Puffy encounter

[Robbie Stewart]

I heard that its better to be bitten by an adult puffie than a juvenile because the babies aren't able to control how much venom they inject whereas the adults are ableto give you a dry bite as a way to send you on your way without having to spend energy manufacturing more venom. This true?

 

True or not, I am not volunteering to test this theory.

[Ed-Zulu]

I heard that its better to be bitten by an adult puffie than a juvenile because the babies aren't able to control how much venom they inject whereas the adults are ableto give you a dry bite as a way to send you on your way without having to spend energy manufacturing more venom. This true?

No upside to this boelsheet story, if puffy gets you, you are in for the long haul of pain, pain and more pain.

[Robbie Stewart]

Or Death?

 

Easy to die from a puffy bite, depending on severity of bite. The body will enter anaphylactic shock if treatment is delayed, and it could affect the normal functioning of the heart muscle, resulting in death.

 

I heard it said that the most deaths in the Western Cape due to snake bites are caused by puffy's. I find it hard to believe, as I feel a cobra will kill you quicker than a puffy, but I suppose that shows one is more likely to get tagged by a puffy? I cannot verify this though.

[tinmug]

A snake expert I know won't handle a puff adder without tongs – they strike unbelievably fast. And advises that if you are pikked by a Cape Cobra then drive towards the hospital/ambulance ... you don't have time to wait for an ambulance.

 

Luckily Cape Cobras move fast and will avoid confrontation.

[Chingy182]

I heard that its better to be bitten by an adult puffie than a juvenile because the babies aren't able to control how much venom they inject whereas the adults are ableto give you a dry bite as a way to send you on your way without having to spend energy manufacturing more venom. This true?

I had an interesting talk about snakes and puffies in particular at a recent wedding with a few PhD guys doing work in Kruger.

 

Apparently dry bites do account for a very large percentage of bites.

 

What was more interesting is that puffies have a hormone that makes them hard to detect via smell from predators, etc. in addition to their camouflage. This is partly why they come across as "lazy", they are actually just trying to maintain hidden.

 

So some guys went a step further and had a boot fixed to a pole and mimicked stepping on a puffie in the field to see if it will react to that. What they found there was that puffies only struck 1 out of 25 times of being stepped on.

 

Scary part is their conclusion being that the average guy who spends a bit of time outdoors hiking, cycling, etc. in puffie areas have probably stepped on a puffie, at least once, without even knowing about it

[Eddy Gordo]

Yeah thats true. Seen plenty documentaries where people step on and over puffies and they dont strike. I rode over a puffie a couplemof times on your roots trail at tokai. Both times saw it last minute as front wheel was going over.

[eddy]

This was my encounter.

 

Is was too close. Much to close.

[BigDL]

This was my encounter.

 

Is was too close. Much to close.

?? Dry bite?

[Me rida my bicycle]

I heard that its better to be bitten by an adult puffie than a juvenile because the babies aren't able to control how much venom they inject whereas the adults are ableto give you a dry bite as a way to send you on your way without having to spend energy manufacturing more venom. This true?

the juvenile ones are more likely to strike than an adult.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Dry bite, poisonous or not if a snake bites me I will die right there heart attack or nervous break down.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Little guy we got on Conties yesterday.

[Cippo]

https://snake-facts.weebly.com/puff-adder.html

 

Puff Adder venom  is cytotoxic, it destroys tissue but regarded as slow-acting. But based on it's LD50 it is considered one of the most toxic of any viper snake species. The venom yield in a single bite ranges between 150 and 350 mg, with a maximum recorded of 750 mg.

But to kill an adult human it only requires about 100 mg, and death may with occur within a day. A puff adder bite causes immediate severe pain, swelling, blistering, nausea, vomiting and later on necrosis with massive muscle and tissue damage.​

If not properly treated and the venom spreads it will at some point result in gangrene and secondary infections oftentimes resulting in loss of digits and limbs.

Puff adder's fatality rate is highly dependent on the severity of the bite medical treatment received by the victim. Its bite mortality rate is probably about 15% if left untreated but as high as 52% in severe envenomations.

It's considered responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in Africa, more than any other African snake, including the Black Mamba. This is due to several factors, such as its wide habitat distribution and their frequent occurrence in highly populated regions.

[Cippo]

Cape Cobra

 

Because of their usual contact with humans, the Cape cobra is regarded as one of the most dangerous venomous snake species in Africa. This is a highly venomous snake, with the most powerful venom of all African cobra species, it has also one of the highest rates of fatalities. 

The subcutaneous LD50 value of their venom in mice is 0.72 mg/kg. The average quantity of venom injected in a bite is 100 to 150 mg and composed of deadly cardiotoxins and neurotoxins. The cape cobra venom is thick and with the consistency of syrup. 
 

The snake uses its venom to target the nervous and respiratory system and also the heart. A bite to an adult human has a 60% chance of death if no antivenom is applied. 

The envenomation symptoms include mild local pain or Numbness around bite site, excessive salivation, loss of consciousness, convulsions, drowsiness, eyelid drooping, limb paralysis. 

Deaths occur anywhere from 1 hour in very severe cases up to 10 hours or more, the bite victims usually die from respiratory failure, due to paralysis caused by the venom. Local tissue necrosis may also occur.​

Edited May 10, 2019 by Cippo

[Rocket-Boy]

This was my encounter.

 

Is was too close. Much to close.

Wait a minute, you cant leave us hanging like that??!?!

What happened? are you ok??

[Mudsimus]

Dry bite, poisonous or not if a snake bites me I will die right there heart attack or nervous break down.

I'll just start crying uncontrollably.

[Bonus]

If you let the videos run one after the other, the fourth vid shoes a Black Mamba sneaking into a shop at night!

 

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/watch-quick-thinking-durban-driver-narrowly-escapes-hijacking-20191218