faces. From there we went to a cave at a temple that usually has cave snakes Ridley Racers. We didnt see them, but the monk there also a friend of mine, took us on a guided tour of the grounds and all the caves it was great fun despite not seeing the cave snakes (that catch bats out of the air for food). The monk would walk a bit and pull off leaves and hand them to us and eat one himself. He did this over and over and over we taste-tested about 12 types of plants around there that all looked like weeds but were edible because none of us got sick. Really cool monk. He opened a door for us and bats all flew out of this room horrorshow like. Funny guy. We went back to their resort which is a mountain resort near the temple steps I climb all the time. It s really secluded and they d already found four snakes there. We checked out those snakes a small white-lipped viper (deadly), a painted bronzeback snake (venomless), and an oriental whip snake (venom, but non-biting) that was just beautiful oh, and a paradise tree snake they can glide over many meters jumping from tree to tree or tree to ground. Cool snakes. I ve found and kept some here before too (non-venomous). We went out for a night hunt and found many frogs, an amazing gecko (pic attached) and a 2 meter mangrove snake that tom had to climb 30 feet up the tree and grab with these long tongs. A great effort and icing on the cake for the day.

25 Malayan Pit Viper Venomous Very Dangerous Adult Malayan Pit Viper in situ, found in a culvert in Krabi, Thailand. [Page Updated: 4 April 2018] Calloselasma rhodostoma (Malayan Pit Viper, Malaysian Pit Viper) Thais say: Ngoo gap pa

26 Length: Usually less than 1 meter. Female Malayan Pit Vipers are the larger and fatter snakes. Males of the species don t make it to 1 meter long. Range: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma, and China. Notes: These vipers are similar to North American copperhead snakes. They prefer dry, flat areas. They are known as lazy snakes. They may not move out of the way at all if someone is walking right toward them. After they bite they are known to remain in the same location. There are thousands of bites per year in Malaysia and Thailand from this snake. These snakes are so dangerous when handled because they are not consistent with their behavior. One day they will be calm. The next, or the next 10 minutes they will violently strike out lightening fast. Their preferred habitat is under dry leaves, wood, or rocks. They are active during the night mostly, especially during rain.

27 A neonate Malayan Pit Viper showing the white-tipped tail it shakes to bring prey closer. Nickname: Finger rotters given by Al Coritz, Viperkeeper on YouTube. If they get you in the finger you ll likely lose part of your finger, hand, or arm without immediate care. Habitat: Forests, rubber plantations, bamboo patches, farmland, grassland. Often lies in the short or long grass. These are terrestrial snakes that I ve never seen climb anything. Active Time? Day if cloudy and/or rainy, and night. Food: Mice, frogs, lizards. Predominantly rodents.

28 Calloselasma rhodostoma. Malayan Pit Viper. Usually under a meter, and thick. Very common. Very dangerous. Defensive Behavior: Partially coiled with neck in an S. Their strike is very fast. Their fangs are long and in the front of the mouth. Some strikes are short, others involve the whole body as it jumps at the same time it strikes. Don t underestimate the distance this snake can reach when striking. Also, this snake is VERY good at striking behind its head. Watch the video. This pit viper has the longest fangs of any other snake in Thailand including the Siamese Viper (D. siamensis). Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) skull showing fangs, jaws, and dentition. Skull is at Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute in Bangkok, Thailand.

29 Venom Toxicity: Very toxic. Venom is necrotoxic it destroys all cells it comes in contact with red blood cells, muscle, ligaments, and bone. With a quick hospital visit after a bite you may just lose part of your finger, or some tissue where the bite occurred. The venom causes a bite victim to bleed from body orifices eyes, nose, mouth, ears, sexual organs, and sometimes fatally in the brain. Most people don t die if they go to the hospital. Deaths occur when bite victims delay seeking medical treatment. There is antivenom for this snake. If you are bitten by this snake, do NOT wrap a tight band around the bite location. That will stop the venom from moving, from being diluted, and the tissue will suffer much more destruction. Offspring: Lay eggs. Female guards them. Young are about 9 inches long and fast and thin. They are fully able to bite, and have full strength venom. Malayan Pit Viper Eating Mouse Video close up of large fangs, strike, etc. Malayan Pit Viper Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Crotilinae Genus: Calloselasma Species: C. rhodostoma Binomial Classification: Calloselasma rhodostoma Scientific

30 Video Malayan Pit Viper Color Variety in Thailand Save 50% if you before April 15! Venomous Misses! order Snakebites and Near More than 34 stories of venomous snakebite and very near misses from Southeast Asia s most deadly snakes King Cobra, Malayan Pit Viper, Monocled Cobra, Banded Krait, Malayan Krait, and more! Digital Book with over 100 pages by Vern Lovic.

31 order at Amazon HERE! JUST $4.99 for Today! We put out a FREE ebook you can get today. Photos of Common Thailand Snakes [ click to join for free and get your copy now] Free EBook just for signing up for free newsletter.