Stileto Snake

[jmsnakes]

There has been a number of Stiletto snake bites in the pastfew weeks and in a number of cases the snake was mistaken for somethingharmless like a Mole snake. This fossorial snake spends most of its lifeunderground where it hunts for other snakes and lizards. To effectively bitewithin the limited space of burrows, the Stiletto Snake has particularly longfangs which it can protrude independently and 'stab' its prey. Whereas mostsnakes can open their mouths up to around 170 degrees, this snake can only openits mouth as wide as 55 degrees. If gripped behind the head, the Stiletto snakejust protrudes a fang and twists it head sideways to inflict a bite from asingle fang.
The venom of this snake, though not generally consideredpotentially fatal, is potently cytotoxic causing severe pain, swelling,blistering and in many cases tissue damage. As there is no antivenom, doctorscan only treat for pain, rehydrate the patient and then wait a few days to seehow extensively the tissue damage is. In a paper on the treatment of Stilettosnake bites, Tilbury and Branch caution doctors not the resort to surgicalintervention in the first few days following a bite, nor to lance blisters, asearly surgical intervention seldom has a good outcome. There is no evidence thatthe early administration of antibiotics has any benefit.

[meh]

Thanks jm nasty looking fangs

[Danie Malan]

Thank you for the explanation. Have often wondered about those side swiping teeth.

[Paul Dold]

Where you find it: Source - African Snakebite Institute

W. Cape is safe!

[Paul Dold]

After the Mocambique Spitting Cobra and Puffadder accounts for most of the serious snake bites in SA.

[JuanB]

Mmmmm.....I caught one the other day and thought it was a mole snake. Thanks for the info.

[hbannink]

Ran in to one on the south coast a couple of months ago, pitch black and shiny as if it had been polished, first thought it was a mole snake but the red tongue alerted me not to touch. Moving it off the road with a hook produced the fang out of the side of the mouth. Quite a slow mover and not really aggressive but definitely one to treat wit caution and huge respect. There is no way to handle this one safely with bare hands.

[albertvl]

Ugh, made the mistake of searching Google images for more pics of stiletto snakes. The wounds they inflict are nasty. As bad as, if not worse, than puffadder bites.

[Andrew Leigh]

Put my boet into hospital for 10 days when we were teenagers.

[albertvl]

Put my boet into hospital for 10 days when we were teenagers.

Where was he bitten on his body and did he make a full recovery?

[Andrew Leigh]

Hi,

ailed him on the finger and yes full recovery. Lots of swelling in the arm, looked like a balloon along with very severe headaches.

Cheers

[Oppies3800]

So no anti-venom available? Can't they milk the snake like they do with others

[iandvl]

So no anti-venom available? Can't they milk the snake like they do with others

It is a cytotoxic venom, so no. It does not really work that way.

[carlp]

Mmmmm.....I caught one the other day and thought it was a mole snake. Thanks for the info.

In Brits?


I caught one in molopo game reserve in 2009, mistaken it for a harmless mole snake. Only realised the mistake when I arived home and consulted snake book and fotos taken.

[albertvl]

Hi,

ailed him on the finger and yes full recovery. Lots of swelling in the arm, looked like a balloon along with very severe headaches.

Cheers

I can imagine it must have been excruciating.

[Oppies3800]

It is a cytotoxic venom, so no. It does not really work that way.

I do not know snakes AT ALL. I do need to learn though.

How do you go about treating this bite?

Cytotoxic Venom. – Attacks and kills living cells of all sorts. In humans, bites from snakes with#cytotoxic venom#produce severe local and organ related symptoms, bleeding, swelling and pain. These Thailand snakes haveCytotoxic venom: King Cobra, Monocled and Indochinese Spitting Cobras.

[iandvl]

I do not know snakes AT ALL. I do need to learn though.

How do you go about treating this bite?

Cytotoxic Venom. – Attacks and kills living cells of all sorts. In humans, bites from snakes with#cytotoxic venom#produce severe local and organ related symptoms, bleeding, swelling and pain. These Thailand snakes haveCytotoxic venom: King Cobra, Monocled and Indochinese Spitting Cobras.

You cannot treat cytotoxic venom with anti-venom. It is treated on the symptoms.

See an emergency ward, in short.

[albertvl]

You cannot treat cytotoxic venom with anti-venom. It is treated on the symptoms.

See an emergency ward, in short.

In my experience (spider, not snake) cytotoxic venom is treated best with antibiotics (pills & injection) as well as Voltaren injection.

[iandvl]

In my experience (spider, not snake) cytotoxic venom is treated best with antibiotics (pills & injection) as well as Voltaren injection.

Spiders, one can deal with. Smaller bites, shallower bites. Five medically important species, if I recall correctly.

Snakes, not so much. If a puffy / stilleto / mfezi (moz spitting cobra) did bite me, I would get my derriere to an emergency ward as fast as possible.

Likewise with any neuro/haemo venomous snakes.

[albertvl]

Spiders, one can deal with. Smaller bites, shallower bites. Five medically important species, if I recall correctly.

Snakes, not so much. If a puffy / stilleto / mfezi (moz spitting cobra) did bite me, I would get my derriere to an emergency ward as fast as possible.

Likewise with any neuro/haemo venomous snakes.

I fully agree.

I can't imagine the pain of a cytotoxic snakebite e.g. puffadder. A sac spider bite took three months to heal. Its like a red hot poker being thrust into the wound 24/7.