The butterfly viper has hollow fangs that deliver venom deep into the snake’s victims but are folded into the roof of the mouth when not in use and shed every 6-10 weeks.
The butterfly viper has a pair of hollow fangs in its mouth. These fangs are not large, rarely more than 1.5 centimeteres, or 0.59 inches, long.
These fangs penetrate deep into the snake’s victim, allowing small doses of venom to flow into the wound.
The butterfly viper has the ability to control the movement of its fangs. When not in use, the fangs are folded up into the roof of the snake’s mouth. As such, the butterfly viper may open its mouth without the fangs flipping down into place.
As is true with all snakes in the Viperidae family, the butterfly viper sheds its fangs periodically, every 6-10 weeks.
• Image | © Josh More, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Sources | (Firehouse, 2003; Lipsett, 2003; Mallow, Ludwig, & Nilson, 2003; Rogers, 2000; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2018)
