SAW-SCALED or CARPET VIPERS

Saw-Scaled Vipers, also called Carpet Vipers, are from the genus “Echis”. These small vipers have a vast distribution that starts in West Africa, goes east to Somalia, in East Africa and then north to Egypt and then eastwards through the Middle East reaching India and Sri Lanka in the South East of the Asian continent.

Echis are small snakes rarely reaching 85cm and adults are usually around 40-60cm long. The name “Saw-Scaled” refers to the keels found on the dorsal scales with the edge of the keel ending in small teeth like a hacksaw blade. By coiling in their defensive habit of forming the body in a horse shoe shape and rubbing their scales against each other the saw keels then produce a hissing or rasping sound.  This behaviour is meant to make any threatening animal aware of the presence of the snake and to then ward off these threats.

These snakes are very dangerous and statistically they are one of the most dangerous groups of snakes known. Carpet vipers cause a significant amount of mortality and morbidity across their range.  These snakes can be locally abundant. Rural villagers and farmers are at great risk. The venom is a potent mix of Haemotoxins and Cytotoxins.