|
In 1971 I was fishing on a bever dam in southern Coweta county in North west Georgia. It was near dark and I was walking
back to my camp. I stepped on a dry branch lying on top of the dam and I went through up to my thigh. I also drug a creature
down with me, A three and a half foor Cotton mouth. Not appreciative of being drug down she immediately turned and tagged
me on the right side of my Butt! I said excuse me and got to hell out of there trying to get my pants off as I ran, what
a sight that must have been.
I ended up at a local doctors office and he checked out the bite. One fang had lodged in my wallet and the other got
me but it appeared to be a dry bite as I was mearly frightened at the thought of dyeing a horrible death. The doctor said
I was lucky and he explained to me about the snakes ability to inject or not to inject venom and from that story I have read
and studied snakes every single day of my life.
These wonderful creatures are always somewhere in my thoughts and to find one in the wild is equal to winning the lotery.
You would think that studying snakes for over 30 years Anyone would know everything there is to know but nothing could be
farther from the truth.
With 2.700 species of snake,there is always something new to learn and I make it a point to learn something new every
day. My specialty is venomous snakes, I find that G_D gave them more gifts then any other creature on Earth. In my humble
oppinion G_D is the top Herpetologist and he spent more time on them then he did on us.
The venomous snake is a gift to mankind, though missunderstood and even maligned by most the venom in those glands are
proving to be life saving miricals to humans with cancer, diabetes, cronic pain and high blood preasure, to name just a few
ailements.
In the past 30 years I have been tagged 5 times by venomous species and I have never used anti-venom. Once bitten by
an Eastern diamondback on the right foot I was laid up for almost a month. The others were from Copperheads and an Amodytes
viper.
For the past ten years I have injected microgram levels of venom subcutainously and I truly believe it has been a wonder
drug for me. The bite by the Eastern diamondback probably would have killed me if I had not built up a small immunity to
their venom.
Do I recommend people doing self immunization with snake venom? NO. This was an individual choice and I spent years
studing the effects of various venoms on the human body and in the end it was a toss up as to "should I do it "?
I do think I made the right decision and it was my decision to make.
I keep several species of snakes, along with lizards and turtles. All of my friends are captive breed and born, I never
remove snakes or other wild animals from the wild. It was many years before I aquired a venomous snake as these animals
require a special sort of keeper with a special knowledge of keeping them.
If I sound a bit condesending so be it , however I believe in learning before doing. I would never give a loaded gun
to a novis hunter want to be, or toss the car keys to a kid who never drove a car, things like this are common sence well
a venomous snake is far more dangerous then a loaded gun.
Think of someone keeping a timber rattlesnake, or a black Mamba in an appartment complex! and it escapes! Believe
it or not ,it happens. There are people who see adventure programs on television and all of a sudden they are experts on
snakes.
I can understand youth and impatience and that is why I try and preach " get a mentor ", someone who will teach
you and answer your questions. If a mentor can not be found keep non venomous snakes and read, go to zoos, use a computer
and get involved with good reptile forums. The main goal for young people who love snakes should be to get good grades in
Math, Science, especially Biology and stay in school. With the right attitude and education you could be on that TV program,
Your future is up to you !
I have ran a reptile rescue and relocation service for years. Most of the calls it get are from people who know very little
about snakes and when I answer the phone it is almost always a "Copperhead" sitting on their porch. When I get
there I find a Corn snake or a Rat snake but I never laugh, I take the time to tell these people the difference between venomous
and non venom,ous snakes. I also tell them the good these snakes do our environment and most of the time these people learn
to accept their new neighbors. If you live in the country you are going to have a few snakes around.
 |
|