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

On the Trail of the European Viper - this is the finale of 5 episodes tracking down the elusive European Viper. Enjoy - its a great snake! cheers, Ben.

For more info: http://www.freewebs.com/benwaddams

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• adder
• venomous
• snake
• viper
• reptile
• wildlife
• nature
• britain
• in
• cold
• blood
• ben
• waddams
• strike
• venom
• vipera
• berus
• danger
• documentary
• presenter

[JulianLP742]

wow you got a lot of courage man i would crap my pants and run if i saw one before me

[benwaddams]

@JulianLP742 Hey there. Thanks for watching and commenting. It's not about courage, if you saw the snakes we have here in the UK, you'd realise that they are calm, quiet and shy. They're wonderful creatures. Thanks,

Ben

[karolis12354]

snake in the end isnt real

[benwaddams]

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

Ben

[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 ...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

[JulianLP742]

@benwaddams thanks for replying i subscribed , you're awesome

[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.

[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.

[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 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.

[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!