Mount Kenya Bush Viper — Fact Sheet

Atheris desaixi · Mount Kenya Bush Viper

Full care guide

Provisional care starting points, not measured tolerance limits. The full guide explains habitat, feeding history and emergency preparation.

The Atheris squamigera guide offers a comparison for perching, ventilation and hydration. The provisional numerical targets here are adjusted to this species’ documented habitat; they are not a tested species-specific protocol or measured tolerance limits. Broadley’s review supports the natural-history rationale, not validation of these terrarium values.

📋 Quick reference

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Provide firm branches of several diameters, leaf-screened resting forks and an unobstructed route into a lockable shift compartment. This species has been recorded above ground in forest vegetation; enclosure height is useful only when stable supports occupy it. Keep doors and service points free of trailing vines.

Keep one animal per locked enclosure inside a locked, access-controlled room with secondary containment. Use a shift compartment that permits isolation and visual confirmation before servicing; never free-handle. Written bite and escape plans, trained backup staff and a reptile veterinarian are prerequisites.

🐁 Feeding

Obtain the source institution’s actual prey records; the reviewed sources do not establish a universal captive diet for every life stage. An adult already taking whole mice can start with modest thawed prey every 14–21 days, while established juveniles may take smaller meals every 7–10 days. A specimen that has not begun feeding reliably belongs in an experienced institution, not a trial purchase.

⚖️ Legal status

Checked 17 September 2026: Atheris desaixi is in CITES Appendix II and EU Annex B. International movement requires the applicable CITES export/re-export documentation and, for import into the EU, the required EU import permit. Obtain confirmation from the competent authority before transfer; a captive-bred label does not replace documents. Retain the invoice, breeder details, parentage and the permit chain. Bern is not relevant to its Kenyan native range. Kenyan wildlife law and local rules at the destination on venomous animals, possession, registration, breeding, transport and sale still apply.

☠️ Venom

Its venom was included in the 2022 laboratory comparison showing strong procoagulant effects. Sparse human case data should not be interpreted as low risk.

A bite is a medical emergency. Severity varies between bites. Pain, swelling, tissue injury and serious clotting disturbance or bleeding are possible; a small snake or an apparently dry bite is not reassuring. No Atheris-specific antivenom was identified in the reviewed clinical literature. Products for other vipers cannot be assumed effective.

Move away, call emergency services, remove tight items, keep the patient still and support the limb without compression. Do not cut, suck, ice or tourniquet the wound, or delay transport to capture the snake. Agree a receiving hospital and poison-centre pathway before acquisition; treatment decisions belong to those clinicians.

🩺 Common problems

• Overheating: unusual exposed resting or repeated escape attempts warrant immediate checks of the cool hide and room.
• Respiratory infection: bubbles, wheezing or open-mouth breathing need prompt reptile-veterinary assessment.
• Dysecdysis, dehydration and dermatitis: check water access, refuge moisture and wet dirty substrate; do not manually strip skin.
• Obesity, impaction or parasites: track meals, stools and body condition; persistent change needs diagnosis.
• Reproductive problems: prolonged abnormal swelling, weakness or unsuccessful birth requires urgent veterinary advice.