The Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) is the venomous (bad) snake that is most likely to bite you. They have the habit of lying in the short or long grass and just waiting for prey to walk by. If human footsteps are coming close – it doesn’t attempt to move, it just sits there.
This is why the Malayan Pit Viper is the cause of most of the serious bites in Thailand, and Malaysia. They just don’t get out of the way, or flare up a hood or anything. They are what we call lazy snakes, and they’re quite deadly too. This snake is responsible for more deaths in Thailand than any other.
However, if you make it to the hospital for the anti-venin quickly you will likely be fine. Some herpetologists call the Malayan pit viper the “finger rotters”. Their venom is cytotoxic and destroys all cells of the body – including bone. Their venom dissolves bone… it’s quite harsh stuff and you DON’T want to be bitten by this snake because you’ll likely lose part of whatever what bitten.
These Thailand snakes are most active during the night time, but, they seem to just sleep in the open grass during the day too. BE CAREFUL NOT TO STEP NEAR THIS SNAKE. Their bite is vicious and fangs go deep.
About Vern Lovic
All posts by Vern Lovic. Amateur herpetologist roaming about Thailand on field herping trips to find cobras, kraits, coral snakes, and other snakes native to Thailand. Thailand has over 200 snake species with many of them venomous.
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