Lebanon Viper — Fact Sheet

Montivipera bornmuelleri · Lebanon Viper

Full care guide

These are provisional active-season care targets, not measured tolerance limits. Read the full guide for the evidence, population scope and winter-cooling restrictions.

📋 Quick reference

🏠 Enclosure

120 × 60 × 60 cm for one adult; increase for a large individual. Use locked shift compartments, secondary containment and no direct handling. Humidity: 50-70%, with ventilation, dry resting ground and a locally moist retreat.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

• Use the dimensions in the table for one adult, increasing floor space for an unusually large individual. The snake must be able to stretch fully. Fit independent locks, secure ventilation mesh and seal cable openings; assess gaps against neonate size if breeding is planned. Keep both the warm and cool retreats accessible.

• Once quarantine is complete, a roughly 5-8 cm layer of compactable soil mixed with washed sand can support stable footing and a slightly moist lower layer. Keep most of the surface dry. Use fixed slabs or artificial rocks, low cover and clear sightlines to shift doors. Avoid unstable stone piles, sharp gravel, aromatic wood and deep loose sand. Remove waste promptly after isolating the snake; a planted enclosure still needs inspection.

💡 Lighting

• Use a timer for about 12-14 hours of visible light during the active season, with complete darkness at night. Shorten daylight gradually only as part of a planned seasonal programme. Hides must allow complete retreat from the lamps.

• A species-specific UVB requirement has not been established. If low-level UVB is provided, measure exposure, retain deep shade and have the lamp arrangement reviewed by the collection veterinarian. Do not assign a high-output lamp from habitat photographs alone; keep all electrical fittings outside reach or securely guarded.

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 26-28 °C
• Warm zone: 18-24 °C
• Cool zone: 16-20 °C
• Night: 14-18 °C

💧 Humidity and water

• Air humidity: 50–70%.

• Treat the humidity range as an initial management band, measured near the snake rather than beside a wet bowl. Maintain ventilation and a dry resting surface, with a locally moist retreat available during shedding. Persistent condensation calls for a ventilation and temperature review; an air-humidity percentage does not justify wet bedding.

• Provide clean drinking water continuously in a stable bowl accessible through protected servicing. Check water and urates daily. Do not force soaking or peel retained skin; recurrent shedding difficulty needs a review of hydration, conditions and health.

🐁 Feeding

Thawed whole mice; adults approximately every 14-21 days, juveniles smaller meals often every 7-10 days. Adjust to body condition. No routine supplements or live rodents.

⚖️ Legal status

No CITES or specific EU wildlife-trade annex listing was found in the reviewed lists. Bern Appendix III covers reptiles not included in Appendix II where the Convention applies; do not confuse that general provision with an ownership permit or assume identical implementation across the range states.

☠️ Venom

Medically significant venom. A bite needs immediate emergency care even if symptoms seem mild. Keep the patient still, remove tight items and follow poison-centre advice; do not cut, suck, ice or tourniquet the wound.

🩺 Common problems

• Overheating: repeated attempts to leave the warm area or abnormal exposed resting warrant an immediate check of the cool retreat and room temperature.
• Respiratory infection: bubbles, wheezing or open-mouth breathing require prompt reptile-veterinary assessment.
• Dysecdysis and dehydration: review drinking access and the moist retreat; never attempt manual skin removal.
• Dermatitis: wet bedding and dirty retreats can damage ventral scales.
• Obesity, regurgitation and parasites: track body condition and meal history; persistent change needs diagnosis, not a larger meal or automatic deworming.