Greek Meadow Viper

🔤 Taxonomy

Vipera graeca was formerly treated as V. ursinii graeca. The accepted species occurs in Greece and Albania; retain the historical name on provenance and legal records.

📌 Description

A small zigzag-patterned meadow viper, generally about 30–45 cm for adult planning. Its insect diet and sensitivity to loss of cool retreats are more important than its modest size. Published long-term husbandry evidence remains limited.

The table gives provisional active-season starting points, not measured species optima or safety limits. Enclosure dimensions are practical recommendations; increase them for larger animals. Reliable species-specific lifespan data are insufficient for a promise. These animals require an experienced, legally authorised venomous-snake facility, not ordinary pet handling.

📋 Quick reference

Parameter	Provisional active-season target
Adult length	30–45 cm
Enclosure, one adult	90 × 50 × 50 cm
Air	20–24°C
Basking surface	28–30°C
Cool retreat	17–21°C
Night air	15–19°C
Relative humidity	45–65%

☠️ Venom

Bite severity varies; a small wound or an apparently dry bite does not exclude delayed envenoming.

Species-specific human bite evidence is limited. An insect-specialised diet does not make venom harmless to people. Treat every bite as an emergency: painful swelling and systemic illness are possible, and severity cannot be predicted from size. European-viper antivenom must not be presumed effective for this exact taxon without poison-centre assessment.

Call emergency services immediately, keep the person still, remove rings and tight items, and support the limb without compression. Do not cut, suck, apply ice or a tourniquet, or delay transport to capture the snake. Establish receiving-hospital and poison-centre arrangements before acquisition. Antivenom selection and administration belong to clinicians.

🌍 Distribution

Endemic to alpine and subalpine grasslands of the Pindos mountains in Greece and southern Albania, mostly around 1600–2200 m. Snow, exposed sunny patches, stones and dense grass create sharply different microclimates. The Lakmos example represents high mountain seasonality, not every population or a brumation setting.

Climate tables use WorldClim 2.1 regional grids for 1970–2000; relative humidity is derived from temperature and water-vapour pressure. The approximately 10-minute grid averages terrain and does not measure the snake’s mountain slope, perch or burrow.

Countries in the native range; shading does not show occupied habitat

🌡 Climate across the native range

Outdoor monthly averages show seasonal context, not enclosure settings or the temperature inside a shelter.

Lakmos mountain — Greece

View location on Google Maps

Month	Min °C	Mean °C	Max °C	RH %
January	-2.5	0.8	4	79
February	-2.3	1.2	4.6	74
March	-0.3	3.7	7.7	71
April	2.7	7.5	12.2	67
May	6.6	12.1	17.6	68
June	9.9	16	22.2	61
July	12.1	18.5	24.9	54
August	12	18.3	24.7	55
September	9.3	15.1	21	63
October	5.7	10.5	15.2	74
November	1.7	5.7	9.6	78
December	-0.3	3	6.3	77

Weather data by WorldClim v2.1 · Monthly normals queried by Herpeton Academy from raster values; relative humidity is derived from vapor pressure and mean temperature.

Location references use GBIF.org occurrence data where available; original occurrence records retain their source dataset licenses.

⚖️ Legal status

CITES Appendix I and EU Annex A coverage follows the European Vipera ursinii entry under the historical name V. ursinii graeca. The former-USSR exclusion does not cover Greece or Albania. Bern Appendix II and the EU Habitats Directive’s historical ursinii protection also require attention. A modern species name is not a trade exemption; confirm the paperwork under both names.

Checked 17 September 2026. Trade status does not authorise wild collection or possession. Confirm national protection, dangerous-animal permits, import, registration, transport, breeding and sale rules with the competent authority. Keep breeder identity, invoice, parentage, locality and transfer/import paperwork.

🤌 Husbandry

Provide grass-like cover and several shallow shelters so the animal can warm without crossing a bare floor. A 2024 study measured a preferred body temperature near 28.8°C; body temperature is not room temperature. The warm patch below allows choice while maintaining a much cooler retreat. Floor area and humidity are provisional management choices, not results of that experiment.

House individually in a locked enclosure inside a locked, escape-resistant room. A lockable shift compartment must permit visual confirmation and isolation before water changes or cleaning. Have trained backup staff, a written escape plan and a reptile veterinarian ready. No free handling or improvised restraint.

Use at least 90 days of separate quarantine as a working minimum, extended by the veterinarian when needed. Start with paper substrate and dedicated tools; record feeding, sheds, faeces and body condition. Unknown-origin animals, weight loss or abnormal stools justify veterinary assessment and parasite testing. Obtain weights only by an established protected procedure.

💡 Lighting

Provide 12–14 hours of visible light in the active season and darkness at night. Keep full shade available. No species-specific UVB optimum is established; if low-level UVB is used, measure exposure and review the arrangement with the veterinarian using the UV-Tool reference. Guard lamps and adjust seasonal day length gradually, in step with the approved winter plan.

🌡 Heating and temperature

Use the separate air, surface and cool-retreat values in the table as provisional starting points. Thermostat-controlled, guarded heating should warm only part of the enclosure. Measure the basking surface and both retreats independently; check the coolest area during summer room-temperature peaks. A heater thermostat cannot correct an overheated room.

Adjust photoperiod and seasonal temperatures gradually from documented locality and breeder records. Do not prescribe refrigerator brumation from outdoor winter averages. Only healthy, established adults should enter a veterinarian-approved seasonal breeding programme; newly acquired, thin or sick animals and juveniles require separate decisions.

💧 Humidity and water

Measure relative humidity near the resting animal, using the table as a provisional band. Keep a slightly moist refuge alongside dry resting surfaces; avoid wetting the whole floor. Ventilation and local moisture are more useful than chasing a single percentage. Supply fresh water continuously in a stable bowl, serviced only after isolation. Persistent poor sheds require a hydration and health review, not forced soaking or peeling.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Give the snake enough uninterrupted floor length to stretch fully. Secure ventilation mesh, doors and cable entries, checking gaps against the smallest animal present. Place cover in both thermal zones and fix stones against collapse. After quarantine, 5–8 cm of compactable soil mixed with washed sand, with a little leaf litter, can provide firm footing and local moisture. Keep most of the surface dry. Avoid sharp gravel, aromatic wood and inaccessible cavities; paper remains useful for sick animals.

🐁 Feeding

Primary field research identifies an Orthoptera specialist: do not substitute a routine mouse diet. Obtain a demonstrated feeding record and reliable, lawful supplies of captive-bred locusts or other accepted orthopterans before acquisition. Offer appropriately small, well-fed insects in modest meals; agree frequency, calcium and vitamins with the collection veterinarian because no validated species schedule or dose was found. Check juvenile growth and remove uneaten insects through the protected system. Wild grasshoppers bring pesticide, parasite and conservation risks.

For accepted feeder insects, use prey no broader than the snake’s body and maintain well-fed feeder cultures before offering them. Agree a calcium-without-D3 plan when measured UVB is provided; oral D3 and multivitamins, including vitamin A, must account for UVB exposure, juvenile growth, reproduction and product-label limits. Avoid overlapping supplements or guessing a species dose. Keep food off loose substrate: swallowed particles, dehydration and low temperature increase impaction risk. Never force-feed a venomous snake at home.

🥚 Breeding

This viper bears live young; there is no egg-incubation schedule. Sex should be confirmed by an experienced professional, not home probing. Breed only mature, healthy animals with documented parentage and locality; no defensible universal age threshold was found for these lineages. Keep locality lines separate. Before pairing, prepare individually secured neonatal housing, a protected separation procedure and lawful placements; small newborns are venomous and can escape through much smaller gaps.

🩺 Common problems

Persistent exposed resting or attempts to escape the warm zone warrant an immediate temperature check. Wheezing, bubbles or open-mouth breathing suggest respiratory disease; abnormal belly scales may indicate dermatitis. Repeated poor sheds, regurgitation, weight loss or abnormal faeces require a reptile veterinarian to distinguish dehydration, dietary problems, parasites and other illness. Do not deworm or restrain a venomous snake yourself; arrange secure professional transport.

📌 Conclusion

Proceed only when lawful provenance, the demonstrated diet, suitable secure housing and a written medical plan are all in place. The documented locality and individual records should drive revisions to this provisional care plan.

📚 Sources and further reading

ReptiFiles was checked first on 17 September 2026; no species-specific guide was found. Older husbandry reports inform comparison, not modern handling, drug treatment or blanket reproduction instructions.