What is a snake bite?!

[reptilesalonica]

For those that haven't felt their snake's mouth in any part of their body, what do you think a snake bite is and what will cause?

[Herp guy]

Well, when i get bit by a python,it hurts,may draw blood, but does no real serious damage. A large retic could maybe make you have to get stitches. A garter bite wil not even scratch the skin and a corn cannot do much either.

[Linds]

Originally posted by Herp guy
A garter bite wil not even scratch the skin and a corn cannot do much either.

Garters can definitely break the skin, and they have an irritant in their saliva which can cause reactions in people, depending on that persons sensitivity to it.

[Mike177]

i have not been bit by hardly any snakes (with exception to the nippi snakes that I have had to tame) but the one snake i was bit by that hurt was a 8 foot burmese python that didnt want to let go. I am not trying to like carry bites around like medals of honnor or some sort but it was something that i would not like to go thorugh again. just dont make simple mistakes and it will save you quite alot of good old skin cells.

......................................Mike........ .....................................

[Samba]

Linds,

Is what you said about Garter snakes the reason some believe they are venomous? (Here in New Mexico A LOT of people believe they are poisonous...) I have also heard of an 'African Garter Snake' that is supposedly venomous... Are these urban myths? Possibly started by that 'irritant' in the saliva? Just curious... it never occurred to me to ask until just now! LOL

[ballpython5000]

alot of people ask me if my ball python is venomous, and my friend once threw my corn snake across the room becuase he thought i said it was a coral snake. its the irrational fear of snakes that leads people to believe that. garter snakes can and do break the skin, plus they find it best to bite many times and chew on your skin. its pretty creepy. i never heard of irritants in the saliva, i learn somethin new everyday.

[ballpython5000]

haha, i just thought. i bet arachnid lovers feel the same about people like me. i love tarantulas, but hate those small creepy spiders that are in my house, they freak me out! lol......just a thought

[eyespy]

Originally posted by Samba
Linds,

Is what you said about Garter snakes the reason some believe they are venomous? (Here in New Mexico A LOT of people believe they are poisonous...) I have also heard of an 'African Garter Snake' that is supposedly venomous... Are these urban myths? Possibly started by that 'irritant' in the saliva? Just curious... it never occurred to me to ask until just now! LOL

Garters do have enzymes secreted by Duvernoy's gland that are LD50 agents and hemotoxic. It's a very small amount that is released, though, and has never been known to cause a problem in large mammals that I've read.

<a href="http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CGARTER/FEEDING.HTM">Garter enzymes</a>

They also have proteins in their saliva that can cause an allergic reaction in susceptible people.

So it's a 2 pronged attack but not to worry. Even if you have an allergic reaction it tends to be minimal. Some angioedema (leakage of blood vessels), swelling, itching, etc. at the bite site but no systemic problems.

[reptilesalonica]

I didn't knew that about garter snakes. Any other non-rear phanged snake like this? My Taiwan beauty has an interest for my flesh. Whenever i get her out of the terarium to feed her, she passes the mouse and after a few flicks on my arm, she opens her mouth to...shallow it! lol. She is 2 years old, i've got her from a juvenile and i never give her anything else except mice. Always my hands never have other smell. Any suggestions on this strange reaction?

[Lizzy001]

i have only been biten once...and i didnt realise until 5 mins after!!


i was bit by a cornsnake.

[Samba]

Linds,

Thanks for the information! I guess that is the origination of the venomous Garter Snake myth! I myself, have never been bitten by a snake, large or small, venomous or not. I guess I am just lucky! Thanks again!

[reptilesalonica]

Me too! I keep snakes for 7 years and i never been bitten by a snake. Only from a Vipera ammodytes that went out to mountain to catch it. Lucky for me it just "needle" me with it's teeth-no venom rejected! I was fast and lucky! :)

[ThEmAdHaTtEr]

My female BP bit me once on feeding error, she struck a bit too high. Didnt hurt amazingly bad but it was painful.

[eyespy]

Originally posted by Samba
Linds,

Thanks for the information! I guess that is the origination of the venomous Garter Snake myth!

Ah, but it's not a myth, exactly. An LD50 hemotoxic agent is technically a venom. It's just that if you are bigger than a medium-sized frog you're most likely quite safe.

There have been folks who have let garters chew their venom into them to study the reaction, and some of those folks did have some localized reactions so it can affect humans who allow that sort of thing.

Man, I love my garters but even so you couldn't pay me enough to let them chew into me like that! ;)

[jncoclub]

Baby red corn snakes don't like me. I accidently dropped one (more like it slithered out of my hand) the distance of 1 foot onto a counter top. Since then, all the baby red cornsnakes have it in for me. (I think they talked behind my back) Eitherway, it felt like I hit my hand with a stapler. Nothing tragic, but nothing horrible.

A baby ball python got me too. Little staple size holes, kind of stung, nothing horrible.

But none of my own snakes have ever tried to bite me.

[Simon R. Sansom]

Hi,
I'm one of the unlucky few who seems to manifest allergic reactions to being bitten.
I've been nailed by everything from a 12+ foot Burmese in full-on feeding mode (A pretty terrifying experience) to little babies of several species and numerous Garter Snakes.
When I'm bitten, the skin around the tooth-marks turns white and puffy while the whole general area turns red and becomes horribly itchy.
Strangely enough, my most annoying bite came from a friend's Solomon Island Boa (Candoia carinata paulsoni). He got me on the finger and it itched like crazy for almost a full week!
I've heard it stated by researchers and others that there may technically be no such thing as a "non-venomous" snake, because they may all have a certain amount of irritating proteins in their saliva. It's an interesting subject, that's for certain.

Cheers!

Simon