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I just received some sad news that there was fatal bite today by a captive Helleri. The bite occurred in the process of bagging a collection for transport. The male keeper in his last 20's took a bite to the back of the hand. Rather than calling 911 right away he sat on the couch for about 30 minutes before calling his girlfriend complaining of not being able to see well. It turns out he was bleeding profusely from the eyes. The paramedics arrive shortly thereafter and found him unresponsive. He was pronounced DOA at the ER from an intracerebral bleed. Bite to death ~ 60 minutes.

C. helleri venom is know for causing very severe coagulopathies. Many of you who watch "Venom ER" know that Dr. Bush has a heck of a time with helleri bites.

Never wait and see, always call 911 right away. Waiting could have made a difference between living & dying in this case.

Also keep in mind that CroFab is not very effective against the bite from this species and requires many more vials (40+) to counteract a severe envenomation.

These are the facts as I know them now and are subject to correction and or update.

Al
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You can take the snake out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the snake.

where did this happen??? I searched the web & found nothing on it. Sad-but we all got to be careful or they will outlaw ALL venomous
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norcalsnakemaster@comcast.net

Not all bites make the damm news. I mean accidents do happen. Everytime someone commits suicide or blow their head off by playing with guns doesn't mean it will be outlawed. You would be shocked how many bites occur and doesnt make national or even local media.

but waiting for 30 minutes (assuming this info is accurate) after taking a bite from a hot known for it's extremely toxic venom (as well as propensity for being difficult to medically manage) is no accident...it is a death wish.

What was he thinking? Only he knows (knew). Personally, being that the bite must have been EXTREMELY painful, I can't imagine what possessed him to try and wait it out. My thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family, but this tragedy could have easily ended with a more positive outcome.

I absolutely agree he should of went to the ER. Sadly, it just seems of another case of a hotkeeper possibly not knowing exactly what his snake's venom can do and not having a proper protocol in the event of an envenomation.

.

you NEVER bag a hot by hand, the forfiture of life will be felt eventually. "Time is tissue"

Lat

I see that even in a short period of time small facts can be twisted. First of all he was very aware of the venom that his snakes have, and had proper bite protocols on hand. Time was wasted putting the snake in a safe place and getting ready to drive himself to the ER. His girlfriend was with him. He had called a friend to have him go to the hospital with him that had more knowledge about bites than he did. As for anyone saying he had a lack of respect for any snake is just plain stupid, I am sure you knew him well enough to say that, right. There is a huge point here though, antivenom can't always save your life, any bite can kill you! Let this be a lesson for all you people that think keeping venomous snakes is not a big deal. Bites are bad, you can and might die, if you are lucky you might lose a hand or arm.

this is indeed sad news. So many things can go wrong when preparing a snake for transport. Also, some of the most difficult challenges can be from simply unpacking a snake that came from someone else. You have to be meticulously careful when working with these animals. I have seen people using bags that are far too small to bag venomous snakes....I personally feel like you can't use a bag too big even for smaller species.

This story is tough to swallow and it is a real shame it happened.

>>I just received some sad news that there was fatal bite today by a captive Helleri. The bite occurred in the process of bagging a collection for transport. The male keeper in his last 20's took a bite to the back of the hand. Rather than calling 911 right away he sat on the couch for about 30 minutes before calling his girlfriend complaining of not being able to see well. It turns out he was bleeding profusely from the eyes. The paramedics arrive shortly thereafter and found him unresponsive. He was pronounced DOA at the ER from an intracerebral bleed. Bite to death ~ 60 minutes.
>>
>>C. helleri venom is know for causing very severe coagulopathies. Many of you who watch "Venom ER" know that Dr. Bush has a heck of a time with helleri bites.
>>
>>Never wait and see, always call 911 right away. Waiting could have made a difference between living & dying in this case.
>>
>>Also keep in mind that CroFab is not very effective against the bite from this species and requires many more vials (40 ) to counteract a severe envenomation.
>>
>>These are the facts as I know them now and are subject to correction and or update.
>>
>>Al
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>>You can take the snake out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the snake.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL