Snake Bite! Venomous Gaboon Viper Bites Man in Face
This is Why Venomous Snakes for Pets are a Bad Idea
Fortunately, the man was able to stay awake long enough to tell the medical staff what kind of snake bit him, or else he would never have made it. The snake is native to Africa, and the venom is a toxic soup that causes your skin and tissue to simply rot away. The man received antivenin and is apparently going to survive the incident. Ironically, the snake usually forces doctors to amputate to ensure survival, but given that he was bitten in the face, that is not an option.
Stories like these only underline the absurdity of owning a venomous snake. Any venomous snake is dangerous but a gaboon viper? This is the snake that would be in the top three of species that one would least like to get bitten by. The reason is because of the huge fangs. The gaboon viper has fangs that sometimes exceed two inches in length. Imagine that now. Two inches of hypodermic needles going into your skin. The gaboon viper does sometimes give what is called a dry bite. That is, they do not actually inject venom as they do not want to waste it. Snakes need this venom to secure prey in the wild, so they will sometimes bite but not inject.
Another problem with the gaboon viper is the large amount of venom that they are capable of injecting. The snake has huge venom glands, and the aforementioned fangs. This allows the gaboon viper the capability of injecting up to two teaspoons of venom in one bite. Now understand that only one drop can be fatal to a full grown man.
One can only surmise how in the world this man was bitten in the face. The only thing that I can imagine is that he got lazy around the generally docile snake. The gaboon viper is very large and fat, and generally will not do much of anything but lay there. They are known for being very reluctant to bite, but given the danger I think I might err on the side of caution. Hopefully, the snake is not on the loose. This could be a huge disaster waiting to happen, and is also another prime reason to outlaw venomous snakes as pets.
Published by Rodney Southern - Featured Contributor in Sports
My name is Rodney Southern and I have a lovely wife, Julie, and two beautiful twin daughters, Brooke and Valerie. Also, I was the 2008 Ultimate Call for Content Winner, and awarded a Top 100 badge for Associ... View profile
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16 Comments
Post a CommentWell, I work in a pet shop where my boss keeps a gaboon viper behind the counter, and even though I personally would NEVER keep a venomous snake and think that my boss is crazy for keeping it, I kind of view it like a large dog or a horse. An animal that could brutally kill you if it decided to, especially if you don't act responsibly around it.
Articles like these are very important to show people how dangerous owning a venomous reptile is. That being said however, there are still many people that have a passion for this exceedingly dangerous hobby, myself included. Like any dangerous hobby (ei. sky diving) it is only safe if you do it responsibly and even then you may end up dead. Do not take owning these animals lightly, it is the animals that suffer the most.
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Why would he own a Gaboon Viper? Because It's There. Naaah. Even that one won't hold. I'll tell you why. BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STUPID. That's why. LOL.
Hey there. An AC Staff member selected your article as a Staff Pick - check it out: http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/1887/ac_staff_picks.html
Great article. I must say though I already had the notion that venomous snakes for pets are a bad idea.
Fantastic "pet" piece. Glad you included a picture.