Update on the male.....

[Gregg M]

Well folks, The male is in perfect health...... Even ate for me this morning...... Gave him a small rat far way from the female this time...... I thought for sure he was gonna be mush after that bite....... I looked him over at the site of the bite and inside his mouth and there was no sign of necrosis or bleeding...... Swelling is now fully gone....... Luckily she did not grab him on the body where the vitals are........ So for those who want to know if gaboons are immune to their own venom, heres your answer......... I allways thought so but now I know for sure...... Thanks for everyones words and advice....... Later people......

[BWSmith]

Good to hear bro. I love feed totes :)

[Shane Tesser]

Glad to hear!!! Beautiful snakes :D

[Invictus]

Glad everything's ok, Greg.

[unBOAlievable]

So glad it turned out well,

maybe the arietans venom is far worse or maybe it is just where mine bit itself. One thing is for sure mine won't ever do it again.

[SnowSnake]

Good news! :D

[ETET]

Good to hear your gaboon's recovery!

ETET

[Mike177]

i am glad to hear you have a healthy gabby rather then a DEAD gabby well i hope you have good luck in breeding these guys

[jaybox_reptiles]

ther it was emune to the venom or it was a dry bite so i would still be carfull cuz i have been bit 3 times bye dimond back rattlers and all wer dry bite so that tells you it is more common then not andi no that i am not amune to the venom

[Gregg M]

Well dude, I know for sure it was not a dry bite...... It was a feed reponce....... There was venom at the site of the bite and there was a good amout of swelling shortly after the bite occured...... And you should be more careful to avoid a bite from your diamond backs....... I just dont see how you could have gotten bit 3 times and still have all your fingers...... Infact I cant see how you could have been bitten 3 times period if you use the proper tools....... I would not rely on the dry bite thing....... Sooner or later it will pump you full of venom....... Avoiding a bite should be a top prioroty for ALL venomous keepers........ Do yourself a favor and buy some hooks, tubes, and grabbers...... They are worth every penny.........

[SCReptiles]

Do you feed live or pre-killed? A snake accustomed to pre-killed prey would not be likely to inject a good amount of venom. Even if not a dry bite, it may have been a very mild envenomation. Also, the swelling could have been attributed to the bite rather then venom. I have seen snakes swell after bites from rats, so the 2 inch fangs of a big gabby could by all means do enough local tissue damage to account for some swelling. There is no doubt your knowledge of Gaboons far exceeds mine, but I have heard other accounts of Bitis species dieing after bites to themselves or other Bitis. I don’t think you should make the immunity call based on one instance. If you have access to lab equipment, try pulling blood and venom samples. Check the results when the venom is introduced to the blood. It is my thoughts that the results would be about the same when you introduce gaboon venom to gaboon blood, as they would if you introduced gaboon venom to rattlesnake blood.

[Gregg M]

If the bite would have hit some vitals then the chance of recovery would have been very slim at best....... There was envenomation for sure...... Even a drop or two is enough to put me or you in the ER....... My snakes eat both live and dead....... And they usually do inject prey items even if they are pre killed...... It does aid in digestion but is not manditory........ I give live once every few feeding just to keep them sharp.....LOL...... It is usually over in a few seconds......

[jaybox_reptiles]

well i dont even keep vinomus i was just snake hunting in tall grass and all 3 times were on the leg i got bit when i was 12 13 and 15 but i just bought a pare of snake boots so i that will not happen again the grass was full of rattlers and i admet it was prety stupid walking through it but i guess i was determind