These snakes can strike at 8 feet per second and may strike to a distance up to one-half their body length. The primary biological purpose of snake venom is the immobilization of the victim, to cause its death quickly and to start predigestion of tissue before the victim is ingested by the snake. Pit viper venom consists of many enzymes and nonenzymatic proteins. It contains 10-25 distinct biologically active components. The venom of snakes varies considerably in both its volume and toxicity.
Numerous factors affect the severity of the snake bite.
One of these factors is the amount of venom injected by the snake into the victim. It has been shown that the pit vipers will replenish their venom in 16-54 days. It is important to understand that you cannot wait to see how bad a bite is. You cannot tell how severe the envenomation is simply by looking. The amount and composition of the venom is determined by the species of snake, the time of year, the regenerated volume of venom, the age of the snake, aggressiveness of the snake, and the motivation and size of the snake.