>>I never did see the snake...afrer the zap from the side/behind I had jumped forward a few steps and spent maybe 10 secs still hoping to hear or see something move..and then went for help. The dr who did the surgury in johannesburg said it had to be a gaboon viper.



With all due respect to him, there is no way the doctor could have told from the symptoms what you got bitten by. What you decribe is perfectly typical for a severe puff adder bite. In fact, from what meagre information is available, gaboon vipers cause LESS local tissue damage than puff adders. However, gabby bites often lead to rapid shock and collapse within minutes after the bite (somewhat similar to what Dean Ripa describes for bushmasters).



Moreover, again with all due respect to the Dr. in Joburg, I rather doubt he would have had much experience of gaboon viper bites. Gaboons are very rare and localised in S. Africa, and bites are very rare - if he had ever seen one before at all, then he would have been very lucky. He certainly won't have seen a representative sample.



Chances are you were bitten by a puff adder. Let's not kid ourselves that puff adders can't cause any particular severity of bite: they are the main mankilling snake in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, at least where Echis does not occur.



Cheers,



Wolfgang
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