Red belly bite

[Pon62]

Got tagged last week by a good size RBB. Was removing it from a garden in someone's front yard ... I had it by the tail and it grabbed my other hand and had a good hold. I never thought a bite from a RBB would be too bad but may need to reconsider. The upshot is 4 days in hospital, an area of necrotising skin on my right hand, some severe muscle wastage, a few worrying moments re kidney function, some pretty intense swelling, and a bruised ego! First bite in 35 yrs of catching/handling snakes, i can only put it down to a few seconds of distraction. So all you catchers out there, be careful, it can happen very quickly!

 

[Trimeresurus]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience mate.

 

[Leasdraco]

yes rbbs might not be lethal but can still knock you around.

 

[Pon62]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience mate.

No worries. I also lost my sense of smell which is really weird! Don't know if its permanent or not.

 

[saximus]

No worries. I also lost my sense of smell which is really weird! Don't know if its permanent or not.

The stuff I've read seems to vary from person to person. Some may be weeks, others years. Does everything taste like cardboard now?

I agree thanks for sharing. I imagine the really hot temps last week probably didn't help your cause either trying to wrangle it.

 

[Pon62]

The stuff I've read seems to vary from person to person. Some may be weeks, others years. Does everything taste like cardboard now?

I agree thanks for sharing. I imagine the really hot temps last week probably didn't help your cause either trying to wrangle it.

I can still taste sweet, salty etc but can't distinguish anything specifically. My kids gave me some ice cream and i knew what it was but had no idea what flavour. It has certainly taken the enjoyment out of eating!
I actually had the snake by the tail and was just moving some bushes out the way when it tagged me. It was hot but the snake had been stirred up for a couple of hours already by someone else. That didn't help!

 

[MesseNoire]

Knowing what you do now, would you have tried a different method?

 

[jase75]

Glad to hear you are ok, do you have any pics of the bite ? I remember when I got bitten by a 4ft Tiger Snake. My hand was so swollen I couldn't make a fist or even pick up a pen.

Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk

 

[Pon62]

Knowing what you do now, would you have tried a different method?

Probably not. The only way to get the snake was to grab it and pull it out. Maybe too complacent, but entirely my fault for getting distracted. As i said first bite after 35 years so i'll be more cautious next time.

 

[Stuart]

Thanks for sharing mate, very interesting to read about the symptoms. I sincerely hope your recovery is a swift one and would enjoy hearing more of any symptoms if they arise and if you feel it appropriate to share.

 

[Maxwell]

Glad to hear your ok,

I would love to see your hand and hear how the recovery goes.

 

[Ellannn]

Glad to hear you are ok and on the mend!
Update us with how your healing is going! I wish you a speedy recovery!

 

[caliherp]

Im glad to hear your ok. It never ceases to amaze me just how much long lasting damage venom can do. How venom acts on a human body is one of my favorite things to read about. I firmly believe the future of medicine is in snake venom.

I don't care what anyone says getting nailed by a elapid is a big deal, if you think any different you need to get your head checked.

 

[Rlpreston]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting read for me but probably not much fun for you. This is why I don't envy catchers their job.

Fingers crossed you bounce back quickly!

 

[-Peter]

It really comes down to the snake and the bite. You may get bitten and often a small amount of venom will be present in the mouth and on the fang. So technically you have been envenomated but not severely. The symptoms are then a lot milder but when a red belly gets a good chew then all sorts of things happen. Not every bite is dry and not every bite is full on.
Rlpreston, you dont know what you're missing, you should envy them.

 

[GBWhite]

Hi,

Not much fun hey my friend...lol. I can sympathize with you. I got nailed by one while assist shedding about 12 years back. Crazy how these things can happen. I've caught many, many elapids of all species over the years and never been tagged in the field or removing them. As well as this bite I got hit by a tiger through a bag one time some years back and well before the RRB bite. The pain of the RRB bite was incredible and much worse than the tiger. I likened it to grabbing a hold of a red hot metal fire poker. Spent overnight in hospital. Fully recovered these days but got a nice scar on the index finger of my left hand. We all know what they say...play with fire and sooner or later your gonna get burnt. Comes with the territory I suppose...lol. Get well soon.

George.

 

[Crotalid]

Glad to hear you're ok.

 

[andynic07]

Wow , glad you are recovering and hope things go back to normal for you. It is a very good reminder for people to not become complacent as we all can at times with things that we become comfortable with.

 

[bdav70]

wow thanks for sharing. get well soon!

 

[Pon62]

Thanks everyone for your comments and best wishes. I am happy to update on my recovery and will try to post a photo of my hand when I work out how! One of my main problems was severe muscle wastage, it caused aches all over my body and lasted a couple of days. It also releases muscle cell contents into the blood and this puts pressure on the kidneys. So they wouldn't let me out of hospital until they were sure my kidney function was ok. Seems like I was one of the lucky 10 - 15% who react more severely to RBB venom, although I'm sure the size of the snake and degree of envenomation didn't help.