# Another catcher bitten



## RoryBreaker (Feb 1, 2018)

http://www.news.com.au/technology/s...m/news-story/75f8e7240733987937dcf1ae7f3f92d8

Old voldermort even gets his quote in on the story...bahahahaha


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## vampstorso (Feb 1, 2018)

Unfortunate


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## Scutellatus (Feb 1, 2018)

Very lucky man. It must have been a very small amount of venom for him not to feel the effects sooner.

The problem is more so with the paper for printing his words in my opinion.

A bit much for him to criticise Queensland regulation when it is so simple to obtain your venonous license in Victoria.
I guess they are all just cowboys up here to him.


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## Foozil (Feb 1, 2018)

Not sure why if you could see bite marks he didn't go to hospital just in case?


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## GBWhite (Feb 1, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> Very lucky man. It must have been a very small amount of venom for him not to feel the effects sooner.



It's not uncommon for a delayed reaction to happen with Brown bites. It only takes a scratch to be envenomated and it only takes the tiniest amount of venom to be lethal.

All that being said the guy's an idiot. He's taken a pic of the bite while he's sitting in a car and hasn't even bothered to bandage it. Even a suspect bite should be treated and medical assistance sought asap. Should have bandage it straight away and then headed of to the hospital and taken it from there. On top of that, going off the photo he doesn't even know how to head a ven properly.

I have to agree with Ray that dry bites are as rare as rocking horse **** and rarely happen and I also have to agree that it's not right that there are handlers with little or no experience running training courses and I think I've voice my concerns regarding the use of tongs in a previous post. 

I also have to call bullshit on the accompanying video as to me it looks like a total setup and staged.


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## vampstorso (Feb 1, 2018)

Yeah at the vens course I did they told us it is possible to be bitten by browns and not realise until some hours later until it hits you like a tonne of bricks


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## Bl69aze (Feb 2, 2018)

vampstorso said:


> Yeah at the vens course I did they told us it is possible to be bitten by browns and not realise until some hours later until it hits you like a tonne of bricks


Wouldn’t the pain of being punctured be enough, or possibly the amount of blood? Especially from your fingers, they seem to bleed to no end


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## vampstorso (Feb 2, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> Wouldn’t the pain of being punctured be enough, or possibly the amount of blood? Especially from your fingers, they seem to bleed to no end




He said there are times where people can't see a puncture wound because their teeth can be so small. 


I'm not saying it's common, but apparently happens.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Feb 2, 2018)

I know if I was bitten by a brown I wouldn't be making a judgement on it being a dry bite based on how I feel right now.

It's a blasé attitude to take unless you have a death wish. Or maybe there is a bit of a 'big man' syndrome going on.


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## Bl69aze (Feb 2, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> I know if I was bitten by a brown I wouldn't be making a judgement on it being a dry bite based on how I feel right now.
> 
> It's a blasé attitude to take unless you have a death wish. Or maybe there is a bit of a 'big man' syndrome going on.


He does look a bit on the big side to be catching snakes


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## GBWhite (Feb 2, 2018)

vampstorso said:


> He said there are times where people can't see a puncture wound because their teeth can be so small. I'm not saying it's common, but apparently happens.



It is true but here's a pic of the bite that accompanied the article and if he can't see this then he's blind as well as stupid.






Pauls_Pythons said:


> Or maybe there is a bit of a 'big man' syndrome going on.



I reckon you might have hit the nail on the head, but then again he might not have to much grey matter between his ears...lol.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Feb 2, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> He does look a bit on the big side to be catching snakes



ROFLMAO. I wasn't referring to physical size mate. 
What does physical size even have to do with anything when it comes to catching snakes??


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## Bl69aze (Feb 2, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> ROFLMAO. I wasn't referring to physical size mate.
> What does physical size even have to do with anything when it comes to catching snakes??


More surface area and agility if the snake goes nuts


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## Pauls_Pythons (Feb 2, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> More surface area and agility if the snake goes nuts



Making assumptions that you really shouldn't.
This goes hand in hand with sexism, ageism and the rest of the ism's.

Oh, and just a side thought, how about the skinny guy has shorter arms and therefor needs to get his body parts closer to the animal? (And I have seen plenty of very agile larger people)


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## Scutellatus (Feb 2, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> I know if I was bitten by a brown I wouldn't be making a judgement on it being a dry bite based on how I feel right now.
> 
> It's a blasé attitude to take unless you have a death wish. Or maybe there is a bit of a 'big man' syndrome going on.


I had the same thought, too proud to be sensible and get it checked.
[doublepost=1517538457,1517538318][/doublepost]


GBWhite said:


> I reckon you might have hit the nail on the head, but then again he might not have to much grey matter between his ears...lol.


Maybe both, he is in Gympie after all.


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## Foozil (Feb 2, 2018)

Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a large man (not necessarily fat) fair better than a skinny guy? More area for the venom to dissipate?


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## Scutellatus (Feb 2, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a large man (not necessarily fat) fair better than a skinny guy? More area for the venom to dissipate?


I don't know if he would fair better, but it could account for the venom not acting as quickly. Someone of a smaller stature would probably feel the effects sooner.
There are also factors involved such as heart rate, blood pressure and fitness among others.
[doublepost=1517543196,1517542883][/doublepost]While we are talking about snake bites....
Has anyone heard anything recently about the older gentleman that worked at one of the venom collection labs in Australia that was injecting himself with micro-doses of Brown Snake venom in an attempt to condition his body if ever bitten?
I saw the story about ten years ago but haven't heard anything since.
It would be interesing to find out if he was successful in his trials.


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## Foozil (Feb 2, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> While we are talking about snake bites....
> Has anyone heard anything recently about the older gentleman that worked at one of the venom collection labs in Australia that was injecting himself with micro-doses of Brown Snake venom in an attempt to condition his body if ever bitten?
> I saw the story about ten years ago but haven't heard anything since.
> It would be interesing to find out if he was successful in his trials.


Heard about a guy in America injecting himself with venom since he was very young and apparently most snake venom has little to no effect on him now? Sounds quite fishy though.


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## Scutellatus (Feb 2, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Heard about a guy in America injecting himself with venom since he was very young and apparently most snake venom has little to no effect on him now? Sounds quite fishy though.


It isn't really that fishy, more snakey I believe...
On a serious note it is really no different to when we get immunised, you take a small amount of a toxin, introduce it to the body regularly and your immune system builds a defence to it.


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## Foozil (Feb 2, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> It isn't really that fishy, more snakey I believe...
> On a serious note it is really no different to when we get immunised, you take a small amount of a toxin, introduce it to the body regularly and your immune system builds a defence to it.


Yes, but how did he get access to so much venom?? He reckons hes been doing it on a regular basis since he was young and now hes in his 40's of something.


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## Scutellatus (Feb 2, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Yes, but how did he get access to so much venom?? He reckons hes been doing it on a regular basis since he was young and now hes in his 40's of something.


I am not sure, maybe milking his own snakes.
One milking would probably provide enough for a year or two of micro-doses, injected once a week.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 2, 2018)

I was only watching a documentary last night on Snake catchers in Latin America that go out catching the infamous _Bothrops asper_ - fer de lance pit viper for milking to make anti-venom. Those guys don't muck about and take risks, they're full on, knee high thick rubber boots, kevlar like thick trousers and padding on their legs much the same as a cricketers shin pads. They're that suited up that it's a job just walking about the forest but I guess you don't want to risk a bite from a Lance head.


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## Foozil (Feb 2, 2018)

Aussiepride83 said:


> you don't want to risk a bite from a Lance head


Same goes for any large Aussie elapids. I can't wrap my head around this guy's situation.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Feb 2, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Same goes for any large Aussie elapids. I can't wrap my head around this guy's situation.


I just watched the video on the page about the big eastern brown in the chest of draws in the lawn shed in Toowoomba, yeah they get big here, also plenty of RBB's, spoke to a cocky only yesterday who claims to have shot another 3 last week with the .410. I need to get a bigger python, just went out to grab some woodies for the turtles and the Jacks were beckoning for me to follow them, they took me to a trap by my own lawn locker and yep, another _Rattus rattus. _As you can see, it's pretty wet, it's been raining solidly here now for 24 hours. This one's gonna be barking owl food tonight. Don't want browns hanging around here, they'll be Jack chew toys.


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 3, 2018)

Foozil said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a large man (not necessarily fat) fair better than a skinny guy? More area for the venom to dissipate?


 Toxins in Australian snakes are too large to directly enter the capillaries so they are carried in the tissue fluid to lymph vessels and eventually enter the circulation via a duct in the throat (thoracic duct) The toxins actually attach to chemicals in the tissue fluid to facilitate their transport via the lymph system. They are not taken up by cells and so size, and therefore the number of cells, does not have any effect in that respect. The only effect that size has is on the volume of blood. However, given that lethal doses of Brown snake toxin are measured in single figures of nanolitres per litre of blood, the variations in blood volume are pretty much irrelevant. That’s why, as George said, just a scratch is enough. The fangs only have to break through the protective epidermis, which is 1 mm thick on average.



Foozil said:


> Heard about a guy in America injecting himself with venom since he was very young and apparently most snake venom has little to no effect on him now? Sounds quite fishy though.


I watched video on that guy. He milks his own snakes. It works exactly the same way they produce antivenoms using animals such as horses. They begin by giving them small, non-deadly amounts of the venom to stimulate their immune system to produce antibodies (=anti-venom). Then they gradually increase it to stimulate more and more antibody production. Eventually they start taking blood and harvesting the specific antibodies for the toxins.

A few of the old time snake men came unstuck this way. Through being repeatedly bitten and surviving they developed immunity to the local elapids. They would take a full on bite at their snake shows and then sell bottles of their “secret antidote”. One I can remember went to Africa and took a full on bite from a Black Mamba and died. He didn’t have the specific antibodies for its toxins.


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## Foozil (Feb 3, 2018)

@Bluetongue1 - Well there you go! Thanks for all the info.


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## GBWhite (Feb 3, 2018)

Bluetongue1 said:


> A few of the old time snake men came unstuck this way. Through being repeatedly bitten and surviving they developed immunity to the local elapids. They would take a full on bite at their snake shows and then sell bottles of their “secret antidote”. One I can remember went to Africa and took a full on bite from a Black Mamba and died. He didn’t have the specific antibodies for its toxins.



There was a bloke named Fred Fox who was the original "Snake Man" of La Perouse in Sydney's South who had an immunity to Tigers and used to sell his "snake bite cure" to the public after his show. He went to India and got tagged by a Krait in Calcutta in 1914 and died as a result. As it went, the guy that took over from Fox at La Perouse was named Herb See and he fell fowl to a Tiger bite while doing the show and despite taking a dose of his "snake oil" died as well.


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