ROUGH SCALED BUSH VIPER

 bush viper is venomous snake native to African Rainforest . These snakes live in Congo, Uganda and Kenya. There are three subspecies of  bush viper that differ in color, size and type of habitat where they can be found.  bush vipers prefer rainforests that offer plenty of flowering bushes. These snakes are rarely seen in the wild because they inhabit regions that are distant from the human settlements. For the same reason, exact number of remaining  bush vipers in the wild is unknown.

 bush vipers are small snakes that can reach 18 to 24 inches in length. Females are larger than males.

 bush vipers are usually green, olive green, bluish or brownish in color. They have yellow or pale olive belly. Body ends with ivory-white tail. Brightly colored  bush vipers i.e yellow, red or grey are rarely seen in the wild.

 bush vipers have broad head with large eyes, large mouth and slit-like nostrils that are positioned laterally.

Body of  bush vipers is covered with scales that are heavily keeled on a dorsal side of the body. That's why these snakes are also known as rough-scaled bush viper and hairy viper.

 bush viper is excellent climber. It easily reaches upper part of the flowering bushy plants, where it spends most of its day, basking in the sun.

Tail of  bush vipers is prehensile. Snakes use their tails to hold the branches when they move through the vegetation or to hang from the branches when they hunt the prey.

 bush viper iis  active during the night.

 bush viper is a meat-eater. It usually eats birds, lizards and frogs.

 Before the attack,  bush snake curls its body in the shape of a letter S.

 bush viper produces strong venom which induces severe bleeding of internal organs. Amount and strength of the venom depend on the age of snake, geographic region, altitude and even weather.

Snakebite may be fatal for humans because antidote for this venom doesn't exist. Luckily, people rarely visit isolated and remote habitats of Central Africa where  bush viper can be found.

Mating season of  bush vipers takes place in October.
Female gives birth to 9 to 12 babies usually from March to April.  bush vipers are 6 inches long at birth and have dark green bodies covered in wavy stripes. Young snakes attain adult coloration at the age of 3 to 4 months.

 bush vipers reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years.

 bush vipers can survive 10 to 12 years.