The body color of the armored pit viper varies greatly. The adult female armored pit viper has a huge head, the color is green, blue-green or black, and is decorated with short yellow stripes and light green and black spots; juveniles and some are slightly older The male armored pit vipers are bright green in color. The armored pit vipers have brown stripes running through their eyes for camouflage.

The body length of the armored pit viper is about 0.8 to 1.3 meters. The armored pit viper has bony, chain-like scales. The fangs of the armored pit viper are very long, and the venom can cause damage to cells and tissues in the prey.