# Yellow Faced Whip Snake...dangerous or not?



## deebo (Aug 25, 2009)

Gday All,

Now I know that they are venomous but some info on them says they are potentially very dangerous and others seem to imply that a bite from one would be of no real oncern. The reason I ask is that we get quite a few of them around the house and just want to know a bit more about them.

Can anyone shed a bit more light on them for me....

Cheers,
Dave


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## nathanbanks (Aug 25, 2009)

im pretty sure they are not dangerouse... my dad used to always catch them... but if im right i heard they had rear fangs so maybs their venemous...


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## JasonL (Aug 25, 2009)

Front fanged elapids, mildly venomous, usually a sore finger, swollen hand ect... BUT... everyone reacts differently to venom, and any venom can cause servere reactions that can cause death.


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## hodges (Aug 25, 2009)

Harmless


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## deebo (Aug 25, 2009)

hodges - have you been bitten by them?? sore at all?


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## Sturdy (Aug 25, 2009)

we all react differently to venom... anyone heard of a marsh snake almost killing someone... due to a alergic reaction to the venom,

I just treat all elapids the same as being [FONT=&quot]dangerously[/FONT] venomous.


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## Fuscus (Aug 25, 2009)

Sturdy said:


> we all react differently to venom... anyone heard of a marsh snake almost killing someone...


 not me, but the pain and swelling was severe enough for me to get worried enough to go to hospital

*From my books( re YFWS)*

Swan and Wilson 


> A bite from a large individual may cause painful local reactions but not normally considered dangerous


Cogger


> no comment!


Wildlife of Greater Brisbane (QLD Museum)


> *Potentially Dangerous* , especially to children; some bites symptomless, other with severe outcomes., first aid and medical attention needed


Harald Ehmann ( for the _Demansia _family in general)


> Even when provoked, they are reluctant to bite a human, preferring to escape, if at all possible. Large specimens may inflict a bite, which should be treated as a health risk


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## slither (Aug 25, 2009)

hey mate yeah they can be dangerous to some depending on how ure body reacts have heard of some swelling nausea having to go to hospital etc and some nothing me personally i have been bitten twice by them and have had nothing except for abit of swelling on the bite site


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## GSXR_Boy (Aug 25, 2009)

I swapped a wc one with a kid in high school. This one was the biggest i ever caught @ over a metre. It bit his older brother on the webbing between the thumb and his whole arm was swollen for days and he said he was pretty dizzy.


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## kupper (Aug 25, 2009)

Good trip lol


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## carterd (Aug 25, 2009)

I caught one once, when I was 16, I just grabed it mid body, it swung around and bit and wouldn't let go. It felt like two bee stings, then swelling, and slight headache.
Just happy to look and not touch now.


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## kupper (Aug 25, 2009)

there in aorudn the gellibrand national park down here good fun and rarely did we see adults usually only hatchlings amongst the old ruins of the homestead park


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## Sdaji (Aug 25, 2009)

As said, a bite which is trivial to one person could kill another. I've been bitten by Little Whip Snakes and had little more than an itchy finger, but not so long ago a man was killed by one. Last year I took a bite from an itsy bitsy Death Adder, which gave me enough venom to do little more to most people to give them a slightly itchy finger (and that's all the venom directly did to me), but without medical assistance I would have died from it. Bites from venomous snakes are unpredictable, and taking a bite is always a huge gamble for anyone, regardless of their bite history. Any bite from a venomous snake, even a very small one or a very mildly venomous one could kill anyone within a few minutes, and there is no way to predict when an unusual reaction will not happen, and only unreliable ways to predict when they will.

If you're going to handle venomous snakes, even mildly venomous species, I highly recommend carrying an epipen, and I very highly recommend not doing it on a slow news day.


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## melgalea (Aug 26, 2009)

Sdaji said:


> As said, a bite which is trivial to one person could kill another. I've been bitten by Little Whip Snakes and had little more than an itchy finger, but not so long ago a man was killed by one. Last year I took a bite from an itsy bitsy Death Adder, which gave me enough venom to do little more to most people to give them a slightly itchy finger (and that's all the venom directly did to me), but without medical assistance I would have died from it. Bites from venomous snakes are unpredictable, and taking a bite is always a huge gamble for anyone, regardless of their bite history. Any bite from a venomous snake, even a very small one or a very mildly venomous one could kill anyone within a few minutes, and there is no way to predict when an unusual reaction will not happen, and only unreliable ways to predict when they will.
> 
> If you're going to handle venomous snakes, even mildly venomous species, I highly recommend carrying an epipen, and I very highly recommend not doing it on a slow news day.




Poor Sdaji....you will never live it down will you...
 cheers
MEL


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## JasonL (Aug 26, 2009)

Sdaji said:


> and I very highly recommend not doing it on a slow news day.



:lol: :lol: wait for major bushfires or a global catrastrophe before attempting eh


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## Sdaji (Aug 27, 2009)

JasonL said:


> :lol: :lol: wait for major bushfires or a global catrastrophe before attempting eh



:lol: At least on the bushfire news reports I was only in the background!


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## fauce (Mar 6, 2010)

What would an epipen achieve? Are they for allergies?


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## Ozzie Python (Mar 6, 2010)

fauce said:


> What would an epipen achieve? Are they for allergies?


 
a reaction some people get as a result of being envenomated is anaphylactic shock, having an epipen ready to go isn't a bad idea if keeping venomous snakes.


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## DanTheMan (Mar 6, 2010)

I have copped a bite from one on my finger, pain was similar to a bee sting, lasted no more than 10 minutes. But as said, I'm sure everyone would react differently to the venom.
I am allergic to bee stings, and I realise their venom's aren't similar, but I was wondering at the time of being bitten if this venom would cause a reaction of any sort other than a bit of pain, but not at all, not even swelling.


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## snakeluvver (Oct 26, 2010)

My mum got bit by one. No reaction at all. No swelling, no headaches. Nothing.


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## wizz (Oct 26, 2010)

Adult BTS bit me ......


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## Snake_Whisperer (Oct 27, 2010)

snakeluvver said:


> My mum got bit by one. No reaction at all. No swelling, no headaches. Nothing.



As was explained in the thread you posted, she experienced a dry bite. Nothing uncommon about that. As stated earlier in this thread, it is best to consider any bite from a venomous snake as serious. While she was lucky this time, had envenomation occurred, the results are unpredictable and can be tragic.


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## eipper (Oct 27, 2010)

Demansia have killed people from the venom toxicity, how you will react to a bit is unknown....I would treat them with respect..

Cheers,
Scott


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## KingsReptiles (Jul 4, 2018)

Usually they're harmless but as others have stated, some people can react badly or be allergic to the venom which could cause more serious symptoms or even death. Iv been bitten more times than can count and never had more than a swollen finger or hand and a bit of itchy pain that usually only lasts a day, but I k ow others who've reacted much worse and had whole arm swollen and terrible pain for days.


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