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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Bitten by a black mamba snake
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07/31/2012 04:33:13 AM · #1
I don't know if it's funny or scary...

Black Mamba
07/31/2012 04:47:18 AM · #2
Both, Alex. It's both :) Wow.
07/31/2012 05:20:18 AM · #3
Damn, that's crazy.
07/31/2012 05:51:51 AM · #4
Lucky man. Very lucky.

What is not true is the 100% fatality figure quoted. Kept on oxygen helped quite a few people survived. The black mamba is a neurotoxic snake, one of the only ones who can lift its body 2/3 of the ground and are also known for striking even if put in a sack. Very aggressive and very fast. You have to see this guy to believe it. I was very fortunate to have met of few of them, at a safe distance.

Sorry, before my digital photography days, though my daughter may still have a few slides of my earlier encounters. I love snakes!
07/31/2012 12:22:20 PM · #5
Snake bites hurt like hell, how he didn't know he was bitten is stunning! Doc, that Mojave the other day, lifted itself 2/3 up and kept that S position whilst 1/3 of it butt end was used to keep that position (Curled up tail to stand on) that is pretty common. Scary as all heck, only ever seen it once before with this massive white snake that flung itself out of the way in front of me in the car. That was scary too as I had never seen a white one and this ghost like thing stood up and then flew out of the way.

In fact I am not sure why I live in Tucson, I am not keen on snakes! lol

07/31/2012 12:41:50 PM · #6
I saw one of those rattlers doing the bent spring routine at Starr Pass in Tucson. When mountain biking, it is usually best to be first one through the tight spots. I was third or fourth that day, so the snake was ready to strike when I arrived. I walked my bike past him with the bike between us and he didn't strike. Used to see a lot of rattlers when riding, but that was the only one that ever seemed at all upset.
07/31/2012 12:49:08 PM · #7
Thats crazy... since theres a hook almost on the snake I wonder if he had just been milked and didn't have vemon left.. I can NOT imangie how you don't feel a snake bite.. I got bit by one of my non-vemnous black snakes and it hurt like crazy and did for days!!!
07/31/2012 12:59:01 PM · #8
Originally posted by Alexkc:

I don't know if it's funny or scary...

Black Mamba


Wow, I call it just darn lucky! Lucky in that he survived the encounter.
07/31/2012 01:08:41 PM · #9
wait a moment, what was he doing taking a picture of his leg and in perfect focus! That seems a bit odd,
07/31/2012 03:00:37 PM · #10
yeah I dont buy it. 1st of all he was taking a pic of his leg in focus as the snake bit....2nd of all...he didnt feel it. A dry bite you woulf feel the fangs. A wet bite you may not feel because of the poison.
07/31/2012 03:35:25 PM · #11
While some snakebites are extremely painful (king cobras, certain rattlesnakes), the bites of neurotoxic snakes (coral snakes, kraits, most sea snakes) are frequently painless, probably even more so if venom is injected since the neurotoxin would prevent transmission of pain signals to the brain, and might not even be noticed at first even if a tooth breaks off! Snake venom has been investigated for use in anesthesia for this reason.
07/31/2012 04:58:47 PM · #12
When I was 18 or so, our powerboat ran out of gas, mid summer on Lake Waramaug, Northwest CT, near the state park. I hopped out of the boat and walked to shore knee deep in mud and muck.

This was early afternoon. That night I thought I sprained my ankle, couldn't walk well, I could not touch it to the bed and slept with a pillow under my knee. The next morning, my cousin, with me in the muck, called and told me he had been bitten in the knee by a snake, and it would not stop bleeding. I checked the soft part of the top of my foot, and sure enough, fang marks about 2 centimeters apart. not scabbed a bit, not bleeding, but fresh.

I had no idea I was bitten, or by what. I am not sure why I had pain from the ankle to the knee that night, aching, burning, painful to the touch. It was better by the next night.
07/31/2012 05:20:35 PM · #13
Originally posted by blindjustice:

I had no idea I was bitten, or by what.

Sounds like you got kissed by a copperhead.
07/31/2012 05:26:41 PM · #14
Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by blindjustice:

I had no idea I was bitten, or by what.

Sounds like you got kissed by a copperhead.


unfortunately I was left with no snake superpowers.
07/31/2012 05:28:02 PM · #15
I don't buy it...why was there no venom injected? How did he take the picture without noticing? Wasn't he looking at what he was shooting?

I think it was a publicity stunt. (And I'm guessing he knew it would be a dry bite because the snake had been devenomized...if that's a word.

07/31/2012 05:39:25 PM · #16
his book on snakes is out soon............. coincidence??
07/31/2012 05:42:41 PM · #17
I have been bitten by a few different snake breeds, and even when I failed to get a perfect image of the bite, I did notice that it hurt. Sometimes a lot. I have had rattlers strike at me, but they are pretty slow, especially compared to the mamba which is very fast, and when a poisonous snake strikes out at you, I can not believe anyone would fail to notice it. As Churchill said “There is nothing as exhilarating as getting shot at and missed”. I don't believe anyone could be struck by a mamba and not notice.
07/31/2012 05:58:58 PM · #18
Originally posted by Neil:

I don't buy it...why was there no venom injected? How did he take the picture without noticing? Wasn't he looking at what he was shooting?

I think it was a publicity stunt. (And I'm guessing he knew it would be a dry bite because the snake had been devenomized...if that's a word.


I agree with you - I thought exactly the same thing, otherwise why should he take a picture of his legs? In any case you must be brave (or crazy!) to allow a snake to bite your leg, even if it had been devenomized.
07/31/2012 07:07:31 PM · #19
Originally posted by scalvert:

While some snakebites are extremely painful (king cobras, certain rattlesnakes), the bites of neurotoxic snakes (coral snakes, kraits, most sea snakes) are frequently painless, probably even more so if venom is injected since the neurotoxin would prevent transmission of pain signals to the brain, and might not even be noticed at first even if a tooth breaks off! Snake venom has been investigated for use in anesthesia for this reason.


I'm not picking on you, but this doesn't sound right to me. Neurotoxin is generally a paralytic and works by blocking conduction from one nerve to another. Pain nerves have their end in the spinal root which would be far from the site of injection. Snake venom's investigation for anesthesia would be for it's muscle relaxant properties and not pain deadening ones. Curare is used in this manner and is a component of the neurotoxin from poison arrow frogs.

Personally I would think if he really didn't feel it, it would be from a mamba's fangs being needlelike (or even gone)? (I don't know how big they are) I'm also somewhat suspicious about the fact the picture is so clear and, being a zoo animal, the snake was pretty likely to have been devenomized.

Message edited by author 2012-07-31 19:15:40.
07/31/2012 08:33:12 PM · #20
Phospholipases A(2) (PLA(2)s) with a lysine substituting for the highly conserved aspartate 49, Lys49 PLA(2) homologues, are important myotoxic components in venoms from snakes of Viperidae family. These proteins induce conspicuous myonecrosis by a catalytically-independent mechanism. Traditionally, the Lys49 PLA(2) homologues are classified as non-neurotoxic myotoxins given their inability to cause lethality or paralytic effects when injected in vivo, even at relatively high doses. However, a series of in vitro studies has shown that several Lys49 PLA(2) homologues from Bothrops snake venoms induce neuromuscular blocking activity on nerve-muscle preparations in vitro. The interpretation of these findings has created some confusion in the literature, raising the question whether the Lys49 PLA(2) homologues present some neurotoxic activity. It was concluded that the neuromuscular blockade induced by Lys49 PLA(2) homologues in isolated preparations is mainly a consequence of the general membrane-destabilizing effect of these toxins.

Any questions? <Kidding of course>

I don't get the statement that snake venom is painless if injected. I doubt that it would prevent transmission of pain instantly, and the effect will be different depending on the location of the injection.<I have not looked at the link yet>

Message edited by author 2012-07-31 20:33:31.
07/31/2012 08:37:21 PM · #21
Oh please. That snake does not have fangs or the story is made up. Either way it's funny. Definitely not scary.
07/31/2012 09:53:11 PM · #22
Originally posted by bspurgeon:



I don't get the statement that snake venom is painless if injected. I doubt that it would prevent transmission of pain instantly, and the effect will be different depending on the location of the injection.<I have not looked at the link yet>


And, as any kid who has had stitches can tell you, most anesthetics hurt before they anesthetize. Basically because you have to fire the nerve to turn it off.

Message edited by author 2012-07-31 23:22:12.
07/31/2012 11:11:07 PM · #23
Aye, you would think you would know if 2 teeth stuck you, it is not like they spray venom first over the area they want to stick 2 barb likes splinters into your leg.,

Goat heads hurt like hell when you step on them, any large splinter hurts. I sure as hell would have been doing the pee-pee dance if one of those struck me. Just seems rather weird.

But then again. I am a pretty cynical old fart who us tending not to believe in anything these days
07/31/2012 11:12:04 PM · #24
And I have to say, I am going with the 2 Doc's here.
08/01/2012 12:25:23 AM · #25
Looking more at the posted image, how many people when they were going to have snakes placed at their feet, let alone highly venomous snakes, would elect to wear mesh shoes, no socks and shorts? Even if the shooter was stupid enough to think that was an ideal sartorial option, the guy who was handling the snakes would keep them in the sacks until he put on boots and long stiff pants. I have known a few people who have been bitten by rattlers, and they hurt, the sort that makes tough guys cry and whimper as their lower leg baloons up to the size of their thigh, but the mamba is supposed to be much, much more painful, less of the swelling of the rattler, more like nerves screaming as they die similar to spinal cancer.
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