[robbo mcs]

Hi,

One bit of advice that many people don't know. If you do get bitten by a snake, dont wash or clean the bite Put a clean bandage or garment over it and compress. In the event that you have been envenomated (rather than just bitten), they can take a swab of the bite site, and work out which antivenom to give you Trust me, you don't want to have antivenom if you can avoid it, and you want to try and get the specific one, rather than all of them

In my medical career I have seen many snake bites, and most are not dangerous. However, I have seen a handful of cases of serious envenomation, and it is a very scary thing Life threatening, ICU, ventilation etc etc

My worst story with snakes ...... one morning I was in my garage in suburbia, and noticed a 6inch long baby red belly black snake on the garage floor. I thought it was a bit odd, but got rid of it. 20 minutes later I found another, 20 minutes later another At this point I got worried about an angry mother snake on a nest I rang the zoo who told me I didn't have to worry about a nest or a mother as "she would be long gone". The expert told me that "they lay there young live in a sac, from which they slowly escape". I asked the question, which I knew as soon as I asked it I shouldn't have done "how many in a sac?", .... "oh usually 12-24" came the reply

Everytime I got in my car for a month I was looking for the babies

Cheers

Robbo

[Todd!]

"Is there a doctor in the house?"

LOL - thanks for all that info guys... I have memories of all this stuff from my days in Cubs/Scouts rushing back

[poki]

*squick* to both AndrewH's and Robbo's stories.

I used to have a recurring nightmare when I was a kid about the world being overrun by snakes. Good stories though.

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by robbo mcs

"how many in a sac?", .... "oh usually 12-24" came the reply

Everytime I got in my car for a month I was looking for the babies

Ha ha ha, that's a classic

[CanberraCooperS]

dude you must be so damm lucky... ha a tiger snake.... last one i saw at my parents place about 2k away from your parents was about 7ft long and was chasing me up the hill.

Youre damm lucky he/she wasnt in Breeding mode like the are in Sept to Dec. it would have gone you!!

[Harry Morant]

Take it into BMW and tell them you're hearing a hissing sound from under the bonnet

Now for a bit a snake bite treatment trivia - I believe if applying a pressure bandage to the limb you actually bandage from the top of the limb down as opposed from the bottom up. Robbo can probably confirm whether this is correct but it sounds logical to me.

[gazah]

Quote: Originally Posted by Harry Morant

Now for a bit a snake bite treatment trivia - I believe if applying a pressure bandage to the limb you actually bandage from the top of the limb down as opposed from the bottom up.

this is correct too... but also remember to immobilise the limb, it stops the venom going to your head [& heart, & elsewhere bad]

[enzothemaddog]

Dr.Robbo....say you get bitten on the finger by a tiger snake, if you immediately cut your hand off will it stop the poison or will the blood be pumping it too fast to catch?

snake story: living in Woollahra a few years ago, walked out of fron door into front yard and was in frozen shock to see a red belly about 4 foot long sitting there in front of me. Eventually climbed up a tree (not me). No agencies helped so we just left it there. Apparently they come down the sydney storm drains from Centennial Park!!

[AndrewH]

Had a look for tiggie the snake this morning but couldn't find him or her so I'm guessing that it has moved on.

Quote: Originally Posted by CanberraCooperS

last one i saw at my parents place about 2k away from your parents was about 7ft long and was chasing me up the hill

now that's a funny visual.

Quote: Originally Posted by Harry Morant

Take it into BMW and tell them you're hearing a hissing sound from under the bonnet

As an aside, having pulled apart various bits of the dash yesterday, it's amazing to see how crappy Rolfe is at putting things back together again (had a couple of dash rattles that they have fixed). I found one of the screws missing from the speedo (where is screws onto the steering column), one of the blue clip on plastic nuts on the down tube (they had put a piece of sticky felt in there to hold the screw in ) and they managed to strip out one of the screws in the cup holder and another under the rear vision adjustment switch.

Keep the snake stories coming all.

[The Artist]

Haven't you seen the episode of the simpsons about 'whacking day"?? Turning the stereo up would have only attracted it....."don't harm the snakes...leave the snakes alone. I love the sexy slither of a female snake" (In Barry White voice)

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Artist

Haven't you seen the episode of the simpsons about 'whacking day"?? Turning the stereo up would have only attracted it....."don't harm the snakes...leave the snakes alone. I love the sexy slither of a female snake" (In Barry White voice)

Actually, that very thought did cross my mind. Is there anything the Simpsons can't tall us about life?

[Smurfn]

Quote: Originally Posted by AndrewH

Actually, that very thought did cross my mind. Is there anything the Simpsons can't tall us about life?

Nope

[The Artist]

Never. Schooling should just be sitting the kids down and watching the entire episode collection of the simpsons.....what a world we would have. hehe

[JugMan]

Back in primary school our groundsmen chased a snake of some description (can't remember breed) with a shovel after coaxing it out from under some stairs, and with a swift blow (out of kids view) removed one body from the snake's head.

[ButtonIt]

Lol at this thread

I'm soooo glad we don't have those kinds of nasties here. We have two kinds of snakes. The Adder and The Grass Snake, neither of which are venemous, although they both bite.

The most dangerous snake we have is the One Eyed Trouser Snake, many a woman has seen it spitting venom

[Harry Morant]

When I was a young and stupid lad in WA I took a frozen tiger snake to school - not for show and tell mind, but to scare the bejeebers out of people. The entrance of the girls loo was particular effective. My big mistake was leaving it under my biology teachers desk - he didn't react at all. He just picked it up and went on to describe how you could tell the species by the scale configuration around its vent.

A warning to all - this is not a particularly bright thing to do. Dead snakes still have venom and should not be handled (especially by young and stupid lads).

When I was much older and in the Army it was funny as hell whenever the kiwis came over to Australia for exercises. The medevac chopper was particularly busy at night. Any ant bite would be claimed to be a funnelweb spider or snake bite by the kiwis - they weren't taking any chances with anything that bit them in the dark. I don't recall one ever actually being bitten by a snake.

[CanberraCooperS]

Quote: Originally Posted by ButtonIt

Lol at this thread

I'm soooo glad we don't have those kinds of nasties here. We have two kinds of snakes. The Adder and The Grass Snake, neither of which are venemous, although they both bite.

The most dangerous snake we have is the One Eyed Trouser Snake, many a woman has seen it spitting venom

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! There's one in every crowd!

[meinamini]

Snake stories.....

One of my dear friends, Suz has a cat named Meggsie. Meggsie is a big ginger and white tom and all the dogs in the street are scared of him. One day Suz came home from work, opened the front door and called to Meggsie...no response(he has his own door!). When she walked into the lounge room she understood why. Meggsie was sitting in a corner playing with a 5' red belly black snake that he had caught and bought home!

Needless to say Suz was not impressed, she managed to lure the cat away from the rather damaged snake and headed for a neighbor who returned with a spear gun. End result snake 0 - cat 1. Cat checked by vet OK.

This "catch" is yet to be bettered, the snake took number 1 spot that Meggsie held when he bought home an ibis!!
And yes, Meggsie is alive and well!

BTW Meggsie doesn't go for smaller game like native birds and he wears a loud bell!!

[AndrewH]

Quote: Originally Posted by meinamini

And yes, Meggsie is alive and well!

My parents have many a family pet buried in their back garden as a result of coming off second best against snakes . I have always wondered why sheep rarely if ever seem to be bitten. They walk through long grass all day and stick their faces in to eat it yet they don't end up dead

[ScottyB]

lol @ Buttons