I got bitten by a snake...
I wasn't even sure what sort of snake had bitten me until it started to get really bad. And I got in too late to get anti-venom.. So I'm on strong antibiotics trying to fight the infection. Boy it hurts like hell and I basically can't walk on it.
I was walking around in grass when it happened. In the future I'm wearing tall work boots or cowboy boots. There are a lot of rattle snakes down here in Southern California so it's something to keep in mind. Even if you live close to the ocean like I do.
Richard Primbs
Encinitas CA
The following thread was started by Richard Primbs on March 25, 2008 at 3:14 pm PST
Hi Richard, sounds nasty. I hope you recover well and soon.
snakes are one thing about which I know almost nothing, living in one of the few countries without any snakes at all. I have met them on several occaisons in Australia, usually poking out of a bunch of bananas I'm carrying for my in-laws. Always surprises me... Got chased a short distance by a brown snake once, I'm not sure if it would have been good or bad to know just how dangerous they are.
What I really like about snakes is the psychological effect they have on people. Whenever my father-in-law visits, I deliberately contrive events so that we end up walking through a paddock of long grass. He KNOWS NZ has no snakes, but after a lifetime of farming in subtropical Australia he still finds it very hard to walk casually through long grass. Amuses me every time.
The above followup was added by Ben on March 25, 2008 at 4:20 pm PST.
Outch, that's nasty, I saw a special on TV about rattle snake bites. I wonder, though if it was a rattle snake, because you would have a lot more symptoms than just an infection. Rattlesnake bites affect your entire body and would send you into life threatening metabolism zones that would seriously endanger your health unless you had the proper care.
The above followup was added by Axel on March 25, 2008 at 6:53 pm PST.
Yep--even near the coast, you have to keep your eyes open for rattlesnakes. The canyons (like Rose Canyon, Penasquitos Canyon, etc.) are the places you're most likely to see them--close to water and animals that the snakes might eat that rely on the water. My hiking boots cover the ankles--but if I go for a short hike, I usually just wear running shoes. Perhaps I should reconsider (especially on warm days when the snakes are more active--like the past few days)!
The above followup was added by Brandt--San Diego on March 25, 2008 at 7:57 pm PST.
and Eels in the Sea, I let a redheaded woman make a fool of me....James Taylor
Anyway, I keep a gopher snake I accidentally stepped on and almost killed. It was under a towel in a pile of laundry in my garage in Encinitas (I cried when I had to move from Encinitas)
George
The above followup was added by George on March 25, 2008 at 10:15 pm PST.
I was walking around in tall grass when it happened. If you're familiar with Southern California I live on the west side of I-5 between La Costa and Leucadia blvd.
I was wearing "crocs" (the little rubber shoes that are almost like sandals). I felt a poke in my ankle and I thought that I'd stepped on some wire.
My brothers family had just showed up for Easter dinnner so I went back inside. My foot was hurting but not really that badly. But I did feel really really tired and a little feverish and my heart was beating pretty hard. So I took a long nap then ate dinner and went to bed early.
As soon as I got up in the morning I knew there was something really wrong. When I stood up my foot and ankle burned like I couldn't believe and I was running a low fever.
I'm still running a fever and I'm now on a mix of two different antibiotics and the infection is still spreading in my foot. And it burns so badly when I put my foot down that I basically can't walk on it. So I've been keeping my foot up all the time. I may have to go to the hospital and get an IV of antibiotic to knock this out. It's bad.
Apparently I was bitten by a young rattlesnake but people tell me that is worse. I don't know. I sure don't want to go walking in tall grass again. I think that people who are cautious about that sort of thing are being really smart.
The above followup was added by Richard Primbs on March 26, 2008 at 6:52 am PST.
The young rattlesnakes haven't yet learned to moderate the amount of venom used per strike (as they "grow up", they become better at conserving this "precious resource"). Thus, one can get a surprisingly large amount of venom from a young rattler.
Yep--west of the 5 and north of Leucadia Blvd. isn't the first place I'd think of as a rattlesnake habitat. I've actually gone running in your neighborhood a few times before (driven to the west side of Encinitas and an started heading north--though on pavement, unless I'm running along the beach). Nice neighborhood with lots of character!
Anyway, good luck with your recovery...sounds really rough.
The above followup was added by Brandt--San Diego on March 26, 2008 at 9:53 am PST.
Ben your evil Australian teasing snake plan makes me laugh everytime. I picked up a sheet of tin at work last summer and said as I picked it up, I wonder how many snakes live under here.... and there he was a cute little baby tiger snake :)
Richard, I hope you get better soon, I understand some of the rattlesnakes are pretty nasty even sometimes? deadly so sounds like you got off fairly lightly. A young girl died last Summer in my town from a local tigersnake while she was playing so you have to be carefull when walking the grass
The above followup was added by Jason on March 26, 2008 at 9:55 am PST.
A rattler got on a airliner (not sure if it bit anyone) the follow up was descibing the bite as injected acid,eating and dissolving its way through the bloodstream and cells.
I was bitten by a wolf spider a few years ago..that was bad enough.
The above followup was added by STAN on March 26, 2008 at 10:32 am PST.
I know it isn't smart, but I catch rattlesnakes whenever I find them, and take them to safety. I am a hunter, but don't like to kill innocent animals (raccoons, squirrels, starlings, gophers, are not innocent). I take a stick and hold down their head and pick them up and take them where they won't be killed on sight. I have done that on golf courses, walking trials, and on roads many times. I am very careful in doing this. Kern
The above followup was added by Kern Hunewill in Newman on March 26, 2008 at 11:11 am PST.
I just got out of the hospital, where I was treated for the last two days for the infection in my ankle. And at the hospital they told me that if I'd gotten very much venom I would have gotten a lot more distruction of skin. So I'm a little puzzled by the whole thing but I'm definitely going to wear more protective shoes in the future. And I still have a ways to go to get over this infection totally.
The above followup was added by Richard Primbs on March 27, 2008 at 9:09 pm PST.
Thats when all the baby rattlesnakes come out and they can't control there venom and it just a powerful as the adults. In spring even along the grassy coast up in Nocal its bad also.
The above followup was added by Roger on April 01, 2008 at 3:55 pm PST.
Kind wishes for your recovery.
I have red-belly black snakes living in my yard in Australia. I was terrified at first, got the chinese cleaver out to one I found in the bathroom!
But now I have learnt to live with them peacefully. No point being scared, just constantly open-eyed and understanding their nature and behaviour. Importantly, here they NEVER strike if you stand dead still. They're not bright, just myopically looking for security, dinner, and sex.
- Unless that's my projection.
The above followup was added by Lachlann on April 06, 2008 at 11:56 pm PST.