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JOURNAL SENTINEL (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 01 December 04 Eagle man hospitalized with snake bite - Venomous African cobra later euthanized (Jacqueline Seibel)
Eagle: A man is in fair condition in Waukesha Memorial Hospital after being bitten in the hand by his highly venomous snake on Wednesday, officials said.
David Schneider, 44, was feeding a rodent to his black-neck spitting cobra about 2 a.m. at his home in the 400 block of N. Sherman St. when the snake went for his hand, said Waukesha County Sheriff's Detective Steve Pederson.
Schneider was rushed to the hospital, and officials called the Milwaukee County Zoo for help. Working with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, Waukesha sheriff's deputies made at least three anti-venom serum deliveries from the zoo to the hospital during the early morning hours, Pederson said.
Craig Berg, the zoo aquarium and reptile curator, said that at first, zoo officials were told the snake was an Asian cobra, and the first two deliveries were for that species. It wasn't until later that Berg learned it was an African spitting cobra.
"There is a big difference between the Asian and African snakes," Berg said, and the proper anti-venom serum was delivered on the third trip.
"I understand the swelling was severe, so I presume he received the anti-venom (at the hospital)," Berg said. However, that could not be confirmed because hospital officials would not release that information to Berg or to the Sheriff's Department.
Waukesha County Humane Officer James Stadler removed the snake from Schneider's home and took it to the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County. It was in a plastic bag, which was placed inside a cooler and put inside another plastic bag. But since the snake spits as a defense mechanism, aiming for the eyes of its prey, and because HAWS did not have the required face shields, Berg brought the snake to the zoo.
However, the zoo does not accept any animals of a type not in its collection plan and would not accept the snake. Since HAWS could not care for it either, Berg said, the 31/2-foot juvenile snake was euthanized.
"One bite from this animal can kill you," Berg said. "There is no good reason for keeping a venomous animal. You not only endanger yourself but you endanger your neighbors."
"Snakes have a tendency to escape," Berg said, and this snake could have easily fit under a door and crawled into a neighbor's home if it had escaped.
Also, treating snake bite victims is a drain on the zoo's resources, Berg said, and costs an average of $15,000 per bite. One vial of anti-venom serum can cost $1,000, and it can take many vials before the patient is safe, he said.
The zoo typically keeps about 30 vials of anti-venom on hand, Berg said, and the number of bites has been increasing. The person treated for a snake bite before Schneider's bite needed seven vials of the zoo's serum, he said.
"We don't know yet how many (Schneider) will need," he said.
Eagle Village Board President Richard Spurrell said Wednesday that he isn't sure whether the village has an ordinance that prohibits venomous pets.
"But in lieu of what just happened, we may have to talk about it," he said.
Schneider's neighbor said she had no idea that there were pet snakes in the area.
"I don't like snakes. I don't want them in my house," Virginia Barrett said. "And I really don't want them in the area."
Eagle man hospitalized with snake bite - Venomous African cobra later euthanized

Looks like Wisconsin's laws will be changing in the near future.

WAUKESHA FREEMAN (Wisconsin) 02 December 04 Snake bites owner in Eagle - Man recovering at Waukesha Memorial Hospital (Kelly Gilbert)
Eagle: After being bitten by a poisonous spitting cobra, David Schneider, 44, remained in fair condition this morning at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, said media relations spokeswoman Sandra Peterson.
"My understanding was he was attempting to feed the animal when he got bit," said Waukesha County humane officer James Stadler.
Schneider, of Eagle, was transported to Waukesha Memorial Hospital to be monitored after the bite, which happened about 2 a.m. Wednesday.
"From what the hospital told me, the person was not symptomatic at 7:30 a.m. (Wednesday)," said Milwaukee County Zoo reptile and aquarium curator Craig Berg. "Around 11 a.m. they wanted the snake identified. The hand had begun swelling."
Berg explained that some snake bites are dry bites and that anti-venom serums are given when it appears the bite may become life or limb-threatening. The serum can cost up to $1,000 per vial and snake bite victims may need more than one vial.
"They had requested four (vials) and I sent them a total of 16," said Berg. "There have been snake bites that required 80 vials."
The number of vials Schneider received is unknown, but Berg said the average cost to treat a snake bite is about $15,000. Berg explained that insurance may pay for it, or if the victim is uninsured, the hospital and the county may be facing the bill.
"I can’t see any reason why anyone would want to have a venomous snake," Stadler said. "The risk and liability ... is very high. It’s foolish."
Some people simply like the idea of owning a venomous animal, however unsafe it is, Berg said.
"We always say if you keep venomous snakes, there will be a snake bite," Berg said.
Following being bitten, Schneider put the snake in a plastic bag and a police officer and Schneider’s wife placed the snake in a Rubbermaid container. The couple chose to surrender the snake and it was killed at the zoo, Stadler said.
"This is becoming a larger and larger problem," Berg said. "There’s going to be more and more animal control officers being asked to deal with it. We don’t feel it’s the zoo’s place to be dealing with the animals in the pet industry."
Snake bites owner in Eagle

WAUKESHA FREEMAN (Wisconsin) 03 December 04 Police reviewing charges in cobra case Neighbor: Python, other animals still in home (Brian Huber)
Eagle: When Pat Hawes watched the evening news Wednesday and saw a report that an area man had been bitten by a snake, she immediately thought about her neighbor.
"I heard the announcement a local person was bitten by a snake and I thought, 'I hope it wasn't Dave,'" Hawes said. "It turns out, it was."
David Schneider, 44, was bitten by a spitting cobra snake as he fed it about 2 a.m. Wednesday. Officials learned of it later Wednesday and were able to procure an antivenom medicine from the Milwaukee County Zoo for him. He was listed in fair condition at Waukesha Memorial Hospital Thursday evening, said hospital spokeswoman Sandra Peterson.
Schneider owned "Critter Dave's Pets and Ponds" in Mukwonago before closing the store about a year ago. Hawes described her neighbor as a "reptile specialist," someone who was able to handle exotic reptiles and who also gave demonstrations on reptiles in the area.
Hawes said she and her husband were concerned about some of the animals the Schneiders kept at their home, but they get along great with Schneider and his wife.
"The people are so nice. I don't want to have anything bad happen to them," Hawes said. "We've known he has the animals there."
Hawes said the Schneiders also have alligators at their Sherman Street property, and may still have other snakes as well. She said Schneider told her he has a 16-foot python weighing more than 150 pounds. But Hawes said there has been no problem with animals in the past.
She recounted an incident in summer 2003 where her husband went out to their mailbox one day to get a newspaper and saw an alligator staring at him from his front yard. Schneider came right over and took care of it, Hawes said. Apparently, Schneider took the alligator to a demonstration the previous night, left it in a sack overnight and it escaped.
"It's a little strange to find an alligator on your lawn, that's all," Hawes said
Eagle police Chief Russell Ehlers said he was reviewing what charges, if any, might be filed in the case.
"There are very specific statutes, even in the absence of ordinances ... so that we can still take action on anything questionable we might find at the residence," Ehlers said. "It's a little premature to talk about charges, but in many cases, that's always a possibility."
Ehlers said one of his officers first responded to the home late Wednesday morning. After getting a positive identification on the snake so that the proper serum could be administered, the snake was taken to the zoo.
He added that police are aware of an iguana, a Russian box turtle and two dogs still at Schneider's residence. Some of the animals might be left over from Schneider's store, Ehlers said. Police have yet to interview Schneider.
"We anticipate that Dave and Debra (Schneider's wife) will be cooperative with us and our officer. We will hopefully be taking an inventory of the animals at the residence to see if there are any left that pose a threat," Ehlers said. "We are hoping that inventory is voluntary. If we meet with resistance, we will explore a search warrant."
A call placed at the Schneider residence Thursday afternoon was not returned.
Ehlers said he was never made aware that Schneider had a cobra in his possession.
"I can tell you that if this department knew someone in our village was housing a cobra, we certainly would have looked into it long before this kind of incident would have happened," Ehlers said.
Police reviewing charges in cobra case

Thanks for the post...

This is yet another nail in the hobbies coffin. Everybody who gets bit and does not have the correct antivenom makes more foder for Zoo officials like Berg.

Matt Harris and I are working to form an Antivenom bank in the North Eastern US. I suggest that everybody in this region that keeps Hots contact me for more details, The law will soon change in PA too.

I will be at the Hamburg show tomorrow from 9 am till 2 pm.

Al
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You can't enjoy your collection if it kills you.