THE ADVERTISER (Adelaide, Australia) 26 July 07 Snake worker bitten
A Gawler man was bitten on a finger of his right hand while "milking" a Mexican cantil snake at Venom Supplies, Tanunda, about 2.50pm yesterday.
Company owner Peter Mirtschin said the male employee was given anti-venom at Tanunda Hospital before being flown to Adelaide.
He said the snake was "extremely venomous" and the poison could cause thinning of the blood.
"It can interfere with blood flow and prevent your blood from clotting," Mr Mirtschin said.
Ambulance officers said the man was in a stable state but Mr Mirtschin said the condition of snake-bite victims could change dramatically and very quickly.
"At this stage, all his vital signs are pretty normal," he said.
Snake worker bitten
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
AUS Press: Snake worker bitten (Cantil)
Replies (3)
"He said the snake was "extremely venomous" and the poison could cause thinning of the blood"
O.O calling a Cantil "Extreamly venomous" in Australia??!?!?!?
BGF, edumcate these guys hehe
Heres hoping that worker doesnt experince too much tissue destruction.
A cantil would certainly be a very bad snake to be bitten by. Calling it "extremely venomous" is certainly no exaggeration. Bottom line is, are there snakes in Aussie that can kill you quicker? Sure...but at the end of the day, dead is dead, and it really doesn't matter whether you died in 3 hours or 8.
BGF replied to this topic on his own forums, stating that a cantil is one of the last snakes he would ever want to get bitten by. Considering he's taken some fairly nasty and almost fatal bites before, I'd say that statement carries some serious weight.
>>"He said the snake was "extremely venomous" and the poison could cause thinning of the blood"
>>
>>O.O calling a Cantil "Extreamly venomous" in Australia??!?!?!?
>>
>>BGF, edumcate these guys hehe
>>
>>Heres hoping that worker doesnt experince too much tissue destruction.
I agree with Psilocybe. In a facility with a/v and good medical care on hand, I'd MUCH rather get bitten by just about any of Australia's big bad elapids than by a cantil or some other seriously necrotic viper - forget the LD50 tables.
Cheers,
WW
-----
WW Home
