Posted by:
nhherp
at Sat Dec 11 14:02:35 2004 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by nhherp ]
From a burm you get a series of torn, ragged punctures causing the lacerations and profuse bleeding, but this is stoppable after about 10 minutes of cold water. Bleeding is key to avoiding infections from injuries, a biological design for survival. Capallaries and vessels are damaged and hemorraged, which is why you get all the crazy colored bruising, but the teeth do not penetrate the hand deep enough to really damage the vital artery inside. You do suffer tendon trauma due in part to force of the bite not the puncture itself. The burmese teeth just dont cut or penetrate the way a retic tooth or fang will. A broad pinching (high psi)bite such as the blunt tooth of a large alligator would also be able to cause permanent nerve and tendon damage. To a have permanent nerve damage in a hand pretty much takes a severence of finger or nerve from very deep cut to result in a permanent numbing. An average captive Burmeses' bite just does not carry sufficent factors to warrant medical attention except in extreme cases. The average burmese in the typical hobbyists homes seldom exceed 13 ft when actually laid against a tapemeasure, and average around 10-11ft. A 15-16ft Burm is not commonplace. A VERY large Burmese I will agree could possibly create a bite of neccessary trauma to need a Dr. to check it out and stop the bleeding. I do not think that the potential for infection would come close to equal or exceed that of a 4 ft venomoid gaboon. My original post was that your greatest potential threat was infection. Secondary infections from the bite of un-altered Bitis and other large fanged Viperidae has been well documented. The venomoid fangs of a of solenoglyph provide all the key factors neccessary for a serious infection. Deep punctures, no or minute bleeding, bacteria accumulation in a now empty tooth duct. Long term lasting effects are just not that common with burmese bites. Im not saying the potential does not exist somewhere, but if venomoid solenoglyph bites were as commonplace as burm bites which would end up putting you in the hospital more often? I dont agree that a venomoid should ever be treated as non-venomous. It should always be handled with the same degree of care as "loaded" specimen. I quit working with Burms about 5 yrs ago, I still have my 16yr old male that I bought in high school as a hatchling. If forced to choose I would much rather take a bite off of him then my male retics, and they are the little ones. Notah Howe
**( If a large burm were to bite someone on the back of the hand, it would *not* cause deep puncture wounds, lacerations, penetrate blood vessels, or sever/injure tendons or nerves? The said person would *not* possibly have to seek medical attention for the injury. The person also would *not* have lasting effects from the bite? )**
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