Red Bellied Bite

[bigguy]

Hi,

While cleaning my cages at 11.30 PM on Friday night, I had the pleasure of a love bite from one of my adult Red Bellied Blacks. I was just extracting a poo from the front of the enclosure, and before I even realised what was happening he fired out of his hide box some 50 cm's away and chewed on my hand. I actually had to force him off my hand. It was a good feeding bite.

The bite site was bleeding well, so I went to the laundry and quickly washed off the venom on the skin. I then sucked the site numerous times, washing my mouth at the sink after every time. I then applied a pressure bandage and continued cleaning. I went to bed at 1.30 am and at this time I had a very painfull limb indeed. I was awoken by my wife at 7am when she noticed I had a bandage on. Boy did she chew me out for not letting her know the night before.

I had a very swollen hand and arm at this time, and once I started walking around I became very dizzy and nauseated. I spent the day resting at home. I never thought of taking a picture till today(monday morning) . The swelling has now nearly gone but you can easily see the fang marks in my hand. It appears it bite twice as I had two sets of fang marks at the base of my finger.

[Ricko]

thats not good to hear mate. how come you diudnt cgo to hospital? also are you ment to suck the bite site as im not sure of this? are you feeling a bit better now?

[Greg]

Good onya Bob. Glad you're ok.
How many times previously have you been tagged by an Elapid?



Greg.

[moosenoose]

Geez Bigguy you really are big! LMAO I'm blown away reading this!! LOL This is absolutely fasinating reading about someone getting tagged by a big redbelly and not even going to hospital! I've heard they aren't really dangerous to a human adults. Have you ever been hammered before?Absolutely Awesome!

You are giving me hope in my quest of oneday getting an Epalid LOL Especially a RedBelly, one of my favourites! I'd love to hear more on this!! How are you feeling now? I take it RRB venom has no Necrotoxins or Cardiotoxins associated with it? How's ya kidneys (Nephrotoxins). Exactly what toxins are in RBB venom?? I have no idea?? LOL

[BROWNS]

like i've said...keep elapids long enough and even the most experienced are bound to be bitten...

I bet Bob has some good stories about what problems can come from being bitten and the problems you are left with years later..

[Ella]

Originally Posted by bigguy

I then sucked the site numerous times, washing my mouth at the sink after every time.

This was the first thing I was taught not to do when dealing with venomous bites. Is it standard practice for you because of your experience with them in everyday life? Would you reccommend this as first aid for wild snakebite?

I'm with the rest, share more stories please

[bigguy]

As stated, the first rule of snakebites is not to try and suck the bite site or wash the venom away. However, I knew what had bitten me so I could wash the bite site, and I had immediate access to water to rinse my mouth after sucking the site. I do not recommend this practice with deadly snakes or in the wild. I do not consider RBB's as being deadly, just potentially dangerous.

Greg, I have been tagged many times over the last forty years or so, how many times is my secret , but I can say like Graeme Gow, I have built up a resistance to many elapid bites.

This is the only reason I did not go to hospital as I knew how I reacted to RBB bites in the past. I would recommend anyone bitten by these to go straight to hospital to be on the safe side, as most people become violently ill from them.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by bigguy

Greg, I have been tagged many times over the last forty years or so, how many times is my secret

C'mon Bob. You can tell me old mate. I won't tell a soul. :wink:

[hugsta]

I have been tagged many times over the last forty years or so

So being bitten many times does not cause a build up in your system of toxins. As with bee/wasp stings the more times you get bitten the bigger the reaction of the bite. I'm allergic to bee stings and was rushed to hospital after being stung on the chest with respitory problems, settled down after 24hrs, but if i get bit again I have to go straight to hospital and have an adrenalin injection.
Is an elapid or any venomous bite different to this?

[Fuscus]

Washing the wound is generally not a good idea as they use venom on the skin to ID the snake. A bit of a moot point in this case. Sucking on the wound IMHO is next to useless but if it isn't then you risk secondary envemonation via ulcers and tooth decay. BG seems to be aware of this possiblity by rinsing his mouth out.
However, you didn't tell your wife! Did you tell anyone? If you did have a bad reaction ( and just because last time you didn't doesn't mean that this time would be the same ) how would people know what bit you? After all, you did wash the wound. Get your wife to chew you out again for me.
Lastly you haven't stated when you removed the pressure bandage. The rules state this should only be done in the presence of a doctor with access to antivenomenne. I hope this was the case.

Please be just a little more careful, your controbution to this site is highly valued by me and others. I would hate it if we lost you.

[NCHERPS]

Originally Posted by hugsta

So being bitten many times does not cause a build up in your system of toxins. As with bee/wasp stings the more times you get bitten the bigger the reaction of the bite. I'm allergic to bee stings and was rushed to hospital after being stung on the chest with respitory problems, settled down after 24hrs, but if i get bit again I have to go straight to hospital and have an adrenalin injection.
Is an elapid or any venomous bite different to this?

Hugsta,
I think everyone reacts differently when bitten, everyone's tolerance is different, but it is species dependent to.
I remember Mark O'shea telling me once that he has been bitten one time to many by a particular species of Rattlesnake and he he was bitten again he would likely not survive, so of course he has to steer way clear of that species.
Some people also suffer allergic reactions to the antivenin given them, and this could again potentially kill them if medical services don't act quickly to correct it, usually they would do a test on the skin before administering it, but for highy venomous species and if the person is in desperate need they will just administer and worry about the allergic reaction afterwards.
Apparently it is the horse blood that they react badly to, I have heard that they were trying to clone it in some way, so real horse's weren't needed and a safer antivenin would be produced, but I haven't heard anything on how that has going.

Neil

[bigguy]

Fuscus,

I removed the bandage for a short time(about 10 minutes) at about 1pm on Saturday. I then reapplied it for about another 6 hours. And no, I did not do it in the presence of a doctor, just my very angry wife

As for not telling my wife, I stand by what I did. With my resistence to bites, and as it was only a RBB, I knew I was in no immediate danger and to panick my wife for no reason was not an option. If it had been a Death Adder, which is deadly, but I also have a good resistance for I may have awoken her to be on the safe side.

Now if I rec'd a feeding bite from a Brown, Tiger, Fierce or Taipan than my first aid approach would have been vastly different indeed.

Hugsta, certain people like myselve, have been known to build a resistence to bites. It is simply a build up of antibodies to destroy certain venoms. Unfortunatley, human beings can not build up the levels of horses and other animals. I know of 2 famous Herps who injected themselves daily with certain venoms and became completly immune to bites from those species.

After receiving antivenom 8 times in the past, I have now started to show an allergy to the horse serum, and nearly died from delayed serum sickness a week after last receiving it. This is also a reason I seldom go to hospitals for treatment. If I do not think its a life threatening bite, then I do not want to build the allergy any higher than I have too. Gosford hospital want to give you the stuff at the first sign of any symtoms.

[Switch]

Interesting, I agree with Fuscus totally, that saves me re-typing it and you re-reading it.
Cheers, hope to hear many more tales from you in the future, it would be great if those tales didnt involve you being bitten by dangerous animals though.

[NoOne]

That'll learn ya.........hang on.... no it won't :wink:

[soulweaver]

Originally Posted by Greg

C'mon Bob. You can tell me old mate. I won't tell a soul. :wink:

why won't you tell me for?