I found this snake in my back yard

[ironman85]

it's a green tree python

dang, u beat me to it.

the pet store i worked at had a couple of those suckers....they are pissy as hell. i handled savanah moniters, tegus, tarantulas(only once.....it took days to get all teh hairs out of my hand) but i REFUSED to touch those vipers.

[rickyduckworth]

dang, u beat me to it.

the pet store i worked at had a couple of those suckers....they are pissy as hell. i handled savanah moniters, tegus, tarantulas(only once.....it took days to get all teh hairs out of my hand) but i REFUSED to touch those vipers.

vipers?
tree vipers are a whole different animal, and they're venomous and yeah, you don't fuck with those without tools......a gtp can leave a nasty bite when full grown, but not as bad as what a large rat can give you, or a poodle, or a cat, etc.......if you've never been bitten by a 6ft python or boa, you're probably imagining much worse.....they have a lot of small, short sharp teeth....their saliva makes you bleed a bit more than usual......at first, it can look bad but until they get up around 6-8ft, it doesn't hurt and sometimes is 100% painless.....

i bought this reticulated python that was about 4ft recently.......just at an expo/show with my brother because he wanted another ball python......no real intent to buy anything for me......well, i came up on this table with a couple of retics left, and one was beautiful but had been marked down 4 times and i asked about it.....said he was a biter......i asked to get him out and sure enough, he bit the hell out of me a few times......so i bought him....

got him home and after handling him 15 minutes a day for a week, he was MUCH calmer....found out he had ribs that were once broken so he was dropped a lot as a baby.......that's why he was so ill, because he associated that pain with being touched by a human, and we smell differently to them

now, some snakes are just haters, because reptile personalities vary more than ANY other animal from my experience....and they have days where they are simply not in a good mood.......for one, they don't require our affection in any way, not even ball pythons......we are either tolerated or used for heat or a climbing fixture.....most will learn that humans aren't dangerous (if they've experienced as much) and be fine with us......some have been abused and will never forget the pain humans have caused them.....some are just pissy......you'll hear how all of this type of snake is mean, or all of these are nice, etc......not true at all.....i have a timber rattler that is as cool as anything i've owned......another timber is as mean as anything i've owned.....the babies are all pissy......another big male is cool too.....they just vary greatly from snake to snake......

most will calm down when they get used to our scent and it NOT being associated with anything bad or painful.....even venomous (although you shouldn't hold them of course)

[drzachm]

Luckily the little cocksucker was a youngling and since it was a glancing bite, meaning only one fang actually penetrated my flesh, I wasn't given any antivenom. Also, seeing that it took me an hour to get to the hospital, and I had minimal bruising and swelling when I got there, and also because I couldn't identify the fucking culprit specie, the doc felt it unnecessary to administer any of the AV. But the bruise lasted for about three or four months. Never had any trouble walking or anything, only time it hurt, after the initial pain, was when I woke up and got out of bed. As for the other questions, insurance covered almost all of it, no allergic reaction to anything, quite the opposite, I became quite fond of the painkillers. lol. I got pics, but I don't have a scanner. But I'll hook yall up when I hit the office next week.

[ProJect]

that is crazy looking

[rickyduckworth]

Luckily the little cocksucker was a youngling and since it was a glancing bite, meaning only one fang actually penetrated my flesh, I wasn't given any antivenom. Also, seeing that it took me an hour to get to the hospital, and I had minimal bruising and swelling when I got there, and also because I couldn't identify the fucking culprit specie, the doc felt it unnecessary to administer any of the AV. But the bruise lasted for about three or four months. Never had any trouble walking or anything, only time it hurt, after the initial pain, was when I woke up and got out of bed. As for the other questions, insurance covered almost all of it, no allergic reaction to anything, quite the opposite, I became quite fond of the painkillers. lol. I got pics, but I don't have a scanner. But I'll hook yall up when I hit the office next week.

if it had been a rattler and you had gotten any amount of venom from a defensive bite, you would most definitely had required antivenom and the hemotoxic affects would have rotted your flesh to some extent and been extremely painful......without a/v, you probably would have lost at least some toes, maybe your foot......from a one fang scratch, unless it's a dry bite (the snake controls that), you would normally get 10+ vials of a/v ($2000 per vial) and would require rehab and/or surgery.....a 1.5ft rattler is plenty large enough to put a HUGE hurt on you....they have more than enough venom to give you a horrible bite the second they're born.....they're usually more defensive and more likely to give you a full dose when biting too....1 of 3 adult bites are dry (except from western diamondbacks and a few other rattlers with bad attitudes)

you have copperheads up there and they'll often rattle their tale (most snakes do this) and at 1.5ft, it would have been an adult or close to it.....the fact you couldn't ID it means you don't really know what they look like, because i DO know what snakes look like and it's not easy sometimes because they can look so different and when on the move are hard to see as far as pattern goes.....a bite from a copperhead would BURN LIKE FIRE, hardly ever requires a/v and is still something i personally avoid like the plague......a dark phase copperhead can have the same coloration as some rattlers near your area too.....but a bite from a rattler that wasn't dry is always far more serious than that.....even a bite from a baby dusky pygmy rattler (5" long) is enough to ruin your life for a week and put you in more pain than the average person can stand.....it's basically a case where you take enough drugs to keep you unconscious for a week or so.....

reason i'm saying this is because your post kind of makes it sound like young rattlers that don't just nail you aren't a big deal, when they are.......any type of bite from any type of rattlesnake is VERY serious......the worst bite from a copperhead is nothing compared to a rattler bite.....the pain is comparable at first, the burning and all, but the effects of a rattler bite wreak havoc on your flesh and can even kill you, and will definitely hurt for a long time, maybe for life periodically

[PakaloloHonda]

Very true Fizz .. or atleast thats what a friend told me about that lil pigmy rattler ...
He was all of .. maybe, 6 inches .. but I was told that he had just as much venom in him
as a full grown rattler .. that woulda sucked .. but, he was so cute and so curious
I couldnt help myself .. heheh .. I know now .. so errr, I stay away from all snakies ..
Well ..cept the all black ones down here .. heheh .. found one swimmin in my pool ...

A Hui Hou !!!
Tomi

[rickyduckworth]

Very true Fizz .. or atleast thats what a friend told me about that lil pigmy rattler ...
He was all of .. maybe, 6 inches .. but I was told that he had just as much venom in him
as a full grown rattler .. that woulda sucked .. but, he was so cute and so curious
I couldnt help myself .. heheh .. I know now .. so errr, I stay away from all snakies ..
Well ..cept the all black ones down here .. heheh .. found one swimmin in my pool ...

A Hui Hou !!!
Tomi

nowadays, south florida may have ANYTHING living in the wild.....there are what, like 300 species of animals living there not even native to the USA....crazy.....and yeah, i know a guy who was tagged by a young pygmy....said it was extremely painful and just all around a shitty experience.....it's hard for even me to understand how something that tiny (as baby's they're not as large as earthworms) can mess you up so bad.....pretty amazing

[amd3dnow3]

thats a nice lil snake you got there we need some more pics of it. you guys are all talking about snakes and fizz sounds like a zoologist(SP) lol now i know if i see a snake no matter how cute and small dont TOUCH that biach

[PakaloloHonda]

Now how could I have spelled pygmy wrong?

Owell ..
Tomi

[rickyduckworth]

thats a nice lil snake you got there we need some more pics of it. you guys are all talking about snakes and fizz sounds like a zoologist(SP) lol now i know if i see a snake no matter how cute and small dont TOUCH that biach

if you don't know, then that's best....easier to get acquainted with the venomous snakes in your area because there are usually far more that can't hurt you.....most states have a competent site that will help you out

something else, most venomous snakes act differently.....they usually rely on their camouflage than trying to get away until they just have to.....a cottonmouth hardly ever flees when it first sees you unless you really startle it.....same with timber rattlers....copperheads are usually a bit more defensive because they'll sometimes coil up and shake their tail instead of just laying still like the others.....

you'd be surprised how often a snake gets passed by because it hides so well.....i go snake hunting and it's VERY hard to see them sometimes.....the hots have the best camo too....check this out:

[PakaloloHonda]

Is That It ?

[drzachm]

no it was a rattler. im positive, just couldnt identify what species it was. fuck, i live in texas, i know what a rattlesnake looks like, see em all the time. and no offense fizzbob, but do you have medical experience? have you ever treated a rattlesnake bite? i said i had the bruisin for four months. and still have a small scar on my leg. not everything follows the books. im well aware that rattlesnakelings pack just as much punch as an adult. had a herpatologist come to the hospital and give me the earful. its the same thing as an uncle of mine, who lives in roanoak, alabama gettin bit by a black widow. shoulda gone to the hospital, but didnt. didnt die, didnt lose any of his toes, no paralysis, but had one hell of a bruise. point is, your knowledge versus the combined knowledge of a team of professionals, two of which have 25 years medical experience and 20 years reptilian experience respectively... id go with the trained professionals.

[amd3dnow3]

man i was there for a gooooood minute trying to find that snake or what ever it was, and i still dont see it lol

[rickyduckworth]

no it was a rattler. im positive, just couldnt identify what species it was. fuck, i live in texas, i know what a rattlesnake looks like, see em all the time. and no offense fizzbob, but do you have medical experience? have you ever treated a rattlesnake bite? i said i had the bruisin for four months. and still have a small scar on my leg. not everything follows the books. im well aware that rattlesnakelings pack just as much punch as an adult. had a herpatologist come to the hospital and give me the earful. its the same thing as an uncle of mine, who lives in roanoak, alabama gettin bit by a black widow. shoulda gone to the hospital, but didnt. didnt die, didnt lose any of his toes, no paralysis, but had one hell of a bruise. point is, your knowledge versus the combined knowledge of a team of professionals, two of which have 25 years medical experience and 20 years reptilian experience respectively... id go with the trained professionals.

ok, first off, you're REALLY full of shit and it's obvious now.....i kinda thought you were before but i know you are now......sean bush is the only guy in your area with enough expertise to NOT administer a/v after a confirmed rattler envenomation.......but what you don't know is that doctors aren't trained in snakebite treatment, most hospitals do NOT keep antivenom and that's why people like me (those who keep venomous snakes as "pets") have bite protocols for every applicable species we do keep.....you have to know the latin name of the snake to know what a/v to give......most don't know that much.....a guy with a coral snake bite in GA overheard the doctors say "this isn't the right antivenom, it's for a micrurus fulvius" and the guy spoke up, "that is the latin name for the coral snake, that's what i need"......

they're clueless and any respectable herper will tell you that......it's scary what they DON'T know, but they simply are never trained in this area unless they pursue it on their own time.......it happens too infrequently for most to care.....trust me, i know what i'm talking about, i have 11 rattlers within feet of me right now......been keeping them for years......you're simply misinformed

but the fact you could ID a rattler by it's tail (one that small would have 1 or 2 rattles at most) but you never mentioned the black/white striping means you are probably full of shit......all snakes with that black/white striping is some type of rattlesnake in your area.....western diamondback, mojave, etc....

and a bruise is just blood under the skin.....you claimed it scratched you so that means that venom HAD to have been present, yet you received no a/v and it wasn't too traumatic...peculiar

i bet that either you're lying completely or a damn rat snake got you and you freaked out because you're a pussy......

if you are envenomated by a rattler, you get a/v, that's how it is......there is massive tissue damage and/or nerve damage.......the bills can exceed $100,000.....it's usually the worst ordeal in someone's life....

they do give dry bites, but a scratch from a young rattler wouldn't cause pain or bruising......even an adults teeth are super sharp and thin....like a hypodermic needle.....a bruise shouldn't be left from a dry bite but for a day or two

your story doesn't add up and you're misinformed if you think doctors know their shit about snake bites.....envenomation specialists are few and far between....i have a phone number of the closest guy just in case, but he's 800 miles away.....so i'm pretty much on my own......

why do you think so many doctors think that fasciotomies are the way to go, even after research has proven them useless until the fingers are actually dead? they know NOTHING about how to treat it and usually reference a book or webpage and learn on the fly.....mistakes are plentiful if the victim doesn't have a bite protocol....i keep one in my billfold and in my snake room....

check out venomousreptiles.org and ask their opinion on this....

here are a few links:

http://www.venomousreptiles.org/forums/Experts/16421
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/forums/Experts/8713
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/forums/Experts/3944

[Turbo Dave]

i got bit by a black momba once