Britain in Cold Blood - The Quest. part 5 - The European Viper

[Misterb0z]

You're very brave getting up close to it while it was hissing. Beautiful animals, but if I'm ever lucky enough to see one I'm keeping well clear!

[fatfortuna]

2:14  The best part ! Snake was eyeing you up!

[karolis12354]

snake in the end isnt real

[benwaddams]

@karolis12354 I can assure you, it was! But thanks for watching.

Ben

[MintyModF1]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have to call incorrect on your venom and envenomation symptoms statement. V. berus actually have a venom toxicity that is similar, if not the same, as Naja naja (Common Cobra). An IV envenomation from a berus will be a very serious medical emergency......

[AtarahDerek]

@MintyModF1 ANY snake bite is a medical emergency. But the European viper's venom is only about as toxic as that of the American copperhead. Cobra venom is more toxic because it's neurotoxic, attacking the nerve (and, by extension, the respiratory) system.  You're far less likely to survive a cobra bite untreated than you are to survive an adder bite untreated. Not that you should leave either untreated, of course.

[MintyModF1]

@AtarahDerek "The European viper venom is only about as toxic as the American copperhead" - Are you for real?

Vipera berus has a very potent venom, more than that of a Copperhead. It has nothing to do with venom types, the fact that you are less likely to survive a Naja naja envenomation is due to there being more venom injected.

[AtarahDerek]

@MintyModF1 V. berus' LD50 is .55-4.0 mg/kg with a venom yield of 6-18 mg. Bites from this species are not considered highly dangerous because the venom yield is so low.

A. contortix' LD50 is 2.7-10.9 mg/kg with a venom yield of 40-75 mg. This snake also frequently delivers dry bites. Only two fatalities have been recorded from this species, both involving multiple bites.

So I guess I should have said that the adder is about as dangerous as the copperhead.

[AtarahDerek]

@MintyModF1 Both adders and copperheads will ruin your weekend, but neither is likely to kill a healthy adult. Both can deliver very painful bites, and as with any hemotoxic snake, there's always the risk of anaphylactic shock or secondary infection. But neither snake should be cause for alarm, as they aren't all that capable of killing people. Respect them, but don't fear them.

Really, you shouldn't panic with ANY snake bite as that only makes the situation worse.

[BoyCary]

I like those European Vipers. The zig zag pattern looks cool. I guarantee if you held a pit viper in front of your face like that you would be dead.

[connorsmit]

hi ben

im 15 and i live in the north western region, are adders common in that area, also is it fine to catch grass snakes? thanks

[clbb2533]

Hi thanks ben for your replies find your videos very interesting although the one with the adder on the stick did make me wince a bit i'm not good with snakes myself but fair play to you for getting people aware of then it's like any animal they're ok if they're left alone & i know what i can be like if i'm aggravted first thing in the morning lol.

Take care Ben and thanks again

[clbb2533]

hi ben

I don't know how far you travel but Great Torrington commons are rife with adders many dogs have sadly been bitten and my mum is wondering what is the best time to walk her dog i said to avoid sunrise and sunset as this is when the dogs have been bitten .

Is it true they won't be out at the hottest part of the day ?

[benwaddams]

@clbb2533 Hi there, thanks for watching and commenting - interesting question - yes dogs can be bitten if they are too curious. My dog jumped over an adder the other day because he thought it was a stick. First thing is first...it is GREAT that your commons are 'rife with adders' because very places are these days - congrats! 2nd, it is true that sunrise (up to about 10.30am) is the best time to find adders, on pupose or accident.....

[benwaddams]

@clbb2533 ...The reason dogs get bit at this time is because the snakes have just emerged from a chilly night and are basking themselves. They don't want to be disturbed and if they are, then they have not sufficent warmth in their own bodies to move quickly out of the way in advance - therefore they sometimes prefer to strike. In the middle of the day there will still be snake around, but they will be much more aware and ready to make a 'run' for it before a dog comes too close :)

Ben

[RStuts304]

Camera man's thinking "GET THAT THING OUT OF MY FACE!!"

[RStuts304]

Lol I said that before Ben said it on the video and now I just seen it :D

[RStuts304]

I'm not scared of being bit by an adder, I just don't want to, because it's painful, 12 people have been killed by adders in the last 10 years, the last one was about 20 years ago.

[oldmrt]

Great video.

[djsbehavingbadly]

Ben, do you ever come across black adders? They seem to be dominant only in certain localities. I grew up in Wickford Essex and they were extremely common. But since moving away have never seen once since. Sloworms were also common there, blue scaled ones being nothing unusual. But Smooth Newts were hard to come by as opposed to crested newts which again were very common, Never found a Palmate. I'm going back to the 1970's here. So much has changed in that time.

[benwaddams]

@djsbehavingbadly Never seen a Black Adder without Rowan Atkinson present. I've seen a fair amount of Smooth Newts and a handful of Palmates, but only 3 or 4 Great Cresteds. Perhaps the blue-scaled slow worms were males in 'fighting colours' with their blue specks?

Thanks,

Ben

[newgy000]

Amazing creature i would love view one in the wild, i was camping in angelsey in 2008 and needed a large rock to put my bbq on , i found one and when i picked it up there was 2 all grey coloured snakes under the rock i viewed them for a few minutes they then slowly moved away into the grass , i put there rock back as i found it.

[JonCengland]

Just another thing where did you get your information from regarding the diet of the adder and the flu like symptoms from an adder's bite? Also I would also question the sex of this snake - looking at the shape of its tail and the dark edges to the rostral scale I would suggest that this may well be a male adder.

When did you capture the animal? October? Its one lesson I learnt is that you cannot always tell the sex of an adder from just its colouration.

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland Thanks Jon. I do see your point. But you seem to be accusing me of 'wrangling' of causing appauling stress to the animal. I'm sorry to offend you, but my way of presenting information on natural history is to get hands on, like all people should. That is not the only way to do it, but it is a valid method. (yes, Sir david has done so in the past with non-venomous snakes). I'd also like to say that there is a difference between 'pinching' and holding....

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland ...I feel like you are adding adjectives just to provoke me, anyway, the adder was found in mid-summer. I realise that from the end of summer onwards, the females can reabsorb their embryos so I am careful not to look for snakes after then. I have read varied reports on the painfulness of the bite, pain and a heavy 'cold' seem to be the most frequent symptoms (Mark O'shea) but I do not have first hand experience of this because I haven't allowed myself to be bitten....

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland ...Finally, I am not the star, the snake is. It was almost certainly a female and was infact alot redder than the video suggests. The colour is washed out here. This film is not meant to encourage people to grab venomous snakes. It is to show that venomous snakes are gentle and shy and utterly beautiful. Thank you for the discussion.

Ben

[JonCengland]

Does not mean that you should also put your face (it seems) very close to the female adder in question. You can hear that the snake is not happy after being captured and placed in front of you. The support of the stick was fine I am slightly worried over the pinch to the tail the animal receives with your other hand - not much support there for the animal (in my opinion). Just as you would not handle an adder behind the head you would not handle the adder by the tip of the tail as you do

[JonCengland]

Hi ben

I know you are not going to see the point I am trying to make - you are handling the animals (poorly in my opinion), you are harassing the female adder - hence the coiled stance and hissing, you are putting out a message - yes you can see the scale of the animal with you in the picture but do you really need to take the lead role in the film?

Just becos the people you cite handle dangerous animals - (though I am not sure when David A has done this sort of thing)

[JonCengland]

Ben - I have to let you know I am appalled at what you are doing with these snakes. I saw your mishandling of grass snake video a while back - I told you what I thought of that video. and now I have seen your adder video - you are sending out the wrong messages to people on here. You are also stressing animals and the way you are handling this female shows no respect to the animal whatsoever.

Why do you have to handle the adder in the way you do?

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland Jon, thank you for your comments. I have to disagree. I said the Grass snake tailling was wrong, but an Adder, being supported on a stick and for most of the time not being restrained or handled...I do not see why that is sending out an appauling message. I end the video with a comment asking people not to go around grabbing snakes. From my viewpoint, there are two ways to present a venomous snake....

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland ...Firstly, as you say, film them out basking etc (which I have done also). But there is an inherent problem here - how do people relate to their scale, their attitude and temprement? Surely you can see that THE most important point to make is that snakes (primarily venomous ones) are largely shy, placid, happy to relax in the vicinity of people and reluctant to strike, even when within range...? No?...

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland ...I'm all for sitting back and watching reptiles, but when a species is calm enough to allow one to lie there and talk about its natural history for 5 minutes, AND happens to be the most important snake in the UK, the most feared by the ignorant and the most infamous...why oh why should I stand back and tell people that - "oh yes, it's fine, that venomous snake would quite happily sit there and let me talk about her, despite having a venomous bite etc"??

[benwaddams]

@JonCengland ...no one's going to believe me if I do that - especially not the snake haters/children who are still to make up their minds. The great popularisers of natural history, Sir David Attenborough, Nick Baker, Steve Backshall amongst others, all handle snakes venomous or otherwise. That is not an argument on its own, but surely they send out the right message? I don't want to risk damaging a snake by holding it behind the head, but gently supporting a snake with tong or stick, is fine. B

[chalzegro]

One day I hope to see an adder because they are beautiful creatures for people to appreciate not to be scared of and it's this fear that stops so many people from seeing the awesomeness of these creatures.

[MADFORDIE]

if bitten symptoms include nausea, retching and vomiting, abdominal colic and diarrhoea, incontinence of urine and faeces, sweating, fever, vasoconstriction, tachycardia, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, blindess,[28] shock, angioedema of the face, lips, gums, tongue, throat and epiglotis, urticaria and bronchospam. If left untreated, these symptoms may persist or fluctuate for up to 48 hours.[5] In severe cases, cardiovascular failure may occur.hardly fluish like symptoms

[RUUKU2010]

u wudnt wana normaly mess with them tho they are deadly if u av a crap emune system tho cornwall has a majour population of them in sand dunes of hayle cornwall neer me they are ace snakes tho

[RUUKU2010]

black adder as there known down my way in st ives cornwall

[7muktar]

well, according the LD50 it is more venomous than a diamond back... but it injects just a very small dodis of venom, which is not very dangerous for ppl... moreover it is not aggressive... a very nice specimen you've found here. And i have the same opinion as you have - can't understand why ppl fear them so much...

[magnificentmagikarp]

went to Dorset and found a load of sand lizards , common lizards and a baby smooth snake

[magnificentmagikarp]

when I was 7 or 8 I was in a field and I saw an adder and all my freinds ran away so I left it undisturbed and picked up a brick and there were a load of slowworms I picked up one and showed my mates that some snakes/reptiles u shouldn't be afraid of (unless a poisoness one comes into your house) then I told them if you ever pick up an animal put it back where u found it great vid - Harry

[benwaddams]

@magnificentmagikarp Good advice mate and nice story! Keep up the good work and let us know if you find any more :)

Cheers,

Ben

[magnificentmagikarp]

@benwaddams just went to the New Forest and found a slowworm, grass snake and my favourites the sand lizard and smooth snake. also animals are must more intresting and deserve more views about facts of them than that charlie bit my finger or Fred don't you agree?

[benwaddams]

@magnificentmagikarp Absolutly, could not agree with you more mate. Congrats on your success in the New Forest, I'd love to visit this summer. Thanks,

Ben

[germanviking86]

Um, snakes contain venom.

[benwaddams]

That they do, but the point of this video was to show that they do not use it willy nilly! Thanks,

Ben

[8barrbarr8]

Vipera Berus rare where you live because im from the u.k and on my many herping trips they seem to be the dominant snake. And what a nice specimin btw. This is the 1st of your videos ive seen and its good to see that your sencible and have herp knoeledge rather than one of the people that swing the snake around screaming about how cool they are for picking up a venomous snake :P

[benwaddams]

Thanks mate :)

Ben

[BacheKhala]

damn rly Im too scarry to hold a snake

[frenchielcfc]

is this a adder?

[tadej172]

This snake bite me last summer in the Slovenian alps. It wasnt werry painfull, but I had to stay home for about a week, becouce i got a high temerature, and stuff. Next month we went to those alps again, and guess what... on the same location that I got bitten, I saw the same viper! But I wasnt gonna let him bite me again. I just took some pictures, and left him alone. Is it typicall for vipers to stay in the same location for alo of time?

Cheers...

Tadej

[IanBealeandRunes]

The ways to identify the Snakes;

Vipera Berus: The back is a Zig-Zag pattern and no other Snake in the UK has it.

The Grass Snake: Has a Gold ring around the neck of it. And they can be found in rivers as they are good swimmers.

The Smooth Snake: The Scaled on the snake are very smooth as the others are rough and bumpy. Smooth snakes are also a shiny grey colour.

[funnyboys112]

do you reckon there will be any snakes in horncastle area in lincolnshire

[IanBealeandRunes]

There will be snakes wherever there is dampness and woodlands.

The most spotted snake you could find is The Grass Snake and Vipera Berus (adder) in damp places. There are only 3 kinds of snakes in the whole of the United Kingdom. And the 3rd one.. You can dream of finding it, it is almost impossible. It's called The Smooth Snake And if you ever found one you are not allowed to touch it as they are protected by law.

[benwaddams]

Could not have said it better myself mate,

Cheers,

Ben

[fusilier45]

@IanBealeandRunes-I was strimming a grassy area in an urban area in south london/surrey and very nearly hit what must have been a smooth-snake,it was the same shape as a snake but had eyelids,would that be it?Im guessing it must have been as it was not an adder or grass-snake as they have no lids on eyes,I didnt want to touch or disturb it in any way as not to distress and give it respect,also least of all being Ive always had a slight phobia

[Halfdead80]

Hey Ben. I watched your videos on snakes and I want to know how common they are around places like gloucestershire (Forest of Dean) in England. Because I've never seen a snake in england, I used to live and catch snakes in Russia. Please tell me how hard it will be to come across a common adder in gloucestershire. We're going there in july :) and is july a good month?

[benwaddams]

Hi there. Forest of Dean is a great place to find reptiles - Grass Sbakes and Adders abound there as do Common lizards - they're the most likely 3 that you'll see. July isn't textbook time for herping, as all species are very active and out hunting, rather than swaming around mating as they were earlier in the year. Go on a forecast-hot/sunny day and start looking from about 9am. Good luck!

Ben

[FooootballFreak]

Hey! very good vid, 5 stars! :D but not that i dont know about snakes..cause i do XD but for some days ago, i found a lovely grown female adder, bu when i studied the mout, i discovered that she had three fangs!:S two at the right side. It was "holes" in every fang, so they all could inject venom. so is this normal, or very rare? is it might a reason why she had three fangs?

[benwaddams]

Heya mate, thanks for watching, commenting and for the question. Good spotting on the adder! And her fangs! Yup, there's no problem there, their fangs are on a continual growth cycle. Old ones break and fall out and new ones grow. Her fang will have gone for a while without breaking and so the new one was forcing its way through to the front and soon she will just have one-a-side. Nice observation though, very lucky mate :)

Cheers,

Ben

[martinkv81]

Nice video!! I'm actually making a video about theese vipers myself at the moment! Facinating creatures! I filmed a female today :)

Thanks for sharing this vid!

[FooootballFreak]

Very nice vid! :D 5/5 ;) watch my video with several Adder's (Vipera Berus) ;)

[FooootballFreak]

i was looking for them today, and faound one! among the same rocks as i faound the first one :P they are beautiful. i know alot about reptiles, but when i meet an adder..i always shakes a bitt :S

[benwaddams]

I know the feeling mate. Great stuff, thanks for sharing :)

Ben

[JoeWCal66]

I have an Adder in my garden i leave it alone its cool.

[benwaddams]

You are very very lucky. Cheers mate, keep him and yourself safe,

Ben

[sandersonlj1529]

Any tips on finding these guys? I have seen one in my garden but I can't find it again!

and I would also like to add that I accept your challenge of finding a more laid back venomous snake.. it is my pet false water cobra called marvin and he is 100% "tame".

[benwaddams]

Haha, fair enough, maybe I should have said 'wild', but your false water cobra sounds cool. Is he/she rear fanged then? (I'm not too hot on them) The problem with adders is they are not too common and there are lots of perfect habitats without adders. Your best bet is to do some research on the web. Ideally you want a quiet, un disturbed patch of sandy heathland, on a forecast hot day, between 9-11am...easy!

Ben

[nighthunte29]

when i have been round my nan and grandadads house (im still not too old) in a place called halstock i took their dog for a walk through loads of rivers, i was looking for adders but i couldnt find any whatsoever but i carried walking and the ground was getting dryer and there was no river, thats when i realised they dont live by water, so i carried on looking and i found a slow worm but that was it, then i saw a sign saying warning adders, then i saw 4-5 of them basking on a rock in a field

[benwaddams]

Great story mate, thanks for letting us know. Any chance you could take a few pics? Sounds cool, Cheers,

Ben

[nighthunte29]

sure, the good weather is coming now although its a bit off and on, they live quite far but its not a problem getting some snaps

[sandersonlj1529]

Cheers for the tips hopefully i will find one soon! and yep false water cobras are rear fanged so I guess they don't really count as venomous.. lol

[qwertyflirty70]

great vid - we love snakes, lizards.... reptiles generally really!! :-)

[benwaddams]

Thank you very much, me too :)

Cheers,

Ben

[nightvodevil]

Great videos! You look so confortable with all those creatures, it's really nice to see that there are still people respecting and loving them. Great job, great animals, I sincerely hope you'll keep doing this kind of vids!

Thanks from Belgium ;)

[benwaddams]

Hello. Thankyou very much for watching and for your kind comments. I FEEL comfortable with animals, so I'm really glad you say it comes through on screen. I hope you'll find alot of like-minded people out there who both respect the creatures of this world and love seeing them....long may it be that we see them in their natural habitat. I will certainly keep going. Thank you for your support.

Ben

[FooootballFreak]

Love your videos! if you want to keep up with this, you can be more famous that irwin and austin : P! (y)(y)(y)

[benwaddams]

Hi there, enviable comments indeed! Thank you very much, goes straight to my heart. I wouldn't presume to know I could be as instrumental in reptilian and wildlife conservation as Steve Irwin was (or as popular!) but its a decent goal to aim for right?!

Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed the vids, more to come in '09,

Ben

[icecubznath]

i love these videos and stumbled by them somehow and am very pleased i did keep up the good work and you should think of travelig abroad and you really need to get a camara man :)

keep it up!

[benwaddams]

I definately need to get a camera man! Thanks for the comments mate and glad you enjoyed the video. I have a couple of films on 'exotic' animals, but always love returning the the British reptiles.

Cheers,

Ben

[Yubi4]

Great video again!

Were some frantic months, the only reason I can find for missing out on your last series!

You're perfectly right: first people have to know about the animals, then hopefully understand/like/love them, and then conservation has a chance! Keep up the good work!

And btw: I suppose the lady was looking just for the nearest dark corner to hide into ... ;-)

[benwaddams]

Thanks for the comment mate, and the aggrement :)

Yup, she was a beautiful snake, there aren't many things I'd be happy to let get into that position (!), but I totally trusted her.

Thanks mate,

Ben

[7muktar]

very beautiful viper! ... i do the same thing... i'm catching snakes in the wild, take photos and videos of them and then i release them at a place, where no humans are...

[benwaddams]

Good on you mate! Thanks for looking :)

Ben

[benwaddams]

Heya mate, many thanks for the comment and kind words. Sounds like you're in a fantastic area of the world! I'll be sure to tell you when I put some new fishing vids up - hopefully something over the winter :)

Cheers,

Ben

[anonymousdane]

Great vids man! I want to buy one of these snakes!

[blindeyesbleed]

TY for posting all these awsome vids man keep up the good work, honest there really informative and intresting ty again :)

[benwaddams]

Thank YOU too mate. Very kind words. I'm glad you enjoy them and most importantly, find them informative. Any ideas for future videos? :)

Cheers,

Ben

[mirtosardo]

Nice Video! We also have this snake here in the north of germany but unfortenly in small quantity.By the way: you are crazy to play with venomenos snakes.If the snake bites you, you will have a lot of pain for many days ;-)

[Phixon87]

Sorry to sound stupid, but is this an adder (Vipera berus)?

[benwaddams]

Not stupid at all mate. I just wanted people to know that they do have alternative names. Yup, Vipera Berus all the way - The Northern Cross Adder. Thanks,

Ben

[Herper666]

also who was the bloke at the end?

[benwaddams]

...Sir David Attenborough, and yours truly.

:) Ben

[Herper666]

nice

[Herper666]

sweet man! do you keep any snakes at home? and whats your fave snake in the world?

[benwaddams]

Hey man, thanks for the comments. They mean ALOT :) I don't keep any snakes at home. I'm connected with a zoo and they keep a ball python on my behalf, but that doesn't really count. I have leopard geckos and breed them, but no other reptiles. And you?

Thanks,

Ben

[Herper666]

i have a huge fascination with boas and keep a few. i also have a small group of leopard geckos (1 male and 2 females) which i hope to breed early next year :)

[ScottishHerps]

Awesome Video Mate :) Really Nice Adder :O

[benwaddams]

She was wasn't she. Thank you...I'll pass it on :)

Cheers mate,

Ben

[GTAking01]

another great video hehe i was waiting for the little beast to bite ya nose and go to a cut scene with the snake hanging off ya nose then you continue with your speach on how safe these are heheeh 5/5

[benwaddams]

Haha, cheers man. Yer she was so calm bless her. Hopefully she's all curled up somewhere warm and dry for the winter. She looked in great shape though. Cheers,

Ben

[Albinotortoise1994]

You should make your own dvd with al lthe scenes off of youtube, PLUS MORE never before seen on youtube. :P

[benwaddams]

...but would anyone buy it?! Thanks though mate, for this comment and all your others. Nice to know people enjoy what I love too,

Ben

[Albinotortoise1994]

Yes Ifit had like 30mins + of extra herping e.g herping in spain or sumink then i would probably buy it :P

[Albinotortoise1994]

btw ben you do realise its me joe1507 - this is my new account.

[benwaddams]

Sure Joe, hows it going mate?

[Albinotortoise1994]

Im fine lol.

Alls well in your life?

[kakashininja650]

great video

[benwaddams]

Thank you :)

Ben

[mattdaviestv]

good vid dude

[benwaddams]

Thank you :)I enjoyed making it for you,

Ben

[kreeddem]

it did look like it was goin to bite you, cool vid! 5*.

[benwaddams]

Cheers for the comment mate. I thought she knew exactly what I was saying too but the fact is that she could have bitten me, and didn't. Glad you enjoyed it man,

Cheers,

Ben

[Kraissy144]

That is a beautuful snake!

I have soo much nice to say about the snake, but Im a looser in english writing!! :(

Nice video! Thanks for posting!

Your "snake-lover friend" from Norway

Kraissy144

[benwaddams]

You're not a loser mate, that's great english - unless you meant it was a rubbish video and an ugly snake...!!

Thanks for the comments mate, they mean alot to me,

Cheers,

Ben