"Bushmaster Snake" The third longest venomous snakes in the world, It can grow as long as 3.5 m

The Bushmaster snake, length and weight-wise are large and heavy with a broad, triangular-shaped head, that is common to all vipers.

But all the four members of the genus, common to the Atlantic lowlands, vary slightly in their appearance.

Like the Central American, as well as the Black-headed Bushmaster is known to have light brown scales and black rings around its body.

The Chocoan Bushmaster is known to have black bands on top of their reddish-brown scales.

And the South American species of Bushmaster, Lachesis muta is known to have distinctive dark markings almost like diamonds on their orange-brown, or tan scales.

The scales of the Lachesis muta can even appear pinkish. They have a dark line straight from the eye to the mouth. The underside of their body is pale in color.

Bushmasters are large animals, owning the title of being the second-longest venomous snakes inhabiting the lowlands, such as Venezuela, Trinidad, Brazil, and Colombia around the Atlantic ocean.

They are long and stealthy, often lying around camouflaged in wait for their prey to cross their path unknowingly.

It is interesting how they can keep their large bodies, sometimes as long as 78.7-141.7 in, camouflaged on the floors of the forests, without actively doing anything.

They just keep very, very still and the preys keep mistaking them for the fallen leaves surrounding them. Want to learn more fun things about Bushmaster snake size? Just keep reading on.

Bushmasters are heavy animals with large bodies. They might not be the heaviest pit vipers, but they are still heavier than most other types. They are so heavy in fact, that large adults can weigh up to 6.6-15.4 lb.

It is hard to say just how fast the Lachesis muta can move. Again, let us reiterate that they are extremelysolitary and prefer not to come in contact with humans.

As a result, very, very little is known about them. But, like all vipers, the Bushmaster snake species is terribly fast in their strikes. The striking speed of the Lachesis muta is often compared to lightning.

They strike their prey in half of a blink of an eye, and if the prey is big they often release it die on its own, before swallowing it headfirst.

Bushmasters are known to mostly keep small mammals, amphibians, or even some reptiles on their diet. They live on forest floors and lie in wait for their prey to cross their path unknowingly.

They strike their prey with their long fangs and inject enough venom to paralyze them, then they release said prey and wait for it to die before swallowing it.

They prefer to eat rodents, but birds and amphibians are also known to be their prey. Members of the genus Lachesis are known to particularly favor spiny rats in Costa Rica.

One interesting fact about their food habits during the process of reproduction is that the females do not eat at all during the incubation period of the eggs, and only leave the site to occasionally drink water.

To learn more fun information about the members of this Viperidaefamily, or to know how did the interesting scientific name of the Bushmaster, Lachesis muta, or L. muta came to be, we suggest you keep reading on.

They are ground-living creatures, often inhabiting places that receive a lot of precipitation. They prefer moist leaf-littered places that help them stay camouflaged from potential predators.

The hatchlings are often targeted by other snakes or birds of prey for they are just 12 in long when they are born.

To learn more about the Bushmaster snake, home, habitats, and whereabouts, keep reading on.

Not much is known about the reproductionsystem of the elusive Bushmaster. Lachesis muta often finds potential mates by following scent trails.

After a gestation period of about 60-79 days, the female lays eggs. The average size of a clutch can be anything between 5-19 eggs.

Interestingly, unlike other vipers these creatures guard their eggs ferociously, striking out at anything or anyone that wanders close.

But once the eggs are hatched, the females leave them to fend for themselves. The hatchlings then strike out at everything, completely unsupervised.

As they are solitary and prefer not to come in contact with humans, not to mention the fact that a bite from this viper can be fatal, and their lifespan in the wild is mostly unknown.

But the ones in captivity have been known to live for 12-18 years generally, but, some have been known to live as long as 24 years.

These animals are large, and known to be very aggressive when they attack. Still, very few cases of human casualties are recorded by their venom, mostly because they are nocturnal and live so deep in the forests that their interactions with humans are pretty limited.

They are also extremely solitary and shy, staying away from even their own kind except during the mating season. They naturally prefer not to come in close contact with humans.