Close call with western Cottenmouth an hour ago..

[E5RANGER375]

if you do get bit, remain calm!!! whats done is done, now you must go into self preservation mode. staying calm keeps your heart rate down so the poison wont circulate as fast, also DO NOT ELEVATE the bitten area!!! Keep it below your heart level. Also a good idea it to mark the bite area with a pen or marker and the time. as the swelling increases draw another circle around it and write the time. this will help medical staff big time!!

 

[Deadly Z Driver]

if you do get bit, remain calm!!! whats done is done, now you must go into self preservation mode. staying calm keeps your heart rate down so the poison wont circulate as fast, also DO NOT ELEVATE the bitten area!!! Keep it below your heart level. Also a good idea it to mark the bite area with a pen or marker and the time. as the swelling increases draw another circle around it and write the time. this will help medical staff big time!!

Good info right here! Tried to rep you but it said I needed to spread it around... lol

 

[rmabrey]

What do you do if your dog is bitten? Mine likes to do his business in a ditch where a creek that runs for miles passes through. Although it is highly unlikely he will ever get bit, this is probably when it would happen.

 

[djl02]

This is not the one, but this is exactly what it looked like FYI. It was "Bright" orange ish

Thats what the one at Patoka looked like.

 

[Chondro788]

if you do get bit, remain calm!!! whats done is done, now you must go into self preservation mode. staying calm keeps your heart rate down so the poison wont circulate as fast, also DO NOT ELEVATE the bitten area!!! Keep it below your heart level. Also a good idea it to mark the bite area with a pen or marker and the time. as the swelling increases draw another circle around it and write the time. this will help medical staff big time!!

Also, contrary to popular belief, do not tie off the bitten appendage. This will allow the venom to saty in one area and cause much more tissue damage that could have been avoided. Also remember that alot of venomous bites are dry bites, meaning they do not inject venom. Snakes can decide weather or not to "use" their venom, and often in a defensive strike, they would rather scare off the defender with a quick dry bite to preserve thier much needed venom for an actual prey item. Yes it is true that venom is made continuously in the venom glands, but repeated bites involving invenomation can dry up all venom reserves for a good amount of time.

 

[teddy12b]

Reading all of this really makes me want to go out and buy some more snake shot rounds for my 9mm. I hate snakes and growing up they were targets of oportunity. If I saw one, I'd be back with the shotgun.

Not to hijack this thread, but could someone who is knowledgable on snakbites make a new topic discussing in detail what we should or shouldn't do if/when bitten by a suspected snake? The first when that went through my mind was to tie off the appendage and then read a little further and realized how wrong I was. I'd like to read more about what to do if ..........

 

[djl02]

Reminds me of a story that happened to me a couple years ago. We were bass fishing back at Walls on Patoka Lake ,and my wife said,"Pull over to the bank,i'm hung up." So I troll over to the cottonwood shes hung up in and get her untangled,when I hit the peddle to get back away from the bank,I looked down,and a snake was lieing across my foot.I slung it off, and she said ,"What was that?" I said nothing,because I know shes terrified of snakes.Then she sees it swimming back toward the boat.She pulled her gun,and I said ,"Dont shoot the boat." LOL If that thang would of tried to climb back in the boat,my boat would now have a hole in it. What a day.Caught some nice bass that dat though. I dont mind them if I know their there,but startle me,when I look down and their at my feet in striking distance. Just thought I'd share. It wasnt a cottonmouth just a water snake.(The one I'm talking about)

 

[edsinger]

They're more afraid of me than i am of them, right? They arn't going to stand there ground when i come stomping through the woods?

The ones I grew up with in Louisiana were NOT afraid of you at all, the most territorial snake I have ever seen. Rattlesnakes are scared of you, cottonmouths, well not from my experience.

Then again, I think we are talking different snakes.

 

[oneford4x4]

thats good to no because i hunt in sw indy south of hwy64 thanks for the heads up i well be walking slow and looking for them when hunting

 

[Tactical Dave]

Indiana DNR says the Cottonmouth is only found in the extreme SW corner of the state:

The Center for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation and Management

and from Wikipedia:
Agkistrodon piscivorus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


You sure it wasn't the similar (but harmless) Northern Water Snake?

See post number 5