WCPO (Cinncinnati, Ohio) 07 February 05 Man Flown To Area Hospital After Viper Snake Bite (Neil Relyea)
A Crawford County man is being treated at University Hospital after he was bitten by a Rhinoceros viper snake.
It happened around 4 a.m. Sunday morning in Bucyrus, Ohio, which is about an hour-and-a-half north of Columbus.
The 43-year-old man was flown to Cincinnati to be treated.
Police say the poisonous viper snake was the man's pet.
Last year a North College Hill woman died after she was bitten by one of the venomous snakes she kept in her home.
And in 2003 a man from the Dayton area was also brought to University Hospital after he was bitten by a viper snake. He did not survive.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/02/06/snakebite.html
{The above was 1st poisted by rwh over in Venomous}

WLWT (Cinncinnati, Ohio) 07 February 05 Zoo's Anti-Venom Saves Snake-Bite Victim But Zoo Personnel Are In Danger Until It Can Be Replaced
Cincinnati: A Columbus man bitten by an often deadly snake is lucky to be alive, lucky the Cincinnati Zoo had some rare anti-venom.
Now zoo personnel are at dangerous risk until the venom can be replaced, News 5's Bina Roy reported.
After Phil Gallant was bitten by his pet rhino viper, doctors had two choices – fly him to Cincinnati or Toledo, the closest places where there was anti-venom.
And it had to be quick.
A Dayton man died from a rhino viper bite in 2003 after getting the venom too late.
Toledo was fogged out, so Gallant ended up at University Hospital.
He was in serious condition Sunday night.
The Cincinnati Zoo keeps anti-venom for every poisonous snake in its collection, reptile expert Winston Card said.
Workers there are still caring for a number of poisonous snakes found inside a North College Hill home last year, including a rhino viper that bit and killed the homeowner.
"But it puts our staff members at risk. Most anti-venoms are experimental drugs. There is a permitting process you've to go though to import that stuff," Card said. "We're going to have to borrow some until we can purchase more."
Gallant has 20 poisonous snakes, and this was not the first time one of them got the better of him.
Ohio and Kentucky do not have a statewide ban on exotic animals. They leave communities to make their own rules.
In Indiana, you do need special permits, and conservation officers can inspect your home.
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4170481/detail.html

NEWS JOURNAL (Mansfield, Ohio) 07 February 05 Viper bites owner (Jennifer Kowalewski)
Bucyrus: A 43-year-old Crawford County man remained hospitalized Sunday after his deadly rhinoceros viper snake bit him.
The Crawford County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call at 3:52 a.m. Sunday regarding the bite. An ambulance took Phil Gallant, 43, of 1940 Broken Sword Road, Lyken Township, to Bucyrus Community Hospital.
From there, a helicopter flew him to a Cincinnati hospital equipped with anti-venom.
As of 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Gallant was listed in fair condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Erika Turan said.
NBC 4 TV in Columbus reported Sunday that Gallant had more than a dozen snakes in his home, but the sheriff's department would not confirm that.
Crawford County Sheriff Ronny Shawber said Gallant kept his snakes in a separate building. Gallant may have been handling the snake when he was bitten, the sheriff said.
Shawber would not comment further.
The rhinoceros viper is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, according to numerous Web sources.
When fully grown, the viper can measure nearly 4 feet.
The colors and patterns of the snake camouflage it in its tropical habitat in Africa. The snake has two or three horn-like features above each nostril.
When excited, the rhinoceros viper can enlarge its size by inflating its body.
Rhinoceros vipers use long fangs, potent venom and powerful jaw muscles to kill their prey. The venom can be deadly, destroying the nervous system, tissue and blood vessels.
Rhinoceros vipers usually feed on small mammals, although they have been seen eating fish and amphibians.
The snake usually will not bite unless provoked or hungry.
At MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital, a spokeswoman said the hospital staff would handle a snakebite case by first contacting the Poison Control Center, then the Columbus Zoo. Usually, the patient would be flown elsewhere because local hospitals are not equipped with anti-venom.
Poison Control Center media representatives did not return phone calls Sunday night.
About the snake
Name: Rhinoceros viper
Scientific name: Bitis nasicornis
Range: Central and western Africa
Habitat: Wetlands and tropical forest
Status: Not threatened
Size: 2 to 4 feet long
Source: whozoo.org
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20050207/localnews/1962479.html