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woman in NY dead from Mamba Bite

I'm interested in learning more about different kinds of venoms, antivenin, and so on. Is there a good modern reference either in book form or online?
 
lucille said:
I'm interested in learning more about different kinds of venoms, antivenin, and so on. Is there a good modern reference either in book form or online?
Click to expand...

Snake Venom Poisoning
by: Findlay E. Russel
Scholium Intn. 1981

Snake Venoms and Envenomations
By: Jean phillipe Chippaux
Krieger publishing 2006
 
Thank you for the refs! I'm also interested in hospital and antivenin costs and protocols for snake bites.
No, I'm not getting a mamba :ack2:, I sketched out a story idea yesterday.
 
lucille said:
And Japan coexisted with its nuclear reactors peacefully for a long time. Good planning is everything; hoping for the best may turn out to be less satisfactory.
Click to expand...

Apples to Oranges

Without going into the whole story that he told the class (the part about the snakes was very brief and only about 5 minutes (with questions) of a 45 minute lecture), they where in an area where medical treatment for a bite was not a realistic option. The people who lived there had coexisted with them for years with relatively few incidents. My prof. said that according to the locals the few incidents that did occur happened when someone tried to kill, remove, catch, or otherwise molest the snakes.

Mambas are not as aggressive as most people think. Like any other snake their first coarse of action is to escape. It is only if they are molested further or feel trapped that they take an aggressive stance. His story was very similar to other accounts I have read about Mambas in the wild ignoring humans. The problem with mambas is the potency of the venom coupled with the viciousness of the attack should they decide to go that route.
 
lucille said:
Thank you for the refs! I'm also interested in hospital and antivenin costs and protocols for snake bites.
No, I'm not getting a mamba :ack2:, I sketched out a story idea yesterday.
Click to expand...

Hospital costs can run as much as $20,000.00 per day hospitalized. You can find this out by calling your hospital and asking what the average cost per day to treat a snake envenomation runs.

It varies depending on the species. Current cost of Black Mamba anti-venom is $500 per gram. Copperhead anti-venom is $75.00 per gram Timber rattlesnake anti-venom is $150.00 per gram Indian cobra anti-venom is $150.00 per gram. Gila monster anti-venom is $600.00 per gram.

The amount necessary for treatment depends on several factors including severity of the bite, weight of the patient, medical health of the patient, age, and so on. These decisions are obviously best left to a medical professional. If you opt to keep hots you should be in contact with emergency room doctors and they can help determine how much anti-venom you should have on hand. It is also necessary that you are tested for sensitivity to anti-venom as the serum can kill you if you are allergic to it.

Basic first aid is to apply a pressure bandage to the afflicted limb, keep it below the heart, and seek medical attention immediately. If the snake can not be returned to its enclosure quickly and safely kill the snake. There are quite a few protocols that need to be in place when working with hots and there are a few good publications (some in print and some you need to know people to get) and anyone interested should obtain a copy before taking the next step. Mentoring with an experienced keeper should also be considered mandatory.
 
Michael, I appreciate the depth of your info, thank you.
As far as coexistence, honey if there was a mamba in MY roof there is NO WAY I'd go into my house. I'd have to call SnakeBusters for sure :rofl:
 
Thanks April. That's a LOT of money right there. I can see why hospitals might not want to carry a whole array of these for different venomous critters.

I wonder if the IRS allows a tax deduction for expired and thus unusable antivenins if they are kept for business related purposes?
 
AbsoluteApril said:
here's the drugstore.com pricing on CroFab;
http://www.drugstore.com/crofab/-so...840&aparam=TnL5HPStwNw-rzvO7u8.lff4PBnWRbRBKg
Click to expand...

Crofab polyvalent (sheep) does not treat mamba envenomation. It is formulated to treat Western and Eastern diamondbacks, Mojave rattlesnakes, and cotton mouths. It has cross reactivity with timber, southern pacific,black tail, canebrake, & dusky pigmy rattlesnakes as well as copperheads. SAIMR polyvalent (horse) is used to treat mamba envenomations.
 
You guys/gals that keep hots are fascinating to me, in a respectful way. I can't even conceive of the focus it must take. I get bitten by my parrots all the time. Sometimes I'm even attacked by an angry gecko hatchling. I'd be dead in 5 minutes with these snakes! However, I'm also a scuba diver, have been for 30 years. I would think absolutely nothing of large sharks or entering dark shipwrecks. So to each their own.
Just curious--can/would you trust your life to drugstore.com?
 
It really is to each their own. I am sure the people that keep hots don't ever forget what they are dealing with. If you forget that you are dealing with an animal that could put you down for good for even a second then it could be all over. I remember when I lived in Alabama and I would find Timber Rattlesnakes and I would catch them and move them say off the road or take them away from houses, and as soon as I would get close enough to pin their head, my legs would start shaking really bad and I would get so nervous. I knew what would happen to me if I got bit by one and me being probably 2 hours from the nearest hospital. I believe when keeping hots, it is all about respect and respecting them for what they are and respecting them for the potential damage that they can cause.

I find venomous snakes very interesting. I have always wanted a Gaboon Viper and some Eyelash Vipers but I never got one yet. They are just amazing in their own rights and I am sure to the right people they make amazing animals to keep.
 
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