Long-nosed viper, Vipera ammodytes, venom extraction

[TheZolwik102]

Viper at 2:01 is really nervous... It almost bit itself!

[Pete292323]

It is not good to handle snakes like that, even the use of herpetological sticks is not advised if necessary. We never handle ammodytes with sticks it's just to small.

[kyreptilezoo]

@Pete292323 You can do whatever you want with your animals-- ours are still here, doing fine. It is inadvisable to risk a bite and there is no reason not to use tools. We are not proponents of the gloves- we know of too many cases where people have been bitten through them. Please tell us what your expertise is?

[HADESCAVE]

I was walking with my dog the other day. As he sniffed the side of the road I happened to look down and notice he was about to get very near to a Vipera ammodytes. I quickly pulled his away and the snake quickly disappeared. I always keep cortisone in the house for this reason. Lucky me saved myself a trip to the vets. I live in southern Greece.

[F1N1SHEDD]

lol it looks like he is squeezing them till there eyes almost pop out, you sure can you be the snake isn't getting hurt?

[kyreptilezoo]

@F1N1SHEDD See the previous comment, but the snakes are still here (this video is close to a year old) and are eating well and doing well. Remember snakes' heads are very flexible so while it may look like they are being moved around a lot, it does not hurt them. The pressure is about the same as what you would use to rub the ears of a dog or cat. If the snakes got hurt they would not live long, ours live a normal life span, eat voluntarily, and breed in captivity.

[Cadian761]

Looks like you're handling these snakes pretty rough, although I never had experience with milking snakes.

What do you do with the venom that stays on top of the paper? Looks like some substantial amount of venom is lost.

[kyreptilezoo]

@Cadian761 The snakes all eat on their own, and these snakes are still here and alive and doing just fine. It as not as rough as you think.

We try to pipette up as much venom as we can from the parafilm, but yes some is lost.

[sanremo2009]

how strong is the vipera ammodytes´ venom compared to African vipers?

and do you have any vipera berus that you extract venom from?

[kyreptilezoo]

@sanremo2009 Both can kill you but the large Africa vipers are much more dangerous (because of yield). No Vipera berus at this time.

[christophermchale]

very commonly kept in european collections. dangerous snakes, luckily most have a calm demeanor.

[peachy6969]

do you change collection funnels between species or are some collections multi-species?

[kyreptilezoo]

@peachy6969 We change the entire glassware set up between species, or occasionally between individuals if a researcher has requested it.

[1softkiss]

Great video and they are really some fine looking Vipers!!! Love their color contrast and the patterns are amazing.

[turdspooning]

Do you prefer working with these smaller vipers to the larger ones?

[kyreptilezoo]

@turdspooning Prefer large vipers to small ones.

[HerpHunterUK]

nice snakes! You got any Vipera Berus?

[kyreptilezoo]

@HerpHunterUK Not at this time.

[garyeorner]

VERY VERY NICE

[ctnpythons]

The 3rd one is the best.SWEET!

[maarakailet1]

One of my favorite vipers, so cute!