Data on the reproduction of a Caucasian Viper, Vipera kaznakovi Nikolsky, 1909 (Serpentes: Viperidae) from Hopa (Northeastern Anatolia, Turkey)

Abstract

In the current study we report an observation of a Caucasian Viper, Vipera kaznakovi from Hopa (Artvin, Turkey) giving birth. During our field studies, we captured a female Vipera kaznakovi on July 21, 2012 from Esenkıyı village, Hopa (Artvin, Turkey), it was brought to the laboratory and kept in a terrarium for a period until May 28, 2013. The female (SVL= 483 mm, total length, TL = 541 mm) gave birth to eight young (mean SVL= 146 mm, mean TL= 161.4 mm, range= 155 – 172 mm; mean weight, W= 3.11 g, range= 2.6 – 3.4 g) on August 11, 2012. In six and a half months, the juvenile snakes had reached 163 mm SVL, 187 mm TL and 5.1g W and increased their size by approximately 15%.