Palestine Viper

🔤 Taxonomy

Daboia palaestinae is the accepted name. Vipera palaestinae and Vipera xanthina palaestinae occur in older literature. It is distinct from Daboia russelii; reproductive and antivenom assumptions should not be transferred from that Asian species.

📌 Description

This robust Levantine viper commonly reaches roughly 70-130 cm, with a dark, irregular dorsal pattern. It uses vegetated cover and disturbed landscapes as well as natural habitats. A dry floor with sheltered humidity choices suits it better than an exposed desert display. Species-specific longevity is not established well enough to state a dependable range.

The active-season values below are provisional management starting points, not demonstrated physiological optima or safety limits. Enclosure dimensions are practical recommendations for one adult; increase them for a larger individual. Confirm the plan with an experienced reptile veterinarian and retain locality records.

📋 Quick reference

☠️ Venom

A bite can produce substantial pain, swelling, tissue damage, clotting abnormalities and circulatory complications. Clinical severity varies. Antivenom used for this species in its native region is not automatically stocked elsewhere, and a Russell’s-viper antivenom is not an interchangeable substitute.

Treat every bite as an emergency, including an apparently dry bite. Move away, call emergency services, keep the person still, remove rings and support the limb without compression. Do not cut, suck, ice or tourniquet the wound, and do not catch the snake. Follow poison-centre instructions. Agree a receiving hospital and antivenom access before acquisition; treatment belongs in hospital.

🌍 Distribution

Israel, Palestine (West Bank), Lebanon, western Syria and Jordan. Mediterranean scrub, woodland margins and farmland distinguish its habitat from the deeper desert occupied by some neighbouring vipers. A reported Syrian occurrence near the Turkish border is not evidence of a Turkish population. Country shading is only regional context.

🌡 Climate across the native range

Regional outdoor normals show seasonality, not enclosure settings. These representative settlement coordinates are not exact snake localities.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com · CC BY 4.0 · Monthly normals calculated by Herpeton Academy from daily archive values.

⚖️ Legal status

CITES Appendix III, listed at Israel’s request, and EU Annex C. Appendix III trade paperwork depends on the exporting country: export from the listing state and export from another state have different document requirements. EU import notification and origin documentation must be checked with the authority before transport.

The Bern Convention is not the principal trade framework for this wholly Asian native range; do not infer exemption from national protection.

Legal review: 17 September 2026. National capture, possession, registration, breeding, sale and transport rules may be stricter. Verify permits before transfer and keep invoices, breeder identity, parentage and import records. Trade status does not itself authorize keeping a venomous snake.

🤌 Husbandry

Keep Daboia palaestinae individually in a locked enclosure within an access-controlled venomous-reptile room. Secondary containment and a lockable shift compartment should permit water changes and cleaning only after the animal has been isolated and visually accounted for. Free-handling is unacceptable. Prepare written bite and escape plans, trained backup cover and a veterinary arrangement before acquisition.

Quarantine for at least 90 days as a working minimum, longer when the veterinarian advises. Use separate tools and a simple enclosure; record feeding, sheds, faeces and body condition. Arrange parasite screening for uncertain-origin animals or abnormal stools. Weigh only through an established protected-contact procedure.

💡 Lighting

Provide about 12-14 hours of visible light during the active season, with darkness at night and shaded retreats. A species-specific UVB requirement has not been demonstrated. If low-level UVB is used, measure exposure and retain complete shade; do not infer lamp strength from desert photographs. Guard lamps and wiring against contact.

🌡 Heating and temperature

Begin with air at 24-28°C, a local basking surface at 30-32°C, a cool retreat at 21-24°C and night air at 18-22°C. These are cautious working bands, not tolerance limits. Measure air, surface and cool-hide temperatures separately. Thermostat-control heating; check the room during summer because a thermostat cannot cool hot air.

Seasonal cooling requires a documented, locality-specific plan for healthy, established adults. Do not cool new arrivals, thin, sick or gravid animals, or copy an adult breeding cycle onto juveniles. Outdoor monthly normals are not brumation instructions.

💧 Humidity and water

Use 45-65% relative humidity as an initial management band, with ventilation and a mostly dry resting surface. Provide a small locally moist retreat during shedding without wetting the whole enclosure. Offer clean drinking water continuously in a stable, shallow bowl, serviced through the protected system. Dry habitat does not mean absence of water. Persistent condensation or repeated retained sheds needs review; never peel skin or force soaking.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Use at least the practical 160 × 80 × 70 cm layout in the table and allow the snake to stretch fully. Check door gaps, vents and cable holes against the smallest animal housed. Fix rocks directly to the enclosure base so excavation cannot undermine them; retain clear sightlines to shift doors. Avoid sharp gravel, aromatic wood and unstable piles. Remove waste after securing the snake.

A 5-8 cm compactable soil-and-sand layer with dry leaf cover and sheltered moist patches suits a vegetated-edge arrangement. Use paper during quarantine and keep the floor from remaining wet.

🐁 Feeding

Offer thawed whole mice or modest rats to established adults. Choose prey no wider than the snake’s broadest body section, and reduce portions when body condition increases. Juveniles generally need smaller meals every 7-10 days; retain the supplier’s actual feeding record.

The table gives an initial adult feeding interval of 14-21 days; adjust portions and timing to weight trend and condition. Deliver food through the collection’s protected feeding system. Avoid live rodents and substrate-coated food; dehydration, low temperatures and oversized meals increase regurgitation and impaction concerns. Whole prey normally needs no routine calcium or vitamin dusting. Do not improvise supplementation or force-feeding.

🥚 Breeding

This species lays eggs. No verified incubation schedule was located in the reviewed sources; obtain the source breeder’s successful temperature, substrate and hatching records before attempting reproduction. Have sex and reproductive readiness assessed professionally.

Breeding adds exposure risk. Prepare separate, escape-proof neonatal housing before pairing, avoid permanent cohabitation, and retain parentage, dates, meals and transfer records. Only breed when lawful placements and competent staff are available.

🩺 Common problems

• Overheating: repeated escape attempts or unusual exposed resting require immediate measurement of the cool retreat.
• Dysecdysis and dehydration: review drinking access and the moist refuge; repeated problems need veterinary assessment.
• Respiratory infection or stomatitis: wheezing, bubbles or oral discharge require prompt professional care.
• Dermatitis, impaction, obesity and parasites: dirty wet bedding, substrate ingestion, excessive feeding or persistent weight loss need correction and diagnosis. Do not use automatic deworming or home restraint.

📌 Conclusion

A Palestine viper needs sheltered moisture choices and a hospital plan specific to its venom. Check origin-dependent Appendix III documents before purchase, including animals exported from outside Israel.

📚 Sources and further reading

ReptiFiles was checked first on 17 September 2026; no species-specific guide was found. Numerical recommendations are separated from directly reported breeding outcomes. Historical care reports are not current medical instructions.

• Reptile Database
• GBIF
• Daboia comparative venomics
• Daboia venom variation
• ReptiFiles
• WHO: snakebite first aid
• CITES Appendices — 5 March 2026
• EU Regulation 2026/1383
• Bern Convention Appendix II
• Bern Convention Appendix III
• DAERA: venomous-snake keeping guidance
• Baines et al. (2016): UV-Tool