I was just curious to know if any of you knew anyone living in Omund as a kid or adult that had a snake bite? We all played in the desert, but for the life of me, I do not remember anyone ever being bitten.....
barb1
No, can't remember anyone being bitten. We were obviously very cautious. I remember almost stepping on a huge puff adder that was crawled up under a bush near the log cabin one day. Sh*t in my pants for the rest of the day. Good thing is that growing up in a desert town has taught me to always be on the lookout for desert snakes, which has definately come in handy when I go on desert outings here. Though must admit, the snakes here are much smaller than in the Namib.
I cought one at 1 Plant.
Took it home and placed it in a tree to take picture. A young cape cobra, very agressive.
Had to catch it again and gave to the school where is was exposed for the kids in a bottle with some liquid.
I only have it on film. Will post a picture from that just now......
No snakebites but nearly stood on a scorpion in our garage. My brother then made it scuttle outside where we teased and tortured it for ages. I was always scared of going into the dark garages from then on.
Her some taken with 8 mm filmcamera
1) Cape Cobra in our garden in O-mund
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z249/georgswa/Cobra_Garten.jpg)
2) Puffadder PE Snake Park
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z249/georgswa/puffadder.jpg)
3) Boomslang PE Snake Park
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z249/georgswa/Baumschlange.jpg)
Quote from: georgswa on April 13, 2008, 11:09:26 AM
I cought one at 1 Plant.
Took it home and placed it in a tree to take picture. A young cape cobra, very agressive.
Had to catch it again and gave to the school where is was exposed for the kids in a bottle with some liquid.
I only have it on film. Will post a picture from that just now......
Aw god, that is disgusting. Georg, has I known that you had a snake in your garden, I would have moved out immediately.
The point I'm trying to make...is that even though we live in the middle of the desert, we all saw snakes, but nobody was bitten......
@ Patrica
You also had your share of pets LOL
No no, i had it under control. I dont fear snakes, only have respect.......
Spitting cobra however is very dangerous it hits you from several metres in the eyes, spot on !!!!!
I also brought a Chamalion from the mine, i guess your cat got hold of him LOL
Have a nice day down south
There's a huge difference between 'pets' and those disgusting legless creatures. I can't open this subject for fear of seeing those photos you posted and having nightmares ... :emot78:
I thought a snake-bite was half lager and half cider all mixed evenly in a pint glass.............
@ Patricia
And i dream of vicious cats giving me allergies, thats the difference
If you cant sleep, try a Windhoek lager in the eavening that helps
Your cat can then catch the white mice you may see after that
bling1 yougogirl iknow
Ellen and I were nearly bitten by a horn adder, the snake was curled up between the two of us and I heard this noise. I looked down saw it and started running, had to shout to Ellen because she was still standing there unaware of it. Some boys also walking in the desert killed it and put it in a jar for us, took it home to put in spirits to take to school but when we opened the jar, the thing wasn't dead and came sliding out and my mother nearly had a fit. Someone visiting the Burgess' across the road came to help us. Used a curtain rail to pick the snake up and into the spirits jar.
Found a pofadder under old car parts in my garden once, stange never heard of a snake bite in O/Mund
snakes have always been my 2nd equal fear with frogs.....i once nearly trod on one walking home from school one day with Sandra Wiliams......i ran screaming all the way home and she just stood rooted to the spot screaming her head off.......i have now watched i think every wild life program there ever was about snakes........love to see the shows.....but cant watch when they eat anything....thats the bit that scares me.........but maybe the reason no one was bitten is that theres only a couple of species of snakes that are agressive and will actually bite for no reason.......of course if you picked the snake up and it bit you cant blame the snake.......so i sgree it is weird no on got bit....maybe the namibian snakes are friendly..........................but....CAN YOU MAKE SURE THERE ARE NONE AROUND IN NOVEMBER PLEASE... :36_2_35:
I remember after the '74 floods a man was bitten by a puff adder. The scariest experience I had with snakes was last year February when my son was bitten by an adder.
My daughter had an emergency appendix op on 18 Feb. On 19 Feb I was visiting her in hospital, when my husband called me, his voice a meer squeek........ Boet was bitten by a snake. My God!.... I shouted at the hospital personel that I was gonna be back in 10 mins with my son. They thought I was joking. Ran out the hospital, jumped in my car and drove like crazy to meet Cobus and Boet half way. Met them three quarters of the way to the farm, grabbed Boet and within about 10 minutes was back at the hospital. Everybody was running around like cats on a hot plate. Then..... no anti venim, for noboddy knew what sort of snake it was that had bitten him. They wanted to know from me where the snake was. Eventually told them - it's a bloody snake with teeth and venom that bit my child - just do something. My housedoc that was in hospital at that time to come and see how my daughter was doing, had heard about the child who was bitten by a snake. Came into the emergency room and saw it was me. I was in a state. My childs arm was then already swollen from the wrist (that's where the bugger got him) halfway to his elbow. Pieter got on the phone to a specialist in Kimberley immediatly - this guy told him what drip to put on and said that Boet had to be transported to Kimberley as in NOW!. Pieters said - don't wait for an ambulance, get in your car and take your son. Kimberley about 320km from Kathu - I made it there in 1hr and 40mins. Prayed all the way. Every 5 mins just told Boet - don't sleep and drink water! Felt so sorry for my son, 'cos I think he was more scared than I was. At one stage he asked me - Ma, can I die from a snake bite. Told him yes, but your'e not going to - you are a favourite child of the Lord. Between Barclays and Kim he told me that he could'nt breathe lekker anymore. I drove through Kimberley at a speed of about 150km/h - skipped every red robot. Got to the emergency and they were waiting for us. By then Boet's arm was swollen really bad. When they took him, his blood pressure had dropped to 60 over 30, his veins had collapsed and they had to search for a vein in his groin. That's when mamma Dalene just dropped down to the floor and asked them for water, lots of water. The doc said they were going to give me a shot - said I did not want any shots - just needed water. They wanted to know if I was thursty - said no - it's the best calming medecine of all.
So many people called me during that time to say that they were praying for us. People whom I had never even heard of, called me or send messages. People in the hospital came to the ICU to come and see him. People stopped me in the passages and asked if it was my child that was bitten and said they would pray for us. To say the least - if I had never seen a miracle in my life, I saw it last year Feb. Even the specialist said he could'nt believe what he saw, but he had to. 5 Days in ICU, 2 days in general ward, then Boet and I were on our way home. The swelling was gone and where the actual bite was, it looked like mosquito bites.
While he was in ICU the first day, 2 guys from the snakebite institue came to see him. They said it was a burrowing adder. The poison is in the same category as that of a puff adder, but there is no specific anti venom for this nake, for since 1956 it was only the 3d case they knew of.
So, never say it only happens to other people. As Cobus and I spoke he said something funny: I don't even know someone who knows someone who has ever been bitten by a snake, and now it happens to our child! My goodness - I still get short of breath when I tell this to you, but THANK YOU LORD - my child turns 18 one of these days and I think he has forgotten by now that he was snake bitten. Best of all - he says it was not the snake's fault - the snake was desturbed and fended in the only way it could - to bite!
In the meantime, Susan was discharged from hospital in Kathu - her operation a success and the only thing she was sorry about, was that she missed out on her SA athletics!
Now you know why I only have 2 kids - how would I be able to handle it if I had more!
@ Dalene
A nightmare that story
Dalene, I'm glad it turned out well for your son in the end. I saw a program on National Geographic once where they say that the adder family of snakes has the most destructive venom of all snakes, and the puff-adder has the fastest strike.
Do any of you ex-Centaurus guys remember Walter Schmit? He ran a tuck shop from his room at the hostel. He used to keep a live puff-adder in his cupboard to prevent us hungry hostelbrakke from sampling the merchandise in his absence.
@Georgswa - it felt like a nightmare at that time.
@Carl - yes, the venom of the adder rots away the meat and usually it takes months to heal and most people have side affects for years afterwards, but like I told my son - he must be a "witbroodjie" of the Lord. You will understand why I say it if you knew what has already happened to him, and still he is walking around - healthy and strong. I will have to write a book if I had to start telling all his mishaps and accidents.
Most of all - I never even wish something like this to happen to my worst enemy!
Phew, that was quite a lesson on actually how dangerous snakes can be.... glad everything turned out for the better . Dalene......
THe Ovambo's here are incredibly scared of snakes...now we know why.....
Myles Davies is the only person I remeber getting bitten.
He lived in 13th Ave (I think) and had a sister called Kim. He was about 15 at the time. Don't think he came to any real harm but did have to visit the hospital.
Dalene - could be my dad you were referring to being bitten during the '74 floods except it was a Cobra that got him. He was collecting weird & wonderful pieces of wood which had washed up during the floods for his fishtank when he picked up a "stunning" piece - except this "stunning" piece happened to be the tail of a Cobra - as he picked it up it flipped up and bit him on the hand. That day was full of "coincidences" ie. my sister had just run up to join him on his walk and she had to turn around and run all the way back to the hut to get my mom to bring the car to where my dad was. In the meantime, he tied a tornequet (sp?) around his arm and started walking slowly to meet my mom along the way. Also, luckily my mom had just that week got her drivers licence.
I'm surprised we were never bitten - I used to tag along behind Lance and his buddies when they used to go and catch snakes and scorpions in the desert. It is amazing that there weren't more kids bitten considering the desert was literally our playground and the fact that we skrikked for niks..........
Delia, yes it must be. The story went round at that time that the snake was on a piece of driftwood from the river that was washed up on the beach. Damn - a cobra! Their poison are neuro-toxic - affects the nervous system and breathing. I think Barb is the person to ask to explain about the major diffirence between the sito and neuro toxic affects. All I know is that it's poison and if not treated quickly or right - your name will appear in the obituary column of the papers!
I did look some of this up to assist in the explanation -
Cobras and Mambas inject Neurotoxic venom which will affect the nervous system
and cause initial muscle weakness, blurred vision, difficulty in swallowing and breathing and eventually paralysis.
Adders inject Cytotoxic venom which will cause
massive swelling and bruising to the area that was bitten, and could eventually burst the skin open.
Boomslange and Vine Snakes inject Haemotoxic venom which
destroys the platelets in the blood and causes major internal bleeding in the lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen etc., and blood will also leak out of all orifices in your body, including minor wounds and bruises.
Berg Adders are highly dangerous as they inject both Neurotoxic and Cytotoxic venom into you.
Anti venom is only kept in Cape Town and Pretoria, and seldom used as the identification of the snake is rarely known by the victim.
The wrong anti venom can be just as fatal.
Bites are treated by symptoms usually.
Only 10% of SA snakes are poisonous and the younger the snake the more potent the poison.
Thanks, Barb.
This info might come in very handy. Lots of snakes in our region, including adders, boomslange and cobras. Will for sure print this and keep it with my first-aid kit. I never know when I might need it again....... hopefully never!
ooow dalene ive still got shivers down my spine from your horrific story what a night mare for you all, e154
Thanks Barb. Very interesting.
And on that note - I would just like to say a big thankyou to St Patrick for bannishing all the snakes from Ireland. bravo
None whatsoever? Not even teensy weensy little ones?
You guys sure are lucky. I wish St Patrick would pay a visit to SA. I have a long list of things he can banish here, and snakes are not on the top of the list... hee... hee
nope - no snakes here.
no ants, none of those scary wasps that you get over there.
no scorpians
no dung beatles
other than the mad Irish when the sun shines, life is good.
plenty of rain. beach
When does the sun shine in Ireland... e180
Incredeble!
Could this be due to altitude or humidity or temperature? Come on all you entomologistical pro's - shine the light on this topic for us, please.
probably is the weather - thats why there are so many Irish all over the world. The weather here is that crap that anyone one with any sence moves to a better climate. hahahaha swim
As you asked - the original reason was due to the climate but not as you know it now ---
snakes can't swim across the water (icy North sea), that surrounds Ireland, and this is the reason there are no snakes
(New Zealand also has no snakes for the same reason).
you can go back some million years to when snakes evolved - at that time Ireland was under water and later covered in ice for periods of time so snakes would not have survived the evolution period in these locations as they need warmth. The reason there are no snakes on the pole regions.
In South Africa, not even your pets are safe anymore. With apologies to all cat lovers.
Dave Hurrell, a doctor in Oranjemund was bitten by a dwarf adder - early 80s if I remember correctly. He was trying to photograph it - I remember his thumb nail falling off and his finger swelling to a nice fat sausage shape but luckily for him it was a baby.
Is'nt he bit old to still have a baby thumb?
laughpoint
Oh, very ha ha! Baby adder! allgood
Gee! AUnty CHerry... you're sparking today.....must be a friday thing.... :emot19:
Terrick used to keep snakes, mostly harmless ones and I got quite used to handling them. Just couldn't stand the feeding ritual, little mouse etc. One night he didn't put the lid on the snake house properly and we were watching TV when my daughter got up to get a coldrink and nearly stood on the house snake and screamed. Hubby ran to switch on the light and I decided I had to grab the snake before it got under the fridge and then you struggle to get hold of them. I grabbed the snake too far back and he must have got a fright and whipped up and bit me. Just felt like pin pricks with two tiny little cuts and almost no blood. Posting a picture of his then girlfriend and the neighbours daughter holding one of his snakes, an Albino Burmese python. They don't have a venomous bite but the bite is very painful as they bite with back teeth and rip a bit.