Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anybody got any news on Cobraman recovering from a bite from an eastern diamondback? Another famous freehandler getting bit, maybe this time just wish him a speedy recovery or pray for him or something!

http://thereptileroom.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=11946

Thank you for the link and update. This was the first I had heard of it.

PALM BEACH POST (Florida) 29 October 07 Port St. Lucie man critical after rattlesnake bite (Paul Quinlan)
Port St. Lucie: The "Cobraman" was bitten again.
Raymond Hunter, 44, something of a local guru on poisonous snakes, remains in critical condition today after one of his pets, a diamondback rattlesnake, sunk its fangs into his right hand early Saturday morning.
He drove himself to the St. Lucie Medical Center, where a passerby alerted nurses after finding him around 2 a.m. passed out at the wheel of his car in the parking lot, a police report said.
Although his condition was "rapidly declining," Hunter remained conscious long enough to tell an off-duty police officer and hospital staff that one of his snakes bit him near the base of his thumb and forefinger, the report said.
This is hardly a first for "Cobraman." Hunter's website, cobraman.net, chronicles his past bites, with photos of himself in intensive care and close-ups of his own fingers, gnarled, swollen, discolored and bloodied from the bites of vipers, cobras and rattlesnakes.
Although he "immunizes" himself against bites, injecting himself with a monthly booster shot of nine snake venoms, a friend, Maristela Duffield, said he did not treat himself for diamondback rattlesnake venom.
Duffield said Hunter's confidence around the snakes is his weakness, as Hunter admits on his website.
"He's probably just had too much confidence," she said today. "And the snake was quicker than he was." She expected he would recover, as he has before.
"He might come out with some damage, but he'll make it," Duffield said.
When animal control and hospital officials need advice on how to treat a snakebite, they call the Cobraman, Duffield said. She said an unwitting nurse dialed him up as they rolled Hunter into the emergency room Saturday, only to realize the error when their patient's cell phone began ringing in his pocket.
Hunter sells snakes through his website, although Duffield said his snake collection is more infatuation than business.
"For him, it's more than a hobby," she said.
Hunter has a doctorate in herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians), according to his Web site. The site also says he began immunizing himself against snake bites after discussing the procedure in 1991 with Bill Haast. Haast opened the Miami Serpentarium in 1947, extracting venom from snakes at the tourist attraction until 1985.
Police say Hunter had a license to possess venomous snakes, at least some of which he kept at his home at 1530 S.E. Royal Green Circle in Port St. Lucie.
Police checked to see that Hunter's snakes were secure and notified animal control, according to the police report.
Port St. Lucie man critical after rattlesnake bite

That seems to be wrong to publish the man’s resident address when he is properly permitted and hasn’t been accused of doing anything wrong. When you go through the proper permitting process your caging and premises are inspected. I don’t see the need to publish a home address when he is properly permitted to keep them there just because the news gets ahold of the story. It’s really a personal medical issue isn’t it?

Certainly not the first time newsfolks have decided to overlook that littler courtesty. I'm curious...what exactly do they gain by publishing the address of a bite victim? What pressure is there to do so? Or are they just trying to fill space? I'm not sure I've ever seen a published address of a car crash victim or gunshot victim, usually only when it involves some kind of animal.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

"I'm not sure I've ever seen a published address of a car crash victim or gunshot victim, usually only when it involves some kind of animal."

Because "Man who was hit by car may live next door to you!" is not near as sensationalistic as "There may be poisonous snakes in the house next door to you!"

(Yeah...I know it's "venomous"...but "venomous" doesn't sell newspapers and TV ads like "poisonous" either. *rolls eyes* )

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I HATE the sensationalist media.

It certainly stirs the pot... doesn't it?

At first, I was thinking that his neighbors probably knew because of an ambulance, but I then remembered he drove himself. There's a good chance this could have been kept completely quiet in the neighborhood.

Not so sure it was kept quiet, he could of been the only one home. Ray knew he needed help and took action. My familys prayers are with you Ray!

John

As bad as the bite sounds to be, it's a bit funny that they actually called the person who was bitten to ask how to treat the case.

WPTV (West Palm Beach, Florida) 29 October 07 Rattlesnake bites Port St. Lucie man (Bryan Garner)
Ray Hunter calls himself the "Cobra Man."
His website, http://www.cobraman.net/, is filled with photos of him and his deadly pets, including a 14-foot long Malaysian cobra.
He has a license to own venomous snakes,and he keeps several of them in his Port St. Lucie apartment.
Neighbor Jim Kellberg says one time an albino cobra got loose from Hunter’s place and crawled under a stairwell, where animal control killed it with foam and pesticide.
"I think most of us would prefer not to have any snakes around here inside of the residences," Kellberg says.
Over the weekend, it wasn’t Hunter’s pet cobra, but a pet rattlesnake that caused the problem. An Eastern diamondback rattler, the most deadly of all, bit him in the hand.
Ray Hunter is no stranger to venomous snakebites. Friends say he’s been bitten 40 times. His website shows pictures of his wounds and talks about how he self-medicates with anti-venin.
But this time, Hunter couldn’t fight off the poison on his own. He drove himself to the St. Lucie Medical Center and made it all the way to the hospital parking lot, before he passed out behind the wheel of his car.
Firefighters rushed in 30 vials of anti-venin from Miami to treat him. Even with the medicine he remains in critical condition.
"Ray is a very nice guy. He’s very professional in what he does. So hopefully he’ll come out of it OK," says Kellberg.
On his "Cobra Man" website Hunter explains why he keeps having run ins with his snakes. "The one side-effect of self-immunizing," he writes, "It tends to make you a bit complacent while handling [snakes].”
Hunter is in the intensive care unit at St. Lucie Medical Center.
Al Cruz, a firefighter who heads up the state's anti-venin program, says poisonous snakes bite about 250 Floridians each year. He says in the past 10 years no one who has received treatment with anti-venin has died from a snake bite.

http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=1db0cce9-41da-4fd6-b512-7680cf88dbca

>>http://thereptileroom.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=11946

I wish him well, but. . . His 48th venomous bite???

deg

Out of 48 bites, 45 of those bites were from elapids or boomslangs that he was immunized against, as far as I know. Bill Haast was bit 170 times after using the same immunization techniques.

His three bad bites were this one, a huge egyptian cobra that latched onto his hand and wouldn't let go (was immunized, but just got too much venom), and some type of tree viper.

So, if he got 45 venomous bites that had no reactions at all, the number seems less consequential. My friend and I sent him a boomslang that would "nip" him, but he was immune to the venom, so he didn't care. I guess those count as venomous bites.

I think after 40 bites I'd change it up a bit.
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Jason

The viper that the other guy said he didnt know what it was, it was a Hagen's. He is a good guy I've talked to him a few times, he told me the story on the albino cobra that got loose and that wasnt even his fault, some other dude made it happen. Kellberg his neighbor sounds like she cant figure out which side to be on? first she says the snakes shouldnt be there then she goes n says that ray is a good guy and very professional??

anyway he'll be fine

I dont know anything about what ray does with his snakes, but Bill milks them for a living. And that explains the 170 bite record.

I dunno, I would say that explains poor technique. 170 Bites in even 60 or 70 years means something is not being done properly,
But thats just me.

As I recall the bite number for Haast was significantly higher than 170. I don't think that number reflects the Viperid Bites.
T-