Meet the Animals
Jade
Island pit viper · Trimeresurus insularis
Sweet, shy and glowing green. Jade is a female green-phase Komodo Island pit viper, about 13 inches long, who loves to perch in her little trees.
Length
About 13 in
Sex
Female
Color phase
Green
Temperament
Sweet & shy
Favorite spot
Perching in her little trees
Native range
E. Java & Lesser Sunda Islands
Tree dweller
Happiest up high
Jade loves to perch in her little trees. Her species lives in trees and sits still, waiting to ambush passing prey, and like all pit vipers it has heat-sensing pits between its eyes and nostrils.
That color
Classic island green
Green is the classic color of her species across the Lesser Sunda Islands. On Komodo Island, green and rare blue snakes both turn up, and every form has a red tail.
Field notes
About island pit vipers
- Jade is a Trimeresurus insularis, the island pit viper of eastern Java and Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands.
- Green is the classic color of the species. On Komodo Island, green and rare blue snakes both turn up, and every form has a red tail.
- It lives in trees and sits still, waiting to ambush passing prey.
- Like all pit vipers, it has heat-sensing pits between its eyes and nostrils.
- Its venom is medically significant and mainly damages tissue.
Cared for by
Braxton “Gilly” Gilbert
Jade is cared for daily by Gilly at Jefe and Friends (Gilly's Exotics LLC). Questions? Email gillysexotics@gmail.com.