I knew you were going to do that. You can't pass up informing people about them there snakes.
And, higher velocity, and ME ratings, with reduced chance of over-penetrating..
lol. classic.
I knew you were going to do that. You can't pass up informing people about them there snakes.
I knew you were going to do that. You can't pass up informing people about them there snakes.
I spent some years dealing in venomous reptiles, and as someone who doesn't do anything without knowing plenty about it in advance, as an amateur herpetologist.
Snakes are ambush predators. They derive their ability to take prey and defend against predators from their ability to hide and surprise, a huge component of which is their ability to strike from distance. All snakes can swim, and some are comfortable in water.
However, terrestrial snakes cannot strike effectively while swimming. The few terrestrial snakes that hunt fish do so like hand-fishers. Snakes can't coil and launch in the water. Thus, terrestrial snakes use water as a means of travel or escape, but always insecurely. Copperheads are known to swim frequently, and therefore there are numerous recorded incidents of copperhead bites in the water. However, a copperhead will never demonstrate aggression in the water, even defensively. If it is swimming toward you, it is only because it does not know you're there, or recognize that you're animate. The most effective defense against a water-borne snake in the US (we have no naturally aquatic snakes) is to splash water at it and swim away. Not kidding.
Having said all that, I begrudge no one without this knowledge the self defense they see fit. I hate to see an animal needlessly harmed, so education is always best, but in the circumstances given, I find no fault. I would hope, however, that such an incident would trigger investigation and understanding.
Actually...
Also, factor in that the adult snake has longer fangs with larger hollow spaces allowing for deeper penetration and more venom flow, and generally have greater accuracy.
Surprisingly, young copperheads are in many ways more dangerous than their parents. Often, an adult copperhead will deliver a “dry bite” meaning their bite doesn’t inject venom into the victim. Not so with the babies - they do all that they can to protect themselves, even if it means giving up their venom reserve.
It appears that there is a controversy in this issue, because I have found several sites that say this:
I didnt want to shoot the Copperhead, and glad I didnt have to.
I saw nothing contradictory. Read both again in their entirety.It appears that there is a controversy in this issue, because I have found several sites that say this:
http://www.wildwnc.org/node/183
It appears that there is a controversy in this issue, because I have found several sites that say this:
http://www.wildwnc.org/node/183
For what it's worth, by the way, I've been bitten, and envenomated, by a bushmaster.
SNIP So my question is, can a person who has been bitten and received a large dose of venom, still have pain from the bite long afterward?
So my question is, can a person who has been bitten and received a large dose of venom, still have pain from the bite long afterward?
Like Citizen said, nerve damage often results in long-term pain and discomfort. Rattlesnakes have primarily hemotoxic venom, the name of which suggests that it acts upon the blood, but in reality hemotoxins also destroy tissue in general, which makes them effectively cytotoxic (though there's a specific distinction between the two). Some rattlesnakes also have neurotoxins in their venom, which interfere with neurotransmission and can have long-term/permanent effects. Short version: rattlesnake bites can result in long-term, even life-long, pain, and it's not at all uncommon. Sounds like a doctor who didn't know very much about what she was treating. Sadly, the Fedgub's war on pain medication and pain doctors has made far too many doctors gun-shy about prescribing opiates (aka the pain killers that actually work).
It appears that...