Himalayan Viper

Himalayan Viper, also known as the White-Headed Krait, is the most venomous snake among the 27 venomous snake species in China. It belongs to a relatively ancient snake species and has been recorded in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Himalayan Viper is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Guangxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian in China. In other countries, it is distributed in northern Myanmar and Vietnam.

Chinese name

: Himalayan Viper

Kingdom

: Animalia

Phylum

: Chordata

Subphylum

: Vertebrata

Class

: Reptilia

Subclass

: Diapsida, Lepidosauria

Order

: Squamata (formerly classified in Serpentiformes)

Suborder

: Serpentes

Family

: Viperidae

Subfamily

: White-Headed Krait subfamily

Genus

: Azemiops

Species

: White-Headed Krait species

Distribution

: It is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Guangxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian in China. In other countries, it is distributed in northern Myanmar and Vietnam.

The White-Headed Krait in the St. Louis Zoo has a special response when encountering external threats. When they are harassed, they flatten their bodies to appear broader, and then their jaws expand outward, making their originally oval-shaped heads look like triangles. Sometimes, they will also shake their tails to intimidate opponents. In critical situations, they may also bite, but they may not necessarily use their venomous fangs to launch an attack. In addition, Zhao proposed in 1981 that the White-Headed Krait is mainly active at twilight, rather than being a nocturnal snake as Orlov claimed, especially appearing more frequently from March to November.

Not recommended for keeping at home. According to the research by Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry, the toxicity of the Himalayan Viper is similar to that of the Bamboo Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri). Another study found that the enzymes in the toxins released by the Himalayan Viper are basically the same as those of other vipers, with the only difference being that the snake venom of the Himalayan Viper does not cause blood clotting, bleeding, or muscular poisoning.

The Himalayan Viper is a front-fanged venomous snake with a mixture of toxins. A bite from this snake can cause disseminated intravascular coagulation (acute DIC), resulting in progressively worsening redness, swelling, and pain in the affected limb, as well as functional impairments. When using antivenom serum is ineffective, a combination therapy of improving microcirculation with both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine has shown significant effectiveness.

1. Oral inflammation, a common disease:

  1) Causes of onset: Snakes are weak in physique after hibernation in spring. If the humidity in the snake nest is too high and the environmental conditions are poor, it is easy for bacterial proliferation in the snake's mouth, leading to oral inflammation. In addition, when snakes feed on fish or rodents, the fish bones or rodent claws may cause oral injuries, which can also lead to this disease. This disease is contagious and if not treated in time, it can quickly spread to the entire snake group.

  2) Symptoms: Swelling on both sides of the snake's head. Opening the snake's mouth reveals internal ulceration and thick secretions. The diseased snake holds its head high, keeps its mouth slightly open, and cannot hold its breath.

  3) Treatment: Use a cotton swab to wipe away the purulent secretions. Then disinfect with Laphroaig or boric acid solution. Afterwards, apply Gentian Violet solution or ice boron powder for topical application or dressing 1-2 times a day for about 10 days until recovery. If the snake refuses to open its mouth, a chopstick can be used to pry open the mouth for observation and treatment.

  4) Disease prevention: If the humidity of the snake nest is high, the nest should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected in the sun. The snake can also be moved to a sunny area to naturally alleviate the disease. It is also necessary to replace the bedding in the snake nest.

2. Acute pneumonia, a common disease:

  1) Causes of onset: High temperature and humidity in the snake nest, large temperature fluctuations, poor air circulation are the main causes of pneumonia in snakes. Snakes with poor physique or those that have not recovered after giving birth are more prone to infection. If not treated in time, it may endanger the entire group of snakes within 3-5 days, resulting in mass deaths of snakes. This is an extremely contagious disease, and sometimes even healthy snakes are difficult to avoid.

  2) Symptoms: Difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, often staying outside the nest, even if the snake is placed back inside the nest, it will crawl out. No secretions can be seen upon mouth examination.

  3) Treatment: Inject mature snakes with 100,000 units of penicillin twice daily. The injection can be made into the back muscle of the snake, at an angle parallel to the body. Alternatively, feed the snake with 0.2 grams of erythromycin tablets three times a day. If treated properly and timely, the diseased snake can recover within 8-14 days.

  4) Disease prevention: Provide shaded facilities in the snake farm. After removing the snakes from the nest, rinse the nest with a 1:1000 potassium permanganate solution or bleach solution. After the nest has cooled and dried, return the snakes to the nest. When the weather changes suddenly and a cold wave approaches, windproof and warmth-keeping measures should be taken.

3. Anorexia in snakes, a common disease:

  Apart from other diseases, deterioration and monotony of food can cause anorexia in snakes. Anorexic snakes consume very little food or sometimes refuse to eat at all. In the long run, this can seriously affect the normal growth of snakes.

  1) Treatment: Anorexic snakes can be fed with 5-20 milliliters of complex vitamin B solution daily. They can also be fed with liquid food such as eggs or fresh loaches.

  2) Disease prevention: Ensure that the food provided is fresh. Pay attention to the diversification of food. Postpartum snakes should be fed promptly. The snake's living area should be spacious. Parasites should also be eliminated. Other possible diseases in snakes include enteritis, mycosis, tongue worms, stick insect disease, roundworm disease, etc. During the breeding process, observation and information search should be conducted, and targeted treatment should be applied.

  Snakes do not have a strong self-healing ability when it comes to diseases. Therefore, during the breeding process, it is important to monitor the changes in snakes. If signs of illness are found, snakes should be separated from others to minimize the risk of transmission.

When you see a Himalayan Viper, it is best not to disturb them. When they feel threatened, they will flatten their bodies to appear wider, and their originally oval-shaped head instantly becomes triangular. They may even wag their tails to intimidate their opponents.

When the Himalayan Viper encounters danger, they will strike, but they may not necessarily use their venomous fangs to launch an attack. In addition, scholars proposed in 1981 that the Himalayan Viper is mainly active during twilight, rather than being a nocturnal snake as Orosov claimed, especially appearing more frequently from March to November.

The Himalayan Viper mainly feeds on small mammals. The young ones of the Himalayan Viper have also been found to eat shrews. According to some reports from those who have kept the Himalayan Viper in captivity, they are usually resistant to being fed and will only eat newborn rodents in the evening. And once they bite onto their prey, they often do not easily let go. It is widely recognized as one of the most troublesome venomous snakes in the reptile world, known for its refusal to eat. It has been imported by Europe and America multiple times, but with disastrous results. As for the cause of death of the Himalayan Viper, there are various opinions in the field of herpetology, but it is generally believed that the low-altitude high-temperature reaction of the Himalayan Viper leads to internal organ damage and fasting. Another hypothesis is that due to the peculiar nature of its diet (mainly shrews in the wild), it cannot adapt to feeding on rodents. However, in recent years, researchers in Russia have successfully kept and bred Himalayan Vipers, so it is believed that this deadlock has also been resolved by private keepers.