SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 26 September 07 Davie snake store employee bitten by rattler; hospitalized (Andrew Tran and Sallie James)
Davie: A snake store employee was sent to the hospital this morning after he was bitten by a western diamondback rattlesnake.
Tony Cruz was bitten at about 10 a.m. at Strictly Reptiles at 6450 Stirling Road while he was cleaning the snake's cage, said owner Mike Van Nostrand.
The Miami-Dade County Venom Response Team was called in to treat the bite, officials said.
The reptile import/export business has been around since 1990.
The 2-1/2-foot-long snake crept to the top edge of the cage and bit Cruz, 37, on his left ring finger.
"It was already turning black and blue and he was bleeding," Nostrand said. "It got him pretty well enough that I knew to send him to the hospital."
The victim's hand was swollen and discolored by the time he reached Memorial Pembroke Hospital, said Al Cruz, special operations chief for the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Cruz said the man was initially treated with six vials of anti-venin and would likely receive six to 18 more vials to counteract the effects of the bite.
"The biggest problem with a western diamondback is the potential for internal bleeding," Cruz said. He said the venom can also cause tissue destruction. Western diamondbacks are known for their nasty dispositions, he said.
The snake's venom affects the blood's clotting factor, Cruz said, and can cause uncontrollable bleeding without treatment.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-0926snake,0,5364930.story
FLORIDA TODAY (Melbourne) 26 September 07 Rattlesnake bites man at snake store
An employee at a Broward snake and reptile wholesaler was bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake this morning and has been hospitalized.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Venom Response Team is treating the snake bite victim at Memorial Hospital Pembroke with antivenin, said Capt. Al Cruz of the venom response team.
The incident happened at 10 a.m. at Strictly Reptiles, 6450 Stirling Rd. in Davie, store owner Mike Van Nostrand said.
The employee, Tony Cruz, was bitten by a western diamondback rattlesnake as he cleaned the snake's cage.
''The snake was a little active,'' Van Nostrand said. ``As he was moving it, it came over the edge and bit him on the finger.''
Cruz said western diamondbacks can be especially dangerous.
''It could be serious from the type of snake that bit him,'' he said.
Five years ago, another employee at the store was bitten by a green mamba, another poisonous snake. He recovered, Van Nostrand said.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070926/BREAKINGNEWS/70926028
