I've had two copperhead bites. I'm just wondering what other people's experiences have been...
Answers:
Yes, up until last summer I could say that in the 20 years of messing with herps, including Crotalus atrox atrox-Western Diamondback Rattlers ( which was my first real snake keeping experience ), I had never been bitten by a "hot".
With my first atrox I had quickly learned his behavior and was in fact able to change his water dish without pinning his head down or removing him beforehand. This always seemed to stress him too much. I continually judged whether he had a defensive posture; tightly coiled, tensed muscles, whether his neck was "s-coiled" as if to strike. If I went slow enough and allowed him time to sample the air as my hand approached, he eventually would retreat without rattling back to his hide where he would simply watch until I was done. There I was out of strike distance. After some time though I decided that I had done enough in the interests of the science of snake behavior, and opted for a safer long term alternative for cleaning the tank. I have been struck at the hand numerous times, but keeping rattlesnakes made me very fast on the draw and I was always a fraction quicker after becoming familiar with their habits before they do strike. Much like Irwin knew his crocs, I knew my diamondbacks.
Though I still hunted and caught them in the wild, I stopped keeping them around the house many years ago. Last summer while out snake hunting in NW Texas I ran across a female WDB who was coiled off the side of a trail I had just come down a few moments before. She caught me completely offguard, though I was looking for snakes. I wanted to catch and examine her, but she made for her den. I grabbed her tail, but she had already gotten too far in the den and was resisting. I didn't want to hurt her, so I let her go. She continued to rattle furiously as I left. I continued on hunting and returned to my car which was right near the den about an hour later. After putting my snake stick in the passengers side, I started to throw my spotlight in the pass seat too. For some reason this time I didn't and walked aroud the back of the car witht the light on...and WHOA NELLIE! She was sitting half under the trunk of my car as I stepped around back. She was stretched out straight and very tired. Not rattling either, so I thought she may in fact be injured too. I pulled her out for the car and quickly grabbed her behind the head and placed her in a cold cooler to further slow her down so I could examine her.
I examined her after she cooled and slowed down and she seemed ok. So as I was putting her down to warm, she got a little burst of energy and started flexing her upper and lower jaws independently, which can allow some lateral movement. She was able to nick the end of my thumb with one of her back teeth. Though the way I was holding her, she couldn't get me with the fangs, but she did break the skin and there was a slight envenomation from venom in her mouth. I immediately squeezed the blood out of the end of my thumb and rinsed with saline until it stopped bleeing. It burned and throbbed a little for a few hours, but never travelled up the lymphatic system any farther, so I was ok.
I decided that I had been a little out of practice and not as quick as I used to be many years ago, so it's probably time to just stick to snake tongs if I'm gonna keep catching "hots", instead of "tailing" and pinning their heads by hand.
Oh, and "preacher", I beg to differ with you...a timber rattler is a serious Crotalid to mess with. Much more potentially deadly than a copperhead or moccasin. Those two can be managed without antivenin depending on the severity of the bite, and many doctors opt to not give antivenin at all for a copperhead bite unless it appears the patient absolutely needs it. For a timber rattler envenomation though.. you are more than likely going to need antivenin, UNLESS it's a dry bite.
NO..and I don't want to either
I was bitten by a water moccason when I was 14 or 15. Didn't really hurt all that bad but swelled like a mother and I was in the hospital puking and retching for a day and a half. Lost some skin from necrosis around the bite.
im actually being bitten by an anachonda as i write this. i must say, it is rather painful.
No
I haven't - but tell about your bites... How did they happen, and how sick did it make you, etc. I'm so creeped out by snakebite stories, and I feel like being creeped out..
I haven't been bitten by snakes but I've bitten a few snakes.
Timber rattlers %26 northern copperheads, both of which made you feel like you want to die but are not really potent enough to do you in. The hand swells %26 discolors to a strange shade of blue/purple, the skin looks like it's gonna split %26 sometimes does, moderate fever, nausea, burning type pain. I had to do physical therapy for a few weeks to lose the stiffness %26 even today, cold weather really bothers it. I was lucky %26 didn't develop gangreen %26 just lost some skin from the bite area. It just goes to show you, even when handling a snake that you're very familiar with (I've owned these snakes for 7-8yrs.) one moment's lack of attention can give you a painful lesson in snake handling.
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