Alyrium did some stupid things over the weekend.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Found this little guy on the road. Anaxyrus(formerly Bufo) nebulifer



Little bit of landscape photography



So I know this looks pointless... but that is the tail end of a cottonmouth we released. We were looking for frogs and it came across out path. Jeff tried to catch it, it got past him and almost tagged his foot. So I caught it in my big dip net and pinned its head with the little one.



Not the same snake, but we caught four over the weekend. One of them bit Dr. Smith, but the fang went through his index finger completely and the venom sprayed out the other end.

That is one lucky biologist... But he has been bitten by 4 venomous snakes over the years. He was not phased at all.





Little Acris crepitans. The frog is about the size of your thumbnail.



little Ambystoma talpoidium



Me in all my nerdy glory at camp



A very mild mannered water snake



Me holding a coral snake



Little pigmy rattlesnake



This poor little copperhead got clipped by a car



Big ass cottonmouth saying hello to the world



Then deciding he hates it

[Steve]

Heh, if my mom were still around this thread would send her into a fit. She was a real serpentophobic. Is that how you'd put it?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Heh, if my mom were still around this thread would send her into a fit. She was a real serpentophobic. Is that how you'd put it?

Ophidophobic

[Tsyroc]

Do cottonmouths come in any other size than "big ass". All the ones I have ever noticed in the wild were of the "big ass" variety.

As someone who makes antivenin for people who've been bitten by poisonous snakes I can't say I'm thrilled to read about your biologist friend who has been bitten so often. Antevenin is kind of a pain in the ass to make and expensive so we're never happy to see repeat customers come through our hospital. It also tends to be less effective with each subsequent envenomation.

I will say that at least he isn't some dumbass who has a bunch of pet poisonous snakes that he likes to handle after drinking. I've seen that a few times.


EDIT: ante venom to antivenin, which is the correct spelling and term although antivenom is sometimes accepted although antivenin is more technically descriptive and correct.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Do cottonmouths come in any other size than "big ass". All the ones I have ever noticed in the wild were of the "big ass" variety.

There are babies...

I will say that at least he isn't some dumbass who has a bunch of pet poisonous snakes that he likes to handle after drinking. I've seen that a few times.

He is a systematist who grew up in Guatamala and works on the evolutionary relationships between tropical reptile and amphibian groups. Everyone who does that sort of work gets bitten eventually... and often.

He has however only ever needed ante venom once.

[Tsyroc]

I forgot to ask. Was the copperhead going to be okay?

[Alyrium Denryle]

I forgot to ask. Was the copperhead going to be okay?

No. He was dead, he just didn't know it yet. He went into Texas A&M museum collection and was humanely euthanized.

[The Grim Squeaker]

I like the first froggy pic and your first picture of the mild mannered everyday watersnale .
I wish Israeli universities had the budget for field expeditions for more than the top 5%

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

Makes me glad I live in a near serpent-free country. They're amazing animals and I have nothing against them, but nor do I wish to be screwed up by one accidentally while out playing Airsoft in the forests. I've noticed they almost never bite you right next to qualified medical help.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Makes me glad I live in a near serpent-free country. They're amazing animals and I have nothing against them, but nor do I wish to be screwed up by one accidentally while out playing Airsoft in the forests. I've noticed they almost never bite you right next to qualified medical help.

The only venomous snake you have in scottland are adders, and they are very mild mannered and not particularly dangerous if they do bite. Adults will have IIRC some localized swelling if they are healthy.

[Napoleon the Clown]

IIRC, there are a number of venomous snakes that's venom itself isn't much of a threat to your life, and the biggest issue is lots of cell death in the area you got pegged. Meaning lots of scarring and pain, but so long as you get medical help to prevent gangrene from setting in, you'll live though with a shitload of scarring. Better to get the antivenon than it is to let that go unchecked, though. You could seriously lose an arm.

How many snakes are actually in the "probably won't kill you but you should still see a doctor really fast" category, Aly?

[Anguirus]

Where were you collecting?

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

The only venomous snake you have in scottland are adders, and they are very mild mannered and not particularly dangerous if they do bite. Adults will have IIRC some localized swelling if they are healthy.

Correct, sort of. The only snake I've ever seen here in Scotland is the tiny, harmless grass snake, and that was only once in 40 years. Reptiles of any kind are very rare, I've only seen lizards in the southern border regions, and adders tend to be found even further south in England. You almost never hear of them being encountered. Too damn cold I suppose.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Where were you collecting?

Under permit in Angelina National Park.

How many snakes are actually in the "probably won't kill you but you should still see a doctor really fast" category, Aly?

Copperheads, most of the central and south american, and a few of the asian arboreal pit vipers.

There is also another category "Snakes that if they bite you, it wont kill you, and there is nothing medicine can do for the horrible pain you will be in"

That category is populated by Atractaspsis

[MKSheppard]

So where was the protective gloves and snake handling tongs/hooks?

[JointStrikeFighter]

So where was the protective gloves and snake handling tongs/hooks?

Steve Irwin didn't need no protective gloves.

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

I'm guessing Alyrium isn't jumping on them and then sticking his thumb up their ass either.

Then again...

[Alyrium Denryle]

So where was the protective gloves and snake handling tongs/hooks?

I used tongs for the cottonmouth, with the coral snake they were not necessary. Those snakes are not very aggressive and cannot turn back on themselves. They also dont curl themselves into a little ball of death like the cottonmouth will.

[MKSheppard]

If you're using tongs, then how can one manage to bite someone so hard that it goes right through their index finger?

[Alyrium Denryle]

If you're using tongs, then how can one manage to bite someone so hard that it goes right through their index finger?

Eric was not using tongs. He was using two hooks, but had to grab the snake behind the head to get it into a collection bag. He miscalculated his hand position.

[Akhlut]

Aren't cottonmouths lightning fast, too, meaning that if you lose focus for a second or just get your hand a few millimeters off, you'll get bit?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Aren't cottonmouths lightning fast, too, meaning that if you lose focus for a second or just get your hand a few millimeters off, you'll get bit?

They are actually more likely to just sit there and gape at you. You have to be actively molesting one to get bitten, or step on it. Hell even then most of their strikes are mock strikes unless it is in pain.