A friend of mine has been bitten by an approx. 1 metre Crotalus terrificus (south american rattlesnake) in a reptile zoo in southern Austria.
Death occured within one hour.
He was an experienced reptile keeper, also in handling venomous snakes.
By this tragic accident, I want to remember you, to be very carefull when handling vipers etc, also by just placing them for a good photo.
Dont come to close with your hands, arms, head when taking the picture!
And remember, also our "harmless" European vipers may give you a serious bite under bad circumstances!
Mario