Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I will say not to point of being acute, but this is like the ???? time. Tonight I was showing sevral of the university guys/gals the monitor (white throat). Everyone was bewildered at it and many wanted (if not all) to touch it. Well, I turned around but had it pretty good but slipped up and got my arm tagged. He grabbed my arm pretty good and I got him off. Not anything outrageous. Just unexpected. No biggie. But here's where it gets wild. I have been bitten by many animals. From reptiles to police trained dogs while I was training in the field (obviously not a field). Never did this happen. This lizrd was, I believe, stressed by the new things going on and acted upon what it thought was right. But as I was talking to the owner of a store that was watching my neck ached. As time went on things got worse. Now EVERY muscle hurts in my body. EVERY one. My eyes when I close them are slightly painful. My legs, my head, my arms, my hands even when I clench them. My foot ligaments and esp my back is in slight pain. I FEEL it. It is almost as if I did a hard day of training. But it is not isolated. Is covers the enitre body.,... I tore some ligaments in my foot not too long ago playing football for the Sooners (we are kicken butt (we won again today even though I am not born here))!!!!!!!!!!) and was doing fine. But now the pain in my foot came back. I took some more of the prescribed meds and hoping that it'll be better tomorrow.

Has anyone heard this?

I know Komodo dragons can kill from the bacterial infections. But a friggen WT?

I have alot to do. I have to do my thing for the team, then go and break my motor down for my track day on my motorcycle and be able to have everything done for new times to beat some "rear end" in my bikes, then I have to prepare for my finals.

What's weird is that if I squeeze my eyes closed pretty hard my occipital areas hurt as well.

If I inhale or exhale then I feel pain again.....

It is the muscles and not joints or anything else.

Here are the things that feel the worst.

Eyes, back, wrists, hands, NECK (SUPER STIFF), legs, ankles and feet......Pretty much everything.Even my throat. Yea, it pretty much sucks...

I am wondering if anyone else ahs experienced this. Like I said I have been bitten by many animals and never anything this brutal...(sort of)........

What do you think.......??

Thanks

i honestly cant believe your are asking this. NO. your Whitethroat does not have a poisonous bite. if any of your "pains" are even real it is probably coincidence that they are hurting after being bit by your monitor.

Did you get a flu shot, as it sounds like the good old flu to me. I think the bite and pain symptoms you are experiencing are a coincidence. JMHO

Pam

Well being the owner of a nile,i get btten at least once a week and i cant say ive noticed any pains other than the afflicted area.Im in no position to say if your monitor is poisonous but i do think you may be suffering from the flu.....
just my opinion
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see yah laterz people
jason

Ive raised several albigs over the years and never have any of them been poisonous. Ive been bit by a few of them (by the way I never want to be bitten by a large Albig again, but they got me hooked years ago I think Ill always have one), one of those bites put me in the emergency room for a few hours.
But alas here I am with 2 BT/WT crosses one now over 6ft long (a female). No they are not poisonous at all, if you are suffering from those syptoms its the flu, that kind of thing travels schools like wild fire, motocross huh??

you are always so quick to say stuff like that man.

yeah, the bite could have a reaction on his body, many monitor bites do.
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Varanus Creations

he also said that he was bitten many times before. so i doubt he would all the sudden have a reaction if he didnt have one before.

I did motorcross when I was younger but I am in the sportbike frenzy for now. I have to get some more race plastics as some clown stole them so not a biggie but could use the money elsewhere. I have to remap the computer so the bike will run richer or leaner at different RPM's. I have a new power commander coming so I can override the computer on the bikes' idea as to how the fuel injection should behave. I can go on and on about bike but this is the wrong forum.lol......

Anyways,

Fun, way too much fun...

I have had two incidents of reactions to bites.

The first incident was a small nile monitor, later named Plague. When I bought him, he bit me while I looked at him in the store. He was tiny and it was easier to let him hold on to me than fight with him while I looked him over. He probably chewed on my skin for 5-8 minutes. He did break the skin but nothing severe. Over the next few days my finger began to hurt at the point of the injury. The skin healed, but there was a deeper pain. Over the next few weeks it got progressively worse. It spread from a pain in my finger to my entire hand to the point that I could not use my hand for anything (I was a graduate student and had to have others take notes for me) and had to elevate it. I went to the doctor who X-rayed my finger and found nothing. He suggested it was an infected tendon and to take 4-5 ibuprofin several times a day until it went away (or return to the doctor). I did so and by the end of the day my finger was much better. I continued to have occasional pain for over a month but it was minor pain and re-centered at the point of the bite (this incident was discussed on this forum while it was occurring back in Fall of 1999?).

Second incident occurred in November of 2000 and was also discussed on this forum while it occurred. I was bitten by an argus monitor - a bit bigger than hatchling size - on the pinkie finger. The argus actually had my pinkie finger in its mouth (it bit my finger head on rather than sideways). The argus was on my finger for a few minutes and was "chewing." Within 20-30 minutes I developed a few hives which itched like hell. I continued to break out in hives for several days, about a week I think. It was not a mass breakout, but steady enough that I was uncomfortable for that week, at points really uncomfortable.

You may be able to find the threads discussing these incidents if you do an archive search. Both were quite clearly related to the monitor bites. Interestingly, I had been bitten more severely by other monitors prior to those incidents with no reaction. Further, I have been bitten since those incidents (by salvators and niles) without any problem.

I never had full body pain like you are experiencing. If it persists, go see a doctor. It may be something related to the bite or it may be completely unrelated (like the flu). A doctor should be able to tell, and the flu is presently hitting people.
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^x^ Bloodbat ^x^

Could any monitor be poisonous, yes, many things can enter wounds that may in a monitors mouth. Remember, monitors eat nasty things and if their immune system is compromised, many events can happen. Are monitors venomous, that is not accepted at this time. But there is little doubt that the saliva can and does have some sort of reaction reaction.

Is this fella tugging on your undies, could be, happens all the time. But, it is a good question. F

When you're talking about venom.. you're talking a modified saliva....Usually among snakes.. and it has been proven that there are many more snakes out there than possess venom than previously thought.. Many of our more common "non-poisonous" species have actually turned out to possess powerful venoms.. though they lack the system to deliver it which makes them primarily harmless save for the pain of initial bite. Now, monitors are different than snakes.. but indeed you can have a reaction to their saliva.. it is generally though an anaphylactic reaction... in other words known as an allergic reaction to something within the saliva. You can have reactions from just about anything... Dog and cat bites and scratches.. etc. What you describe does sound like an allergic reaction... albeit a stronger one than usually encountered. With me its spiders.. I get naseaus.. achy.. stiff.. etc.. It doesn't make the monitor venomous.. it just makes your immune system confused...
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
2.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 1 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

I skydive, read poetry, golf, drink fine wines, smoke expensive cigars, bodybuild, keep only italian sportscars, have a perfect tan, a full head of hair and keep monitors. Hey Snakey wish you a speedy recovery. I've been bitten once by my whitethroat while sticking my hand into a hidespot, without looking directly at her while grabbing her. Im sure she thought my fingers were food. Feels like a vice grip but she quickly let go. Maybe your allergic to whatever bacteria she had in her mouth. Just an inexperienced assumption. Well anyways, try not to get bitten anymore. Good luck!

It's not the monitor that is poisonous so to speak. What it is, that I have found out from my own personal expierence, that your body is having an allergic reaction to the monitors saliva. The only reason I know this is bacause I have the same problem only my symptoms are a little worse than yours. I have been bit by almost every monitor I own. My Albig was the only one I've ever had a reaction too. I have been bitten by her five or so times and every time I've had the same reactions. I hate to say it but one time she even made me a patient in my own hospital (where I work)my reaction was so violent.
A few weeks ago I had sent out some of her (Albig's) saliva samples to the lab where I work. The results should be back soon. I'm very anxious to see them.
This is a possability and something to think about.
Christine

Yea, just want to say thanks to all the replys. It's gotten a little better and not as stiff or painstricken. Well, maybe waking up at 2:45pm helped out too.

Butu as far as the pain goes it is not bad in the general area where he had bitten. But it is bruised a little. He tried to get more of my forearm but it is to wide for his mouth so he got a mouthful of meat and skin. He actually got on the outer side of my right arm. But is seemingly ok. Some where saying about the flu. Don't get me all spooked like that. I heeard that the flu has been a little rampant. I was riding the other day with a t-shirt on in 40 degree weather and thought I got myself sick. But today feel better. I'll be sure to watch this guy next time.

Later

I've seen that type of response to the bites of albigs, niles, crocs, waters, lacies. A similar phenomenon happens when you're bitten by smaller ones (more itchy, redness, soreness).

The only monitor I have ever had a strange reaction too (other than the normal cussing and bleeding that accompanies most monitor bites)was a whitethroat. I was bit in the index finger by a young monitor and he held on for about 3 minutes. Within a few hours I was running a fever and feeling rather nauseous. This lasted over night and by the next morning I was good as new. I have had the flu, that was not it. I have since exchanged stories with two other people that have had reactions to whitethroat bites. Are they venomous, I dont know. But I do believe there are properties in their saliva that can cause flu like symptoms when certain people are bit.

Just my 2 cents.

Hi Snakey,
There are several posts here to this question. I have several reports, many reported in decades and even this year past, almost of them about Varanus griseus. This is the first V. albigularis related reaction. Go see an MD to check it out - you never know what it could be? Varanids have staph, salmonella, botchulism, and other bacteria's in their mouths they can transmit to you, or anything else when they bite and cut the skin.

Whether varanids are poisonous or not is considered doubtful, as they have no venom glands or fangs for delivery, but some bizarre things have been noted in varanids for generations, beginning first in India, but North Africa, Saudi Arabia beliefs as well...most academia scoff at these reports, but I do not necessarily disregard all of these said reports entirely.

I once got a secondary infection from an unknown Pacific varanus that nearly killed me (but I already had 1 infection in my lung going on, so it was too much for my system to take...)..but go get it checked - it can't hurt to be safe...let me know how it turns out, OK?

Good Luck,
mbayless