#gaboon vipers

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Today I saw a gif of a gaboon viper "crawling" (moving its muscles like a walking caterpillar rather than slithering), I was wondering if you could explain why/how they do that? Is that the only way they move around or just something they do occasionally? (Your blog is super cool btw!!)

Like this?

This is called rectilinear locomotion, and it's one of the main ways a snake can move! Gaboon vipers use rectilinear locomotion frequently because it's slow but a great way for heavy-bodied snakes to move. It doesn't involve any bending so it's also great for snakes who have recently eaten.

Rectilinear locomotion works by using the special muscles snakes have attached to their ribs. One muscle pulls a section of the body forward, and another pushes it back so they're propelled forward. This repeats in sections throughout their bodies, so you get that "crawling" effect.

All snakes are capable of rectilinear locomotion, and Gaboon vipers can move like any other snake, but rectilinear locomotion is their favorite way to get around! It's like how sidewinders prefer sidewinding even though they can use other styles of locomotion.

[demoniccow]

This might be the greatest thing I've ever made.

[errantsquam]

some sneks

[exotic-venom]

Ms. Piggy the Gaboon viper - Photo by Nathan Jordan

[drinksss]

snake GFs watching cartoon (gaboon viper and rubber boa)

[kaijutegu]

Lincoln Park Zoo has a relatively small herp collection, but it's very nice and has some absolutely adorable critters. Check out the beaded lizard blep at the bottom!

[jordydrawsmerch]

my current reptile merch!! 🐍

I'm gonna be at the LA Reptile Super Show this weekend, so if you have any suggestions for more little guys feel free to comment/tag em

shop

etsy (UK/EU)

[tasty-patches]

Gaboon viper at the St. Louis Zoo

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm D

[life-on-our-planet]

The longest fangs and highest venom yield of any venomous snake belong to the Gaboon viper. Unlike smaller, less strong species of viper they will bite their prey and hold on to it rather than letting it go and waiting for it to die. ©Living Zoology

[fisheito]

non horny ask: what kinda irl snake would Yakumo be? venomous or non venomous?

my instinct says venomous purely because that opens up the fun possibility of magical side effects whenever yakumo bites someone (i want his venom to have a mild numbing property so he can bite me and i can finally get a decent night's sleep)

i'm openinmg up the search gtengine for this (HEY SNAKE FREAKS IN THE AUDIENCE!! IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS THEN SHOW THE CLASS 👉👇👈👐)

(spoiler alert: i am no closer to an answer than when i started. we're just looking at snakes together)

flashback: i once pointed at western worm snake and laughed because BABY

but let's assign yaku a larger counterpart for when he's feeling big and brave i briefly considered the nonvenomous approach but i'm gonna joke that yakumo has a bigger oral fixation>>squeezing fixation on eiden so uh, this snake is all about the mouthparts i guess

i mean.. the snakes that constrict will inevitably hoRMPH(gulp) too so it would be reasonable to make yaku a nonvenomous squeezer. but. my bias says venom time, ,today

considering his ridic Great Serpent ancestry, he's probably gonna have a potent venom so let's look up Hella Dangerous Bitey Boys *typetypetypeclickclaxke*

side thought: are some species generally more aggressive than others? or does it vary moreso by individual? hmm. let's see if we can find a danger noodle that's reeaaaallllllly not into using its fangs as a first response

..... .......... i'm overwhelmed by choice again so i'm gonna start relying on aesthetics by which i mean altho i love defaulting to boas for their :3 face

i feel like yaku would be more of a streamlined snake skull like the neck isn't distinguished very well from the head... I wANT to see him as :3 snake puppy face but i also need him to have zero structure. absolute jello. no bones. skullless. just a *USES LINE TOOL*

wait. if i rely on Looks does that mean i can only choose IRL snakes that are black or subdued colours? because yaku doesn't want to be perceived, after all........

[eyes start to glaze over] -nondescript colouring -venomous (perhaps potently so) -not aggressive?? the type to strike ONCE , or wait-- is he more of a multi-striker.. fast? no... he seems like he'd be slow..if Dark Nova/Shadow Lineage is any indication..? slow OHKO heavy hitter? no, not "slow". HESITANT heavy hitter? ... -heat sensing organs? or just drawn to the heat? THE TYPE TO ONLY PREY ON OTHER VENOMOUS SNAKES--no no that's not right yaku will eat everything uhhhhhh

[SHAKES MY HEAD VIOLENTLY LIKE A WET DOG REBOOT]

call me basic but i like the look of mambas....

(sadly the black mamba doesn't have black scales but LOOK AT THAT MOUF!!!!!!!!!!)

wait how about a snake that hangs out in east asia? MOUNTAIN KEELBACK????? lil diamonds all along the back .nice

LOOK AT THE MASSIVE ORBS on *THIS* keelback.......

would he be arboreal like those funky vine snakes? mmm.., unlikely? i don't think yaku has shown much of a desire for heights... at least not yet (flashback to Puzzling Investigation Blade's impromptu takeoff)

what about a rattlesnake??? err... nah... yaku doesn't seem like much of a defensive butt wiggler....

Now i'm rethinking my entire instinct on VENOMOUS because ...Dark Nova 2 had yaku going snake-ish and eiden was ALL UP IN HIS fangs but he didn't feel any ill effects besides, you know, the physical obstacle of yaku shoving forked tongue down his throat-- EURYJK WHAT DO I DO . look at more cool snakes

OKAY BUT WHERE ARE THOSE SNAKES WITH THE PRETTY LOWER LASHES LIKE THE EYELASH VIPER, BUt LOWER lashes???

CAN I GET A LOOK AT ONE OF THOSE? do they exist? did i hallucinate the glorious snake lower lashes? do they belong to another reptile? boo.......

WWAIT NO, RIGHT, THE EYES, I SHOULD HAVE STARTED WITH THE EYES THAT'S AN EASY WAY TO NARROW DOWN A YAKUSNAKE

ok.ok. slit eyes. but a lil squiggly. thunderbolt eyes? the creative freedom of it all. let's go with slit eyes but wibbled by tears...

HOLD UP ! HIS EYES LOOK LIKE A TOKAY GECKO'S . IS YAKUMO ACTUALLY JUST A REALLY LONG GECKO?????

DESCENDANT OF THE LEGENDARY GREAT GECKO...........

[improper-use-of-germx]

Happy pride to the Gaboon Viper (Bitis Gabonica), the heaviest venomous snake in Africa

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Whenever I see pictures of gaboon vipers, once I get over squealing about how adorable their chubby hamster cheeks are, I think they almost look like they have a pattern of another snake running down their spine. Is that camouflage? A lure? Or do they Just Look Like That?

It's camouflage, just happens to look kinda like another snake because it follows their spine like that. It's meant to help them blend in to leaf litter!

The pattern along their spine breaks up their silhouette, which combines with the patterning on their sides to make them really effective at hiding amongst the leaves!

[superserpentsmackdown]

[timidteratoma]

Part 15!

Snake prejudice

[fyanimaldiversity]

🐛

I’m not sure if I mentioned it on my other animal blog or here, I LOVE caterpillars, but the idea of touching one terrifies me! Even seeing pictures of other people handling harmless ones gives me the willies. Their spikes and fluff and warning colorations absolutely work on me, I don’t want to mess with them! Complete opposite of edible! Maybe I was a hungry predator in a past life who fucked around and found out?

Oddly enough, most venomous snakes are shaped like friends to me! I know better not to, but they look soooo touchable.

[burnt-pie-eater]

Just made these for fun, are they accurate?