Viper snake

Viperidae have long fangs which are normally folded up against the upper jaw but, when the snake strikes, are erected. The true vipers usually have heads which are much wider than the neck.

Vipers are mostly more or less thick -bodies and short tailed, the head being entirely covered above with small scales, except in a single species.

The most widely known species are the Russell’s viper of India, the cape viper of Southern Africa, the puff adder of dry areas of Africa and Arabia, and the gaboon viper of tropical Africa.

Russell’s vipers and puff adders hiss loudly by expelling air through their large nostrils, the saw scaled or carpet vipers produce a characteristic rasping sound by rubbing their coiled together.

There are two subgroups, the typical vipers (Viperinae) and the pit vipers (Crotalinae). The Crotalinae have a special sense organ, the pit organ, to detect their warm-blooded prey.

The pit vipers occur in all types of terrain and may be found in the trees or on the ground. The tree snakes are slender; the ground snakes are thicker and heavy - bodied.
Viper snake

Malayopython reticulatus or Python reticulatus

Reticulated pythons inhabit steamy tropical rainforests, are heavily dependent on water, and can often be found near small rivers or ponds. They require tropical environments with temperatures in the range of 80 – 92 °Fahrenheit. The species is a giant constrictor characterized by a beautiful network (reticulations) of earth tones: white, tan, brown, yellow, and red.

Giant reticulated pythons have become creatures of myth and legend, with many elaborate and often exaggerated accounts of encounters by early European explorers.

There are three named subspecies of the Reticulated Python: saputrai (southwestern arm of Sulawesi and the island of Selayar), jampeanus (the island of Tanahjampea, south of Sulawesi), and reticulatus (the remainder of the range).

Reticulated python (Python reticulatus) can reach over 8.5 meters and gain mass of 145 kilograms where it is later called as the longest snake in the world. In the wild, this species has a wide distribution in Asia starting from India in the west, across Indo-China to Vietnam and south to the Indonesian Archipelago. In this region, reticulated pythons have traditionally been captured and sold for their meat, skin, fat, and other body parts, to supply growing demands for protein through to traditional medicines.

Reticulated pythons are strictly carnivorous. They have sharp teeth that are curved towards the back of the mouth. They use their 100 curved teeth to hold onto their prey, and they kill the animals they catch by wrapping around them and squeezing. The animal is quickly unable to breath and its heart is unable to pump blood. Pythons can kill their prey in minutes and they swallow their food whole.
Malayopython reticulatus or Python reticulatus

King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

The king cobra or hamadryad, Ophiophagus hannah, is a distinctive snake. Cobras generally possess long and slender bodies with smooth scales. Their heads are typically covered with large shields (scales) and their eyes have round pupils. These traits are common to the family Elapidae.

The adult is brown or olive above with scales dark-edged especially on tail and posterior body with traces of whitish crossbars.

The throat is orange-yellow with irregular blackish markings, and the belly greyish brown. The young, at least up to about 60 cm TL (total length), is dark-brown or black above with many white or yellow crossbars that are narrow and chevron-shaped with forward-pointing apices. The head is black above with four white cross-bars. The head and body are white below, with the ventrals and subcaudals bordered with black. The dorsal scales are in 15 rows.

The term ‘cobra’ is abbreviated from the Portuguese ‘cobra de capello’, which means ‘snake with hood’. Hence, ‘cobra’ refers to any species within the family Elapidae that can produce a hood when threatened.

Native to South and Southeast Asia, the king cobra is the world’s longest venomous snake, capable of growing up to 5.49– 5.79 m.

Its established global distribution includes the following 15 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (mainland as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), India, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)