Reptile & Amphibian Forums

NATAL WITNESS (Pietermaritzburg, S Africa) 24 January 05 Deadly pet's bite kills snake lover (Lindsay Barnes)
The wish of a Bellevue woman, who was so passionate about her pet snakes that she said recently she wanted to die by their action, has tragically came true.
Patricia Cook, who kept 13 snakes at her home in Bonanza Road, was found dead on the sofa in her lounge on Sunday. It appears she was bitten on the neck by a deadly cottonmouth (water moccasin) around four days earlier, said Mark Enslin, a snake enthusiast who has taken the pet snakes into his care.
Cook's snake menagerie included three large and venomous puff adders, the vicious cottonmouth and an assortment of heralds and house snakes.
A neighbour calling around to collect her for church on Sunday looked through an open window and then called the police. The police broke a door to gain entry to the house but they refused to go inside when they realised it contained snakes.
Cook's body was found in an advanced stage of decomposition, Enslin said. The snake probably attacked her when she placed a small mug of clean water in its tank, he said.
The cottonmouth, which is indigenous to the U.S., escaped from its tank and had to be removed by Enslin before police could get into the house.
Cook was something of an eccentric recluse and was well known for her passionate love of snakes. She was a member of the SPCA, according to Maureen Vida, the SPCA's public relations officer.
Cook's mother died about 15 years ago and she used the money she inherited to buy the house in Bonanza Road, Vida said. It appears that she did not work.
Enslin met Cook, believed to be in her late forties, through their mutual hobby and she offered him rats for his snakes.
"She lived for her snakes. She told her next door neighbour about two weeks ago that she wanted to die by the hand of her snakes," he said. Cook did not need a permit for her pets as only gaboon adders and rock pythons must be licensed in this country.
When Enslin entered Cook's house, all the doors and windows, bar one, were shut but a fan was on in the room.
He said the snakes were kept in tanks that were far too small for them. The cottonmouth, which is about a metre long, was in a tank that was roughly a metre long, when it should have been at least a metre and a half in length.
Also, she should have used a tank that opened at the side rather than the top, so she could access it more easily without putting herself at risk of being bitten.
"It is a very, very aggressive snake. It's not a snake for an amateur. If you don't know what you are doing, don't keep it," he said of the cottonmouth, which has cytotoxic venom.
Cytotoxic venom (for example, that of a puff adder) causes disintegration of all tissue in the areas of the bite, according to Philip Cohen, a surgeon who frequently deals with snake bites.
Neurotoxins (for example, a mamba) cause paralysis as they affect the nervous system, leading to the patient being unable to breathe.
Haemotoxic venom (for example, a boomslang) causes interference with the coagulation system and the victim bleeds spontaneously, he said.
According to Cohen, Cook might have been saved had she sought medical help. Although there is no anti-venom for cottonmouths locally, she could nevertheless have been given vital treatment that could have saved her.
Enslin plans to release the house snakes but will keep the three large puff adders. He will either give the cottonmouth to a snake expert or may have to have it put down.
An inquest docket has been opened and a post mortem will be conducted into the exact cause of her death, said police spokesman Superintendent Joshua Gwala said.
He thanked Enslin and Enslin's son, Marc, for the assistance they provided to the police in this case..
Deadly pet's bite kills snake lover

Well, this one did prove to be deadly, however, with prompt, proper medical treatment, cottonmouth bites are very seldom if ever deadly. As far as viscious...Yeah, it bit her, but that's not necessarily being viscious, but more likely a feeding response caused by the cage top being removed. If maintained in adequate enclosures, cottonmouths are not that difficult to keep long term.

~~Greg~~

When reporting on venomous snakebite, the media's basic formula seems to be accurate reporting=fewer papers sold.

Bill

Now if they had been writing about my ex wives....(lol)

Frank
-----
"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

at least one of them, Frank, I have to agree. Cheers, my friend!

~~Greg~~

Geeze...

A Cottonmouth is a pussycat compared to the South African local snakes....I wonder if they ever saw a Puff Adder on a good day.

Al
-----
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

...wondered whether this might be suicide? A bite to the NECK when using a top-opening tank seems difficult to understand, somehow... No proof, obviously, but it does seem suspicious.

Cheers,

WW
-----
WW Home

Yes, that was my first thought. The story about it being a feeding accident certainly doesn't sound very likely.

Wolfgang,

Being a Cottonmouth you have probably hit the nail on the head...but It got me thinking...I know of a bite to the forehead(front opening cage and a Coastal Taipan...much more nimble than a Cotton) and then about 2 years back there was the pic of someone getting tagged on the lip by a Southern Pacific Rattler while playing with it.

Regards,
Scott

THE MERCURY (Durban, S Africa) 26 January 05 Pet snake warning (Ingrid Oellermann)
Only experts should keep poisonous snakes as pets. This warning comes from snake expert Mark Enslin following the death of Patricia Cook, who is believed to have been bitten by a poisonous snake last week.
Police Supt Joshua Gwala confirmed yesterday that a post mortem had been carried out, but said that the cause of death was unknown, because the body had been so badly decomposed.
It was, however, suspected that she had been bitten by a snake.
Cook was in her forties and lived alone in her house in Bellevue, Pietermaritzburg. She did not have any known relatives, and was described as "eccentric". She shared her bedroom with 13 snakes, including the highly dangerous, US native, cottonmouth, which is believed to have killed her.
Enslin said Cook had bred rats and mice in her bathroom to feed the snakes.
He was called out by police when a visitor alerted them that something was amiss at Cook's house on Sunday.
Telephone Enslin at 082 373 2396 for further information about snakes.
http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=283&fArticleId=2386146

CAPE TIMES (Cape Town, S Africa) 26 January 05 Neighbours believe woman was killed by her pet snake
Durban: A lonely woman's love for the pet snakes, with which she shared her home in Pietermaritzburg, may have led to her death.
This is the opinion of friends and neighbours of Pat Cook, who believe she might have been fatally bitten by one of the highly venomous reptiles she loved with such passion.
Cook's decomposing and blackened body was found on Sunday afternoon inside her house in Bellevue. She had not been seen by her neighbours since early last week.
Her home was said to be "full of snakes", some known to be highly venomous. One of her bathrooms had been converted into a makeshift mouse and rat breeding utility to provide food for the scaly reptiles which lived in glass tanks around her bed.
She loved the snakes so dearly that she gave them names like "Terry" and "Tricksy" and would speak about them as if they were human beings, her friends said.
Cook had no known family and lived off an inheritance. She was described by her church friends as "very religious", very giving and full of life.
Police had to break into her house after a neighbour and church friend called to report that she had consistently failed to open her door.
Although she was known to keep quite a few reptiles, a snake catcher called by the police was surprised at the number he found inside the house.
A metre-long American cottonmouth, which is aggressive and highly venomous, was found inside its cage, with fresh water in a glass with the lid slightly moved to one side.
One of Cook's closest friends, who had been inside the house previously, said it was highly unusual the glass cage had been left open because the deceased knew how dangerous the snake was.
It is believed there is no anti-venom for the cottonmouth in this country. At least four puff-adders were found in the house. There were also several non-venomous house snakes.
Her neighbour Carrollyne Rencen said Cook had a heart of gold and gave a lot to charity, especially to charities caring for wild life and abandoned children.
The cottonmouth, which was found inside her house and is believed to have killed her, was given to her as a baby and she had raised it for more than 10 years. But Cook had often mentioned how afraid she was of the snake.
http://capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=2386025