Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all. I usually don't venture outside the safe havens of the ball python forum, but I come to you today seeking the aid of venomous snake experts everywhere.

I'm in the process of writing a short story in which one of the main characters is a self-educated herpetologist - the kind of person the average soccer mom sees as a complete nutcase. He wears cowboy hats all the time even though he lives in Missouri, and keeps all sorts of snakes in his home, some of them venomous. In order to make a little cash, he sometimes goes around to elementary and middle schools and gives presentations on his less deadly snakes.

In the end it turns out that the guy is perfectly harmless, so please don't think this'll be a smear story about herpetologists - I have nothing but the utmost respect for the animals and people involved in venomous snake keeping.

In the end, one of the characters gets bitten by a venomous snake (it's completely their own fault). I haven't decided which snake it should be yet, and that's why I'm coming to you fellas.

The bite will probably be on the lower arm or hand, and though the character lives to tell the tale, I want there to be some very noticeable, perhaps crippling disfigurement involved. The bite should leave the character noticeably maimed to the point where it makes her extremely self-conscious, though no further health problems exist.

What snakebite causes a reaction like that within the amount of time it would take someone in Missouri to get treated? Any and all suggestions are welcome! For the moment I'm leaning toward the unoriginal side of things and saying it was a big ol' diamondback. If you know of something that would be more accurate, please speak up!

Thanks a bunch, guys.

-Kevin

There is nothing unoriginal about a "big ol' diamondback". That would seem like a perfect choice.

Well, since diamondbacks don't range in Missouri, I would use a Timber. However, IT COULD be a diamondback in his collection, but why not make it something that's indiginous?
uh,,,, you can credit me in the story. LOL!

A monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia) can leave a good mark and exotic enough to attract attention. A lot of herpetologists have monocled cobras in their collections.
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If you want to write about a snake in Missouri, you should write about copperheads as they are THE most common But, if you want to write about something more exotic, there was a story (probably an old wives' tale) that a "box of cobras" from a circus train (or something like that) passing through Springfeld, Missouri, got loose and the city was in a panic for a while. Happened in the late 50s or early 60s.

-From an Ozark, Missouri resident!

As for treatment, there would be enough time for most bites to be treated. If one were more susceptible to the venom, and had questionable doctor care (they didn't know how to take care of a it properly) you could have some disfiguration from any bite.