Treating Monitor bites

[gomeztime]

Any suggestions for treating Monitor bites? A Little wild lacie nipped my hand on the weekend.

 

[cris]

If you are bleeding heaps put on a bandage. If you need stiches or sugery go to a doctor/hospital. As far as i could find out treatment is just the same as for a laceration. Best thing to do is not get bitten by anything big.

 

[benson]

I would go to docs, if it was a bad bite, for infection, as they do eat some bad stuff.

 

[Aslan]

Gomez - Treat it as you would any other laceration, I would suggest, if you can type and your hand is not in pieces it was a small enough Lacie not to do major damage...

I would disinfect it like any other laceration but would not be too concerned about a major infection...in fact, I have not heard of anyone having any sort of infection or the like upon washing the wound, and even from a large Lacie my understanding is they heal quickly and cleanly...

 

[gomeztime]

Thanks Aslan - happened yesterday with a small lace monitor, and the damage is pretty minor. I had disinfectant with me so applied that straight away and since then it's had a good clean and redress. It was mostly infection that I thought I'd ask about to see what the group experience was. No prob's so far with swelling or infection suggesting that (touch wood) it's all clean and OK.

 

[benson]

They have a very dirty bite.
It is pretty important to play it safe.
Think what these lizards are eating.
Anthony Stimpson spent some time in hospital, recently, after a bite.

 

[Aslan]

Benson - My understanding of Stimmo's bite was that it was an EXTREMELY deep and nasty bite, and upon being stitched at hospital it healed EXTREMELY quickly...

I am sceptical about how 'dirty' a Monitor bite really is - there is definately a school of thought on the matter that suggests that the heightened pain associated with a small bite (excessive for the size of the bite) may be caused by an antiseptic type element that also assists with the free flow of blood...

I wouldn't stress any more than any other laceration...

 

[Forensick]

if it starts to feel hot or extra tender tho, i'd high tail it to the doc.

 

[gomeztime]

Thanks for the input everyone - you're probably keen to see the bite so I've left a picture. As you can see, just a scratch really but the little bugger drew some blood.

I'll be keeping a close eye on any infection - if it does get infected I'll post an update.

 

[nuthn2do]

Go get a tetanus booster, accident and emergency would rather do that now than have to treat you later

 

[serpenttongue]

Gomeztime, you were not bitten by a Lace Monitor, you were bitten by a Heath Monitor.

 

[gomeztime]

opps, so I was Serpenttongue. Should have looked a little closer at the stripe behind the eye.

 

[serpenttongue]

opps, so I was Serpenttongue. Should have looked a little closer at the stripe behind the eye.

Not to mention the spotted forelimbs (as opposed to banded on Sydney Lacies) and the bands on a Heath Monitors tail are an equal distance apart, all the way down the tail.

Nice find anyway.

 

[Ewan]

Your lucky it wasn't your pet komodo!!!

 

[gomeztime]

BTW - decided to see the doc last night anyway and probably a good thing. Got on the antibiotics and I'd say in my case it saved a world of pain because some of the punctures around my knuckle joint were becoming increasingly painful and needed ice overnight, but by morning much better. I'd say the antibiotics kicked in during the night and did a good job. Only the knuckle where there are lots of tendons and muscle as well seemed to become a problem. Other cuts on the back of the hand seemed to be going ok just with the iodine and dressing.

 

[bigguy]

I had a Heath Monitor scratch me with just 3 teeth in almost the same area as the pic. I was with Stimmo at the time who suggested I clean it up with disinfectants. I just laughed at him and ignored the 3 deep cuts. About 3 days later my hand and arm started to swell and my skin felt like it was on fire. The Doctors told me it was cellulitis and that I was going to need penicillin shots till it subsided. A week later and they were talking about placing me in hospital as they were fearfull I could loose my arm.

Cut a long story short, I ended up having shots for 30 days straight. One tendon controlling my forth finger located below the wounds suffered damage, and to this day I can not fully close that finger to my palm. Always disinfect any wild monitor wound and watch very carefully over the next few days. I learned the hard way.

 

[-Peter]

Having undergone a minor lacie bite to my knee when i was younger I feel I can say with some knowledge that infection is a major issue with lacie bites. If anyone has noticed a paper published a year or two ago by Bryan Fry highlighted the presence of venom in monitor saliva and the existence of a rudimentary venom gland. This can cause inflamataion and necrosis if left untreated.