Family says copperhead wasn't a pet

It wasn't his pet.

That's one thing Charlie Deleeuw wants people to know.

Reports that his son, 30-year-old Thomas Deleeuw, was bitten early Sunday morning by his "pet" copperhead snake are wrong. The snake belonged to a traveling relative who had brought the snake to his son's home, Deleeuw said.

"It wasn't his. ... He had no intention of keeping it," Deleeuw said.

But his son did try to handle the snake.

"My son is like me. He thinks he can do anything. Testosterone rules over common sense," Deleeuw said.

Deleeuw said his son does own pet snakes, but they are not venomous.

"He's got my grandkids there. No poisonous snakes. Grandpa would overrule that," Deleeuw said Tuesday.

Rapid City Police Department reported that a Rapid City man required medical assistance at 12:08 a.m. Sunday after being bitten on his left index finger by a copperhead. He was transported to Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Copperheads are not native to South Dakota but are found in the southeastern part of the United States, which is where Deleeuw's relative found the snake.

Copperheads, like rattlesnakes, are pit vipers, said Terry Phillip, reptile curator at Reptile Gardens. Copperhead bites are rarely fatal, but the bites are extremely painful. They can cause severe local tissue damage, oozing and swelling of the skin, as well as nausea, vomiting, bleeding disorders and neurologic effects. "

Copperhead bites are treated with the antivenin CroFab.

Deleeuw said his son required six vials of the antivenin and remained in the hospital for two days. He is home now, dealing with a painful and swollen finger and arm. Doctors have advised him to watch for any bruising or other tissue damage.

While Charlie Deleeuw once owned pet rattlesnakes when living in Meade County -- snakes he handled -- he was still unhappy about his son's predicament.

"Of course, I went to the hospital and said ‘What were you thinking? Did somebody give you a lobotomy overnight?' I was a little upset with him," said Deleeuw, who was able to laugh about the incident on Tuesday.

Charlie Deleeuw took the snake to Reptile Gardens on Sunday, happy to be rid of it. Reptile Gardens may eventually display the snake along with its four other copperheads.

Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com
www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/article_e3fda516-9c9d-11e0-b6b3-001cc4c002e0.html

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]