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RTÉ (Dublin, Ireland) 28 August 06 Lethal snake kept at secret location
A highly lethal nine-inch snake found in a box of tiles in Co Kerry is being kept at a secret location in Tralee until a decision on its future is made.
The horn-nosed viper, which is highly poisonous, was found in a box of house tiles imported from Greece.
The discovery was made by workers at a building site in Ballyduff in Co Cork as they were about to lay tiles in a new house.
The snake, whose venom can kill within two hours, was curled up in the box and although they didn't realise it was poisonous they had the presence of mind to move it to an empty box and call the local branch of SPCA, according to Chief Inspector Harry McDaid.
The snake will be kept undercover until it is moved to Dublin later in the week where it is to be examined by a team at Dublin Zoo.
Mr McDaid said that in his 25 years with the SPCA, this was the first horn nosed viper he had ever seen and it gave them all 'the shock of the century'.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0828/snake.html

IRELAND.COM (Ireland) 26 August 06 Deadly horn-nosed viper slips into Ireland under cover
A nine-inch snake described as "highly lethal" by the Kerry branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has been found in a box of house tiles imported from Greece. Olivia Kelly reports
The discovery was made on Thursday by workers at a building site in Ballyduff, Co Kerry. The snake, a horn-nosed viper, is highly poisonous and its venom can kill within two hours.
Workers were about to lay tiles in a new house when they discovered the snake curled up at the top of the box. Although they were not aware it was poisonous, they removed it to an empty box using sticks and immediately contacted the local SPCA.
Kerry SPCA chief inspector Harry McDaid, who attended the scene, said it was unlikely any of the workers would have survived had they been bitten.
"If the snake bit any of the men," he said, "they would have had about two hours to get to hospital to get the antidote, but it is doubtful that any of the hospitals nearby would have the antidote because there are none of these snakes in Ireland. So I'm certain it would have been fatal."
The horn-nosed viper, which can grow up to three feet and has a distinctive horn on its head, is native to Greece, Romania and some Balkan states. It is a protected species and so rare that Mr McDaid had to call in a herpetologist - a reptile expert - to confirm the find before the snake could be removed.
"He gave us the shock of the century when he told us. In my 25 years with the SPCA, this is the first horn-nosed viper I have seen, and I think it's the first one recorded in the history of our organisation."
http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/8766287?view=Eircomnet

i find this funny because im guessing when they say "horn nosed viper", theyre talking about one of the european Vipera species and these species are generally considered to be pretty low on the venom toxicity scale and there is a VERY low (with the exception of an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis or an IV bite of course) chance of them killing a healthy adult in 2 hours. in fact many of the bites reports from these species seem to list no more than a swollen arm.

i hate it how all venomous snakes seem to be treated as "incredibly lethal" species. a very similar occurence of this is here in the US (or at least in my area of PA lol) where the copperhead is always talked about by the general public as though it were a mamba, when in fact it has one of the least potent venoms of any front fanged venomous snake in the world. now dont get me wrong here, im not saying that a copperhead deserves any less respect than a mamba, but its just not the same thing. many of the people i talk to seem to think that there is at least a moderate chance of dying from a copperhead bite. i realize that death is certainly possible but it is VERY unlikely.

sorry about my little rant but i just had to get that out lol.
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Dylan Lutz

1.1 BCI, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

Photo at URL below

IRISH INDEPENDENT (Dublin, Ireland) 29 August 06 Viper room New home for stowaway snake (Anne Lucey)
A deadly horn-nosed viper found in a box of imported stone cladding has been found a home in a zoo.
The snake, pictured above by Domnick Walsh - is the most lethal of the European snakes and a native of South Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It was discovered in a building site in the village of Ballyduff in north Kerry last Thursday in a palette of stone imported from Greece.
Entomologist and snake expert John Lavery identified it for the Kerry branch of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KSPCA). Yesterday he accompanied the snake from its secret location to the animal shelter in Tralee where it was introduced to the press .
Mr Lavery said the snake, which has a green tip to its tail, had been up to two months in the palette where it was kept warm by a plastic seal on the material.
"At the very most it is six months old," he said.
The snake had not eaten in weeks and had folds in its skin, he said. However it was now dining well on live mice. The small snake was able to extend its mouth around a young mouse and swallow it whole.
The odds of the snake surviving such a journey were huge, Mr Lavery added.
It was a most dangerous snake but would only strike when it was warm enough and when disturbed. It was now being kept in temperatures of around 30c.
Talks have been taking place between the Department of Agriculture, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Sean Buckley the owner of the Coolwood Wildlife and exotic animal sanctuary in Killarney where arrangements were being put in place to give the snake a home.
The KSPCA's chief officer Harry McDaid said he now regularly receives calls from the public about exotic species such as spiders and lizards found in imported vegetables and fruit.
However this was the first highly dangerous snake they had come across.
His advice was not to touch any such unidentified species and to contact the Department of Agriculture or the KSPCA. Mr McDaid praised the reactions of the young building worker who had "the sixth sense not to touch the snake".
Viper room New home for stowaway snake

Hmm... Isn't it somewhat strange that the snake showed obvious signs of starvation after a few weeks without food? I had a python that was stubborn enough to go without food for several months once, and while it certainly worried the hell out of me, there really wasn't any indication that the animal was unhealthy. As a matter of fact, my vet wasn't particularily worried, as he said that they can go much longer at times...
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0.1.0 Ball Python - Shaman
1.0.0 Green Iguana - Ike
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko - Fang
2.2.0 Cats - Pumpkin, Furball, Pixie, Stitch
1.0.0 Cockatiel - Ozzy
0.1.0 Budgie - Tweetie
1.0.0 Dwarf Rabbit - Floyd, R.I.P. Rascal
0.0.1 Rat who was too friendly to be eaten - Scabbers

Remeber, they are in Ireland, they aren't familar with what is highly dangerous. Its a viper, and they "know" that vipers are highly dangerous, especially the small ones because they can't control their venom output.
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"I'll be back at 6 if not 7. 8 the very latest but definatly no later than 9...ish...Moscow time."