hi, this might be a dumb ? but i have been asking it about many venomous snakes that i dont know much about. i am a boid kind of person anyway, but im trying to learn as much as i can about many snakes and im trying to find out alot of info on snakes that you dont usually hear about so my question is. (is the venom of most tree vipers such as the waglers and the eyelash vipers and bamboo vipers and most other tree vipers powerful enough to kill a person??????) i am just wondering because i never really here about them fataly biting someone! actually ive never really heard of anyone really getting bit by one nor seen any type of pic from a bite, probably because they live in the tree tops but im sure ppl have been bit. i was at the san diego zoo and they had a waglers temple viper on display and it said that the venom wasnt that potent but it said nothing about what the effects of it are and im sure each tree viper's venom has different effects but in general do tree vipers have venom powerful enough to kill a person and what are the effects of the venom?
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? about tree vipers,eyelash vipers. ect...... please answer
Replies (2)
Yes people have died from envenomations from arboreal species but as these snakes are typically smaller and consequently the venom yield lower, the bites are less likely to be lethal than a larger terrestrial species that injects much more venom. Bites in the wild are of course lower since, as you pointed out, these snakes live way up in the trees.
There is of course more to snakebite than simply surviving, many species can cause permanent effects or damage, ranging from loss of a finger all the way to severe kidney problems.
Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne
Hi Bryan,
What type of kidney damage is done? What type(s) of venom cause kidney problems or do they all since venom is protein? What species cause the problems? I ask because I am an exp keeper. I keep Bothriechis schlegelii(eyelash vipers),but have kept other vipers and elapids in the past. The pitfall is I am diabetic and currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Thanks for your time. My email is enyoenyo@webtv.net
Bill Hamaker
