Eight baby vipers were born at the Los Angeles Zoo in July, marking the first successful births resulting from the zoo’s effort to breed a snake that is used to the cold weather of its native Armenian and Turkish environs, MyNewsLA.com reports.

According to Ian Recchio, curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, two Armenian vipers each gave birth to a litter after cold weather conditions similar to those of a “harsh Armenian winter” were replicated at the zoo.

“Armenian vipers are difficult to reproduce in captivity because they come from a mountainous environment which has snow on the ground for a good part of the year,” he said.

Most snakes hatch from eggs, but the Armenian vipers came into the world through live births. Zoo animal care specialists made several unsuccessful attempts to breed the vipers, only succeeding when they built a habitat that resembles the rocky crevices and wintry temperatures the snakes typically consider home.