Worst snake bite?

[cat0623]

Just interested in everyones worst bite. Which snake gave it to you? Pictures?

[hhmoore]

I guess I take a different approach to venomous than some...I thought the idea was NOT to get bitten by hots (most others can just bite if they want to, there are few that I am overly cautious about). My worst (nonvenomous) bite wasn't by a snake - it was a 5 ft crocodile monitor. the ensuing infection had me pretty much out of commision for a couple of weeks. I learned that lesson though - don't put mean lizards on the floor when you aren't wearing shoes!!!

[snakebiteAZ1]

was also not from a snake, but a Spiny tail iguana. I had him in an 8x12 enclosure with all the logs and branches and shelves that he sat upon, one day i was taking the log out to clean the cage, i was holding it with both hands, one under the log and one on top with my thumb sticking up in the air. Well he saw it and he thought it was a pinky rat, he flew off the shelf and landed on my thumb and "Munch" he had a snack, but it wasn't a rat LOL!!! That bled for hours and went clear to the bone.. His name was "Taz".. I guess that name fit him well.. I have several snake bites under my belt, but that was the worst bite of all... Mike Leonard

[crotalusadamanteus]

I got tagged by a hot, though not from handling. :) Safe handling is only good practice with hots.

I crashed a dirt bike on top of it. LOL it tagged me in the right palm. not really any scar that shows. Just two puncture marks.
It was a C. c. cerastes a Mojave Sidewinder. I was lucky though, and recieved treatment at the trauma center in San Bernardino. No permanent damage done. Just a vivid memory of the pain. HA HA

I have a friend who got tagged by a Timber and it only got one fang in his little finger, yet he lost muscle tissue all the way to the elbow, on both sides of his arm, and was lucky to keep that arm actually.

Ciao,
Rick

[critical bill]

I got tagged by a hot, though not from handling. :) Safe handling is only good practice with hots. I crashed a dirt bike on top of it. LOL

Obviously you made it. Was the snake ok?

I have a friend who got tagged by a Timber and it only got one fang in his little finger, yet he lost muscle tissue all the way to the elbow, on both sides of his arm, and was lucky to keep that arm actually.

Ciao,
Rick

Wow...so like a whole Texas neighborhood of kids with gimpy or non functioning limbs.... sounds like a swell neighborhood to grow up in. :)

I would think the solution would be to walk the track/course to clear any animals off before running them over crushing them or crashing dirt bikes into them. You do know you share this world with them don't ya? Lest you forget they will remind you...as you and your friend found out.

BTW- The negative rep points you attempted to leave me in defense of your friend BUD MIERKEY...well...they don't count. Mainly because in your 62 posts nothing you've contributed has rocked anybodies socks enough to earn you positive points so they could or would count. Be careful of who you criticize and align yourself with here Rick or you'll be in the red quicker than your friend Bud found himself. Trust me on that.

[crotalusadamanteus]

Obviously you made it. Was the snake ok?



Wow...so like a whole Texas neighborhood of kids with gimpy or non functioning limbs.... sounds like a swell neighborhood to grow up in. :)

I would think the solution would be to walk the track/course to clear any animals off before running them over crushing them or crashing dirt bikes into them. You do know you share this world with them don't ya? Lest you forget they will remind you...as you and your friend found out.

BTW- The negative rep points you attempted to leave me in defense of your friend BUD MIERKEY...well...they don't count. Mainly because in your 62 posts nothing you've contributed has rocked anybodies socks enough to earn you positive points so they could or would count. Be careful of who you criticize and align yourself with here Rick or you'll be in the red quicker than your friend Bud found himself. Trust me on that.

Oh yeah, the snake made it just fine. Was even released to same area of the accident. :)

And BTW my friend is actually from Gorgia, but I met him in Cali. Yer A lil off gepgraphically. Just thought you should have all the facts before you input yer sarcasm.

And, I tried to miss the sidewinder, really did, but that sorta caused me to crash. Soft sand does that sometimes. In 1984, there was no "course", it was wide open land. But I wont hold that against myself, I was still a yougster, and full of youthful indescretions. :) I lived, the snake lived, no harm, no foul.

As for the negs, I don't even know "Bud Mierkey" And I challenge you to prove otherwise. So your false accusations need to be checked.

I neg'd you because I thought it showed extreme distaste, and immaturity for you to bring his wife into the fight. She is not here to defend herself, she was not even part of the subject at hand. So it really don't matter to me if the negs count or not. It was meant to get YOUR attention, not anybody elses. I don't think picking on women is very cool. Man up.

Sorry cat0623 for taking us yer post in a different direction. :)

Ciao,
Rick

[crotalusadamanteus]

Critical bill,
I see you even retaliated by negging me over a joke. Yer own words, "dumb joke, it should be said not written" That's a good reason to neg someone. Grow up man. We are adults. You made a fowl remark, you got negged, deal with it. It's not a pissing match.

Ciao,
Rick

[Snakes Incorporated]

I get bit on a regular bases as I do not take special precautions when catching non-venomous snakes in the wild.
Last April I was a little too casual around one of my Cape Cobra and spent a very exiting quadriplegic, 7days in ICU.
No lasting damage except a good memory.

The snake died three days later after biting me. Go figure maybe food poisoning.

[kzooherpetoculturist]

i've never been bitten by a venemous snake, but i think the worst bite i ever got was from a ridiculously large (~5ft) northern water snake. it bit hard right between my first and middle finger, writhed its head back and forth in a sawing motion, and cut my knuckles to the bone. got infected and they thought a skin graft was going to be needed, but it was fine after a couple weeks. i was pretty young and i just wanted to catch it cause it was twice the size of most of the water snakes here... we don't have venemous snakes except for the occasional massasauga rattler, but those are nearly harmless.

i have an uncle that went into a coma after being bit by a coral snake on his bamboo farm in homestead florida... i'll see if i can dig up some pictures of the bite, it was nasty. he was pulling up some bamboo and never even saw the snake until it was latched onto his wrist.

[Junkyard]

I get bit on a regular bases as I do not take special precautions when catching non-venomous snakes in the wild.
Last April I was a little too casual around one of my Cape Cobra and spent a very exiting quadriplegic, 7days in ICU.
No lasting damage except a good memory.

The snake died three days later after biting me. Go figure maybe food poisoning.


So Shaun, did you learn anything about not taking any precautions when you are dealing with snakes. No offense man, but being bit on a regular basis and not changing the way you do things is not very smart. So how much money have you lost with all those hospital bills?

[crotalusadamanteus]

we don't have venemous snakes except for the occasional massasauga rattler, but those are nearly harmless.
Until one bites you anyway. ;) LOL

Ciao,
Rick

[Snakes Incorporated]

So Shaun, did you learn anything about not taking any precautions when you are dealing with snakes. No offense man, but being bit on a regular basis and not changing the way you do things is not very smart. So how much money have you lost with all those hospital bills?

Hi Michael, when doing catching and releasing of wild snakes discovered in or on private property it is paramount for me to rescue the animal. In my humble opinion the animal’s safety is more important than a little blood.
This is no problem for non-venomous but caution for venomous but with the same consideration. My tools consist of a snake hook and a combination of experience and knowledge.

Knowledge is sometimes acquired through trial and era.

Bill you ask was 11500.00 rand which is a lot of money. This with thee weeks recovery was an expensive leason learned. But I am still breathing. :raspberry

[Junkyard]

Yep, that is an expensive lesson for sure. I was laughed at the last time I went out snake hunting because I was were gloves. Turned out that the snake I caught that night(which is when I was laughed at the most) turned out to be a venemous little bugger. I, personally, would rather be safe than dead.

[vipersniper]

..."we don't have venemous snakes except for the occasional massasauga rattler, but those are nearly harmless."

It is my understanding that massassauga rattlesnakes are quite capable of delivering a potentially life threatening bite (in the absence of treatment) and are not "nearly harmless". At the very least persons unfortunate enough to experience a full bite from a massassauga could experience a considerable amount of tissue necrosis and the possible loss of an extremity. These are not a snake to be taken so lightly. Other experts out there, am I wrong on this?

[crotalusadamanteus]

..."we don't have venemous snakes except for the occasional massasauga rattler, but those are nearly harmless."

It is my understanding that massassauga rattlesnakes are quite capable of delivering a potentially life threatening bite (in the absence of treatment) and are not "nearly harmless". At the very least persons unfortunate enough to experience a full bite from a massassauga could experience a considerable amount of tissue necrosis and the possible loss of an extremity. These are not a snake to be taken so lightly. Other experts out there, am I wrong on this?


No, you are not wrong. :) You are very correct.
As with any Crotalid, not just rattlers, their venom can be very necrotic, and often times is. At the same time, they are all capable of delivering a "dry bite" as well. Depends on the snake, how threatened it feels, etc. Though some have developed a "reputation" for the necrosis involved with their bites, like horidus, and atricaudatus, for example. It almost always causes massive hemoraging, and necrosis of the tissues.

Though I never concidered myself a "PRO", I have studied more on Crotalinae than any other species of Serpentes. And this is what I have come to learn.

[jsrocket]

I am not an expert on Eastern massassaugas, but I have encountered plenty in the wild, mostly near riverbanks while trout fishing.

They are small, secretive little snakes, that will usually jump out of sight before you even see them. Virtually all bites are because the person was messing with the snake.

Are they dangerous? Sure. But bites are rare, and I think there's been about 2 deaths from their bite in the history of Michigan. So, on the "dangerous" scale, I think they rank pretty low. This has been my experience with E. Massassaugas in Mich.