Reproduction:
- A female can give birth from 4 to 10 babies in April to mid-September.
- Mating takes place in the winter.
http://www.indiansnakes.org/Snakedatabase/Vipers/Sawscaled/saw_scaled_viper.html
Behavior/Defenses/Adaptations
- These snakes are mostly nocturnal. They are most active after it rains at night or it is humid.
- During the day they are usually deep in burrows, fallen rotted logs and in sandy environments they are in the sand with their head only exposed.
- When it rains up to 80% of the adult population will climb in trees or bushes.
- They have very inconspicuous behavior and are one of leading causes in snake bites. They are one of the fastest striking species in the world.
- They move by side winding which helps them to be quick. And it may also keep them from over heating.
- They are very aggressive when threatened. They produce a saw like sound by rubbing their dorsal scales together as it coils to show warning.
- When bitten they usually inject 12 mg. Local symptoms include swelling and pain but it can get worse and the swelling can occur on the whole area in 12 to 24 hours.
- It can also cause symptoms like hypovolemic shock, hemoptysis, epistaxis and others.
- Their venom is used in drugs like echistatin and ecarin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echis_carinatus
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