Green pit viper

Description:

Green Pit Viper is a moderately venomous snake endemic to Sri Lanka. It is one of the most colourful and attractive snakes in Sri Lanka.. It produces live young most of the time during months of June-July and usually a brood varies from 05 to 30. It has effective camouflage and usually makes every attempt to escape and avoid confrontation. Venom can be quite potent and occasionally can prove fatal. This snake can be identified from a distance by its green colouration with green quadrant shaped patches with black outlines. It has a large triangular head. The ventral aspect is greenish with a tin.This snake can be identified from a distance by its green colouration with green quadrant shaped patches with black outlines. It has a large triangular head. The ventral aspect is greenish with a tinge of yellow.

Habitat:

It is arboreal and nocturnal, occasionally descending to the ground in search of food. This sluggish pit viper is usually encountered on low shrubs during morning hours. It is widely distributed in all three climatic zones of the island except the higher hills above an altitude of 1000 m and arid zones while relatively common in wet zone grasslands and rain forest areas and occasionally in plantations