Saw-scaled viper

Scientific Name: Echis carinatus

Nick Name: Carpet vipers

Size:

• Adult: 30 cem (South India), 50 cm (North India)
• When Born: 8 cm
• Average: 80 cm

Appearance: Color is light buff with shades of brown, dull red, or gray. Its sides have a white or light-colored pattern. Its head usually has two dark stripes that start behind the eye and extend to the rear, strongly keeled scales; head wider than neck; cross mark on top f head distinctive, large eyes, the underside is white with brown speckles. The tail is short and stubby.

Type of Venom: highly hemotoxic and quite potent

Nature: This ill-tempered snake will attack any intruder. It gets the name saw-scaled from rubbing the sides of its body together, producing a rasping sound.

    Saw-scaled vipers can be active during the day or in the evening

Distribution: Asia, Syria, India, Africa, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Egypt, and Israel.

          In India, mostly on the plains. In northwest India, Saw-scaled Vipers are reported from upto 2000m ion the hills. They are plentiful in certain area such as Ratnagiri District in Maharashtra, parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadir and Andhra Pradesh.

Habitat: Found in a variety of environments. It is common in rural settlements, cultivated fields, arid regions, barns, and rock walls. Mainly found in deserts or surrounding areas.

Feeds on:  lizards, scorpions, frogs and small rodents.

Reproduction: The female snake gives birth to 4-8 young ones in the month of April and August.

Status: They are plenty in the regions where they are known to live.

Side Line:

• As it mainly thrives in desert or desert like habitats, it needs to conserve to the last drop of water in its body and it does it quite efficiently. It does not open its mouth to scare off its enemy to avoid evaporation of water from its mouth, rather it has developed a unique way of threatening, it rubs hard saw like scales on its body and this functions as a warning signal.
• It is responsible for large number of deaths in India. Particularly in villages where the possibility of antivenom availability is least.
• Saw-scaled Vipers are the smallest of the Big Four venomous snakes and are less of the threat to man in South India because of the small size of the southern type.
• The northern for, however, grows large enough to be a potentially dangerous member of the Big four.