Emphasis in the text is my mine - Wes
LUFKIN DAILY NEWS (Texas) 10 April 06 Hudson resident details painful snake encounter (Christine S. Diamond)
She thought the sudden burning sensation was inflicted by a wasp sting – until she heard the odd noises that followed.
Unalarmed by her barking dogs, Patty Berry had just stepped off her porch, wearing flip-flops, in the dark hours of March 11 when a copperhead, curled on nearby bricks, struck the instep of her left foot.
"When it bit me, it felt just like a wasp sting – a real hot sensation, a burning sensation. I thought 'something stung me,'" Berry said of her experience a month ago. "Then I started hearing a noise, a popping noise – like a rattle. That's when I got panicky."
Calling her family for back-up, outdoor lighting revealed the copperhead, still coiled but swishing its tail to make a vibrating noise. All too familiar with the indigenous reptile residents, the Hudson-area family quickly identified Berry's low-lying assailant.
Her symptoms began to change 10 minutes later, Berry recalled, "as we were going to the hospital my whole foot started aching. It throbbed every time my heart beat."
The swelling stopped at her knee, she said. Emergency room personnel monitored her wound for signs of necrosis for three hours before deciding she wouldn't need an anti-venom. They did, however, give the registered nurse a shot of antibiotic, a pain killer and a sedative.
"I kept telling myself 'I have to be calm,'" she said, admitting she was far from cool-headed about being faced with one of her worst fears. "It sent me over the edge."
Fear of snakes is deep-seeded in people and appears to be increasing in society, said Craig Rudolph, a herpetologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Southern Research Station Wildlife Habitat & Silviculture Lab.
"Since I've been bitten I've found several people who have been bitten, and their legs turned black," she said, thinking she must not have received that much venom.
Looking back, Berry now suspects the copperhead was the cause of her dogs' barking that night.
"I thought they were barking at something in the pasture," she said. "But now I think they had already agitated the snake, and I was the victim.
"I'm not sure if one of the dogs didn't get bit first," she added, speculating that an earlier bite might have spared her from a heavier dose of venom. "One of them kind of moped for a few days after that, but I never could find a bite mark."
Three weeks later, she said, her dogs are fine and all that remains of that treacherous evening is a slightly sore foot with a small, hard knot marking the point of entry by the fangs.
After four years of country living off Old Bonner Road, Berry said she is normally on alert for copperheads, but that early in the year she just wasn't in the mindset. April, she said, is usually when the snakes start coming out. Berry's copperhead was also much darker than copperheads they normally see, Berry said. She has since learned that this darker tone is normal of snakes going into, in, or coming out of, hibernation.
Snake hibernation is variable depending on snake species and weather, said Rudolph. Copperheads usually hibernate November through March, he said, and are more active at night during warm weather. Likewise, snakes sensitive to warm temperature often become more active at night in the summer versus daytime activity in spring and fall.
In addition to copperheads, Berry said her family frequently finds chicken snakes, or rat snakes, coming up to the house. While rat snakes are nonvenomous, they are amazing climbers and have been known to live in attics, among other places. Bites from nonvenomous snakes can still lead to infection.
Only five of the 30 snake species residing in Deep East Texas are venomous, Rudolph said. These include Texas timber rattlesnakes, pigmy rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouth or water moccasins, and coral snakes, Rudolph said. Four of the five venomous snake species in East Texas are pit vipers, Rudolph said. That means people can distinguish these snakes from nonvenomous snakes by these infrared sensors, or pits, which resemble a second pair of nostrils, he said.
As almost all snakes will bite if provoked, the wounds should be cleaned and treated like any surface wound to prevent infection, said Rudolph, who has received many nonvenomous snake bites.
In general, Rudolph said, "snake bites are really rare and most aren't life-threatening."
Snakes serve an important ecological function – dining on mice and rats, among other things, which can carry diseases like bubonic plague.
As most East Texans know, snakes aren't just a rural occurrence. Residents of Lufkinites living near creeks, abandoned buildings, or weedy areas frequently find snakes moving through the neighborhood. Where there is water or rodents, snakes will follow.
There are professional, commercial snake removers like Texas Snakes and More, based in Houston, who evaluate private property for signs of snakes – which they will also remove.
"As new housing developments come up around established neighborhoods, snakes move to where they feel safe – under decks, houses, playgrounds, and in landscaped grasses and flower beds," the Texas Snakes and More Web site states.
The best way homeowners can discourage snakes from taking up residence at or near their home is by eliminating possible habitats such as high weeds, piles of debris, keeping tree limbs pruned four feet from ground level, and keeping all entrances to the home sealed. Bird nests and rodents also attract snakes.
Hudson resident details painful snake encounter
