It’s great ability to spit venom from a distance and the extreme rapidity of its movements make handling it a difficult task that many reptile facilities prefer to avoid.

In a defensive posture, it deploys a small hood and keeps its jaws slightly ajar. If the threat persists, it will spit repeatedly, up to ten times if necessary, before exhausting its reserves.

This species, first described by naturalists Wüster and Broadley in 2003, primarily inhabits countries on the African continent such as Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Niger, and Sudan.