CHESTERTON TRIBUNE (Indiana) 07 May 07 Rattlesnake bites Chesterton man
A Chesterton man was reported to be in intensive care after suffering a rattlesnake bite on Saturday in his home in the 700 block of 22nd Street, police said.
At approximately 6:51 p.m., Robert Urbanski, 66, was attempting to handle a Western diamondback rattlesnake, purchased five days earlier in a swap meet in Hamburg, Pa., when it bit him on his left index finger, DNR Conservation Officer Robert Cauffman said in a statement released on Sunday.
Urbanski’s hand was swollen and bleeding when EMS personnel and Chesterton firefighters and police first arrived at the scene, Chesterton Police said. When asked what he had done with the snake Urbanski initially told the CPD officer that he had turned it loose, then that he had cut it in half and given it to a relative to dispose of.
But the officer subsequently observed through a window on the south side of the house an aquarium containing two snakes, Chesterton Police said. At this point the Department of Natural Resources was contacted and Cauffmann dispatched to the scene, where he recovered a 14-inch Western diamondback and a 18-inch pygmy rattlesnake. Cauffmann told the Chesterton Tribune today that no snake was turned loose and that all snakes in the residence have been seized.
Urbanski was transported to Porter hospital, then airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where on Sunday he was reported to be in the Intensive Care Unit, Cauffman said.
Rattlesnake venom is hemotoxic and attacks the blood, Cauffman said, and among other things has an digestive enzyme in it which works to break down tissue.
The DNR noted that the possession of venomous snakes without proper permits is illegal in the State of Indiana and that Urbanski did not have those permits. The case will be referrred to the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for its review, the DNR said.
“Conservation officers discourage people from purchasing snakes that they are not familiar with or that are venomous,” the DNR said. “No matter how careful you try to be, there is always the risk of being bitten. Once a subject has been bitten by a venomous snake, they must get treatment for such, providing that the anti-venom is available. In most cases the only location in Indiana for the anti-venom is Indianapolis. Once a person has been bitten by a venomous snake, it does become extremely painful, no matter what treatment is given.”
http://www.chestertontribune.com/PoliceFireEmergency/571 rattlesnake_bites_chesterton_man.htm

POST-TRIBUNE (Merrillville, Indiana) 08 May 07 Warning follows snakebite (Tom Wyatt)
A Chesterton man remains hospitalized and is listed in stable condition after suffering a poisonous snakebite Saturday.
Robert Urbanski, 66, of the 700 block of south 22nd Street was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after a western diamondback rattlesnake bit him on his left index finger while he was handling the snake.
The 12- to 14-inch western diamondback and a nearly 2-foot pigmy rattlesnake were seized from Urbanski's home. Investigators said Urbanski purchased the snakes five days earlier at a Pennsylvania swap meet.
Urbanski, formerly an owner of a Calumet City, Ill., pet store, faces possible criminal charges because he did not have a permit to handle venomous reptiles, an Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesperson said.
DNR District Commander Lt. Jerry Shepherd said a Class 3 wild animal permit is required to own venomous snakes.
The snakes are being held at the DNR's Michigan City office and will be destroyed. Shepherd said they cannot be returned to the wild for fear of harming existing wildlife.
Urbanski was airlifted to Indianapolis because it is the nearest location that keeps anti-venom in supply. A western diamondback bite can be deadly, Shepherd said.
"Any venomous snake bite can be deadly, depending on how much venom it puts into a person," Shepherd said.
Shepherd warned against purchasing or owning such snakes. One, it's illegal without the proper permit. Two, he said most people don't know how to properly handle them.
Shepherd referenced a case in Indianapolis last year when a man was bitten and found to have nine different species of venomous snakes in his home. He did not have a permit, Shepherd said.
Two years ago, a person in LaPorte was bitten by a western diamondback and did not have a permit. Shepherd said the man lived in an apartment complex.
"The bottom line is, most people should never handle or purchase any type of venomous reptile," Shepherd said.
In 2004, Porter veterinarian Dr. Laurence Reed suffered a western diamondback bite while changing water in the snake's cage. Reed is properly trained and licensed to care for such animals.
He said he turned his head for a split second when the snake bit him on the thumb. Weather conditions kept him from being airlifted to Indianapolis for the anti-venom, but the serum was rushed up Interstate 65 as he was driven toward Indianapolis.
Reed was administered the anti-venom in Lafayette, about 30 minutes before doctors figured it would have been too late.
The western diamondback is commonly found in the southwest, while the pigmy rattlesnake can be found in Florida. Neither is indigenous to Northwest Indiana.
Shepherd said the only poisonous snake commonly found in the area is the massasauga rattlesnake, a protected species known as a "swamp rattler" and found in low-lying swampy areas. He said their bites often times are not life-threatening.
Shepherd said charges against Urbanski have not yet been filed but anticipated presenting them to the Porter County Prosecutor's Office within the next couple days.
http://www.post-trib.com/news/374924,snakefolo.article

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