The viper is poisonous
The viper’s venom is stronger than that of the American rattlesnake, but the amount is much smaller. Therefore, it is usually not dangerous for an adult to be bitten by a viper – however, you should always seek medical attention after a viper bite. Today, people usually choose to monitor a patient without treating, and the bite will usually not cause illness in humans. Only if symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and dizziness occur should the patient be treated for the bite.
The viper comes in several color varieties
Most vipers have a beautiful zig-zag pattern across their backs. For males, the stripes are black, while they are more brownish in females. There are also solid-colored vipers, which can be either completely black or copper-brown. The black ones have been seen in several places in East Jutland, while the copper-brown ones have been seen primarily on Zealand. You can tell a black viper from a snake, as only the snake has 2 yellow spots on its neck.
The viper lives in open landscapes
The viper likes to live in open landscapes such as uncultivated, open places such as bogs, heaths, dunes and forest clearings.
The viper hibernates during the month of October. First the males, then the females and the young. The hibernation is usually a place where they can crawl into the ground, via mouse holes or cavities, in the shelter of trees and bushes. Often several vipers can hibernate in a group, and sometimes you can see clusters of between 20 and 40 snakes. The viper
emerges from the hibernation in March/April.
The viper gives birth to live young
The mating period for vipers begins in late April. The males fight heat battles for the females, which can be very violent and exhausting, but almost never bloody or fatal. After a longer period, during which the male has made an impression on the female, mating takes place.
The female viper is pregnant for a little over 2 months. She gives birth to between 4-18 young in each of their own egg shells. However, the young immediately free themselves from the egg shell. That is why they are said to give birth to live young. The newborn young are 14-21 cm. long, and they must immediately figure out how to fend for themselves.
A female viper cannot become pregnant 2 years in a row. This is because she eats very little during the gestation period, and she does not have time to build up a particularly good fat layer before the winter hibernation starts 1-2 months after the young are born. The female viper must complete the hibernation on a minimum of reserves and thus does not have the energy to become pregnant again the following year.
The viper bites its prey
The viper most likely got its name because it bites its prey.
The viper feeds on a very varied diet, and likes to eat lizards, various mice and mouse babies, frogs and steel worms. It can also go into low bird nests and rob them of young. It searches for its prey with the help of the scent particles that are picked up by its playing tongue. At closer range, it also uses its sight.
The viper slowly creeps up on its prey to a distance of 10-15 cm and bites its prey in one bite. When the viper bites, its mouth is wide open, so that the venomous fang is directed forward. Sometimes the prey can run away a little before the venom takes effect, but the viper easily finds its prey using its sense of smell.
