The butterfly viper is carnivorous and feeds on smaller prey than the Gaboon viper, such as toads, frogs, fish, and mice.
The butterfly viper is carnivorous and generally feeds on smaller prey than the closely related, Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica).
Small mammals are the main staple of the butterfly viper’s diet, but the snakes are also reported to eat amphibians, such as toads and frogs, and even fish in wetland habitats.
One long-term captive specimen, regularly fed killed mice and frogs, always held on to its prey for several minutes after a strike before swallowing.
• Image | © Jonathan Kolby, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
• Sources | (Mallow, Ludwig, & Nilson, 2003; Rogers, 2000; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2018)
