They have much better smell than eyesight, however their ultraviolet light spectrum is pretty cool. Allows them to be expert hunters, especially at night. I was actually watching Jeff Corwin yesterday doing an experiment with water balloons, one with cold water (purple and blue to the snake) and one with hot water (yellow and orange to the snake). The viper had absolutely no interest in the cold balloon being waved in from of him but the moment the warm balloon was brought out he struck and popped it. Ball pythons have the same advantage as pit vipers, but their heat pits line the top of their mouths while vipers have one small hole on each side between their jaws and eyes. Helps them to be extra accurate when striking. This sight combined with smell allows them to imprint prey items.