Gaboon vipers are usually calm, but their venomous bite can be deadly. See how our animal care team prepared one of our snakes for a safe vet visit! | Fresno Chaffee Zoo

14M views · 38K reactions | Look at this adorable little Gaboon viper out for a stroll! Video by @GhostPenguin. TRR is made possible by RodentPro.com | The Reptile Report | Facebook

Meet Gangster the West African Gaboon Viper (Bitis rhinoceros). They emit this loud hissing noise as a warning to say don't step on me or leave me alone. If snakes wanted to bite, why would they perform in this manner. They have no ear openings yet make a noise to alert other animals to their presence when they feel threatened. The first line of defense is their amazing camouflage, blending into their surroundings. #gaboonviper #venomous #bitisrhinoceros #westafricangaboonviper #bitis #venomouss

This is a short clip that can show a little bit of what Gaboon Vipers are truly capable of. Anytime you are holding a Gaboon with a hand you are in range. Luckily, most snakes will give you plenty of warning before they strike. This is why there are snake handlers as if snakes wanted to bite people there would be no such thing as snake handler. A good example is a Cobra chasing rodents out of burrows with insane speed vs standing and spreading a hood with slow, predictable strikes. Snakes move w

Violet, one of my many Gaboon Vipers is extremely defensive and although she doesn't really strike out this is really borderline posturing. Good to note body posturing with this species as well as this little tip. Ambush predatory snakes (often easy to distinguish by their heavy bodied build), don't really have a smell. If they did, this would give them away to predators and prey. So if a snake has dedicated and is stuck around its smell it can become very agitated, especially in a captive situa