Were there venomous snakes in Malta during the time of Acts 28 verses 3-6?
Today there are no vipers indigenous to Malta. Great changes have taken place since the first century C.E. Whereas now Malta is one of the most densely populated islands in the world, with about 1,280 persons per sq km (3,330 per sq mi), extensive wooded areas may have existed there in Pauls time. The population increase would have had a marked effect on the habitats of wildlife. This could easily have caused all vipers to disappear, as was the case in Arran, an island off the SW coast of Scotland. As late as 1853, however, a viper is reported to have been seen near St. Pauls Bay.
