# Trimeresurus trigonocephalus



## smokinbubbles

hello folks. to get the obvious out, yes this is a venomous snake and yes venomous snakes can kill you.

that being said this is a Trimeresurus trigonocephalus (sri lankan palm viper). this little guy is probably about 8-9 inches at the the most and no big around then a pencil at his biggest spot. picked this guy up a couple months back and boy have i never been so stressed in my life. baby tree vipers are notorious for being picky eaters and this guy has been the pickest of all pickies. i tried everything know to man to get this little heart stopper to eat and nothing would work so i finally had to resort to force feeding. well as soon as i picked him up and got the pinky head in his mouth (yes hes that tiny that you can only give him pinky heads) he chomped down and took that pinky on a little walk to his stomach. the whole process to get him to start eating only took about 4 secs, so not to much stress was given.

as far as his home hes temporarily in a 10 gallon to make sure hes fine. he then moves into a 18" cube exo terra dressed out in only living things (or use to be living) none of that fake nasty crap. lights our 75 watt (i think) Metal halide by current and the exo terra twin top with two night lights for heat.

sorry for the bad pics. i no longer own a digital camera and all these pics where taken from my iphone so there is no focusing.


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## khmerboiRED

damn venomous.... how do you handle him? Would suck if you ever get tAgged.


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## smokinbubbles

khmerboiRED said:


> damn venomous.... how do you handle him? Would suck if you ever get tAgged.


only when i have to i just use 10" tongs. senses he is a tree viper he coils up at one end of the tongs and just sits there. there not really know to be aggressive snakes. just like dealing with any venomous animal you still have to be on your toes at all times casue this little guy does have a ability to cut your life short.


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## Mettle

Force feeding a hot must not be fun.

Not sure that I would be letting it feed/etc on my carpet though.


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## His Majesty

you better be careful mate.

how big will he eventually get. and what do these guys look when fully grown?
he looks like weed at the moment


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## smokinbubbles

the reason hes eating off the floor is because he actually ate with no problem when i force fed him and it surprised me he was actually eating. hes only 5 months at the most and its the first time he ate since i purchased him so i was in a happy shock state so i just put him on the closet surface as possible to eat and that was the floor.

as far as size goes the snake will get anywhere from 30-36 inches. these guys are sexually dimorphic, meaning that you can look and tell the difference between a full grown male from a full grown female.i tried to get a pic of a full grown adult but these guys aren't to common so finding a good pic of a adult is kinda hard.


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## dark FrOsT

great snakes. i know a few people with them. males are smaller than females when full grown (if i remember correctly). its good that its feeding, they can be a little tricky when i comes to food. i know of one that has been a force feeder for over 2 years.


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## smokinbubbles

yes the females are bigger then the males. also the males have more blue where females are mostly green.

just got done fixing up his tank last night. still fills like it is missing something but just cant quite put my finger on it.


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## dark FrOsT

the set up looks real nice to me.

is this your first hot snake?


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## His Majesty

setup is looking lush.

keep us updated


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## smokinbubbles

Thanks guys for the replies. Is it my first hot outside of catching the ones around my house and actually keeping as a pet then yes. I have been working around hots for awhile now as well with other animals that you don't want to get bit by.


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## Murphy18

Sweet setup!!









Is this like a venomous snake where there is no anti-venom, or is this like a venomous snake which if you get bitten by it you have the anti-venom.

How do you cure yourself if you get bitten?!?! And what are the symptoms etc.. if you get bitten?


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## TimmyTeam

you DIE!


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## smokinbubbles

I'm pretty sure there is no antivEnin for these guys. They have a very mild venom where doctors just treat the symptoms and you just really keep a close eye on the bite. Don't get me wrong though mild or not all venomous snake bite should be treated very serious.


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## sapir

hey man not tryin to preach but be careful.
my brother and i found a baby sidewinder rattle snake by our house and kept it as a pet. he was not aggressive so my brother started picking him up and playing with him like hes a corn snake, i started getting comfortable myself and also held him in my hand no sticks or nothing he was real tame. one day my friend came over and my brother went in my room to get the snake to show him (we didnt hold him for a couple weeks at the time) and ended up getting bit. he ended up staying at the hospital for 4 days
thank god for anti venom, i cant imagine handeling a snake that has no anti venom lol


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## smokinbubbles

It's good to hear your brother is ok. A venomous snake should never be looked at as being calm, mellow, tame or what not because just like what happend to your brother a snake can strike out of no where for no reason.

Not every snake bites needs antivenin. In some cases people have died from the antivenin and not the snake bite. Trigs as well as a lot of other tree vipers have very mild venom and only need symptoms treated. So if you are ever bit by a venomous snake there should be no questions asked if you should go to the doctor cause even a very weak venom can cost you a finger.


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## Bawb2u

Just saw this thread, I don't come here much anymore but: Nice snakes, these were one of the Trim species that I bred several years ago and are still one of my favorites. Rather than force feeding, try them on anoles when small, every new born I've had would take them for a first meal. When they get larger, scenting pinks with a dead anole will help to switch over. While you're correct about them *generally* hanging out on the end of a hook some individuals can get very aggressive and climb a hook quick. I always had a second hook close by for ease of manipulation. Don't downplay the toxicity of these too much, liver damage and site tissue necrosis are very common with bites from these.


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## smokinbubbles

Bawb2u said:


> Just saw this thread, I don't come here much anymore but: Nice snakes, these were one of the Trim species that I bred several years ago and are still one of my favorites. Rather than force feeding, try them on anoles when small, every new born I've had would take them for a first meal. When they get larger, scenting pinks with a dead anole will help to switch over. While you're correct about them *generally* hanging out on the end of a hook some individuals can get very aggressive and climb a hook quick. I always had a second hook close by for ease of manipulation. Don't downplay the toxicity of these too much, liver damage and site tissue necrosis are very common with bites from these.


its true with their toxicity but hundereds of people get bit by these guys every year in asia and there is yet not even one recorded death. yes just like i stated earyer every venomous snake bite should be taken as life threating but im just comparing to most people thinking you get bit by a snake and your dead in 10 mins. and as well with the snake hooks yes but again im just comparing to other snakes that would just flop off a hook and start making you dance around the room, but yes they can also be one of the worst snakes you ever handled due to them being tree climbers. sorry should of worded a little better for everyone.

i have thought about the anole thing but right now there is no anoles out here. i have been scenting the pinkie heads with a bullfrog i cought but im telling you this guy strikes at nothing not even at me (this doesn't mean hes your best friend though). hes always been very active though, always perched up on some branches and drinks all the time. hes just stubborn as crap. thanks for the info though. always like talking about these guys that have delt with them before as well due to not having to much info on the snakes anywhere. quick question, what was the average number of babies you would get from these guys casue i cant seem to find that anywhere.


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## Bawb2u

smokinbubbles said:


> quick question, what was the average number of babies you would get from these guys casue i cant seem to find that anywhere.


I bred mine, (I had 1.2) 3 times, FEMALE 1 bred 6 and 7 and FEMALE 2 dropped 5 . There was always at least one that "failed to thrive" as in never ate no matter what and died. First from FEMALE 1 was 2, second from FEMALE 1 was 1, third from FEMALE 2 was 2. I'd heard from David Kornely that he was getting a dozen a breeding but I never had that kind of number. It seems that breeding is very hard on the females of this species. Even though I re-introduced the male several times there were never any more neo's even though I saw breeding activity and both females appeared to be girthing up. I don't know if there was something wrong with my husbandry or they didn't do well on a rodent diet but all of mine died at less than 4 years old, even though I'd kept macrops, albolabris and stejnegeri for significantly more time.


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## psychofish

Nice pick-up looks like a great snake. They look awesome when they are adults.


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