Griz

Vinny, since you asked, let me address your question with questions/statements of my own as well as comments from others that will showcase why people do not believe you, myself included:

1) Edited

2) You stated that you began "studying" herps at the age of 4. Maybe I and others are taking this out of context but you don't study anything at the age of 4. You might be fascinated with things but a 4 year olds attention span is about 5 minutes.

3) You stated that your parents started allowing you to handle hots at 6 years of age! Ok, if you say so.

4) To quote the owner of this forum "Paralysis and no tissue destruction from a rattlesnake bite? I don't think so........ Five days after a rattler bite, your hand would look a real mess." Your hand shows no sign of either.

5) The bite marks appear to be spaced too far apart for a 3 month old crotalid of that age, even for an adamanteus, and with no swelling/streaking 5 days after the bite? Are you sure the thing that bit you did not go meow instead of hisssss?

6) Here's a quote from you:

You were bitten by a Eastern Diamondback, correct? Their venom is hemotoxic yet you clearly state you had paralysis within minutes. Hemotoxic venom destroys tissues. Neurotoxin attacks your CNS and causes paralysis. So, which one was it?

But, let me point out a few more interesting facts. You see Vinny, I have a copy of the newspaper article that was written about you when you were bitten by the Viper, you know, the article from the Lancaster News ( Vinny's Article ).

For starters, it states that you were in the hospital for 9 days with that bite. Is it just a coincidence that you also state you were in the hospital for 9 days with the rattlesnake bite?

How about your thread in the Welcome New Members page? You clearly state how you have all of this experience and knowledge surrounding these animals. Yet, the Lancaster News quotes you as stating "“The guy had told me, if I had gotten bitten, nothing would happen. I would
not even get sick. I would just have a little bit of pain, like a bee
sting,’’ Vinny said. " A BEE STING VINNY??? Yet, we are to accept you as an expert with regards to these animals. Ok, whatever.

Where's the viper now Vinny? Oh that's right, you don't have it anymore do you? Why? Because it was specifically against your townships ordinances. You supposedly have all of this knowledge regarding hots yet somehow you failed to check your local laws. What further compounds this is the fact that even after this animal was taken away due to violating the ordinance, you still manage to bring in an Eastern, which tags you also. Yup, sounds like a mature herper to me. I wonder if your township has been informed of your current inventory (rhino's and puff adders)?

What about antivenom Vinny? If you know so much about hots surely you would have been smart enough to check to make sure a local hospital had some. Right? You got lucky that Brian was there to help save your rear and that the South African antivenom worked.

Speaking of Antivenom, let's look at this quote from Brian "Dr. Ward Donovan, head of the toxicology department, has dealt with snake bites but never one with no available antivenom, Washington said. The next step was checking with poison centers throughout the country to find the best antivenom, Washington said. He also searched the Internet for information. He and Donovan settled on a polyvalent (a mix of antivenoms that included antigens that work on snakes similar to the West African bush viper) from South Africa." Wait a minute Vinny. Didn't you say that you helped consult with them on what antivenom to use? How dare the newspaper not give credit where credit is due!

I could go on and on Vinny but I think my point is perfectly clear. You have shown yourself to not only be an irresponsible herper but also one that holds the law in complete contempt. You have misled this board and have been called to the carpet for it. Now, do us all a favor and go away.

Griz