Don’t pick up snakes, warns Highway expert

“MY friend has just picked up a small snake that’s now bitten him”, a phrase I hear fairly regularly in the rainy season, and a phrase I always dread hearing.

I ask for a photo of the snake, knowing what it will be: a Stiletto snake. And it usually is.

I don’t like calling snakes dangerous. Some of them have dangerous bites, yes, but for the most part, they’re harmless if left alone.

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We make them dangerous by trying to catch or kill them.

The Stiletto snake, too, isn’t dangerous. It doesn’t go out of its way to bite people. But, because of its inoffensive-looking appearance, a lot of people have the tendency to pick it up, and that’s when there’s a problem.

There is no safe way to handle a Stiletto snake. One cannot hold it behind the head as its long fangs protrude out of the side of its mouth.

This, as well as its ability to so easily twist, enables it to poke the fingers that are gripping it behind the head.

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If handled like one would handle a pet snake, it is not uncommon for them to bite multiple times until dropped.

Because of the way its fangs protrude out of the side of the mouth, it doesn’t lunge forward to strike like most snakes. It simply swipes its head from side to side, in a side-stabbing manner.

Holding this small snake by the tail will cause it to start thrashing around, where one of the fangs could easily sink into a finger. Also, this snakes tail ends with a sharp, stumpy spine which it will dig into an ‘attackers’ hand. It’s harmless though, the purpose is just to give the threat a fright.

Fortunately, the venom of the Bibron’s Stiletto snake does not cause fatalities.

ALSO READ: The role of snakes in our environment

Unfortunately, the nasty cytotoxic does cause a huge amount of pain, as well as tissue damage. It causes a fair amount of swelling too.

There have been cases where people have lost their fingertips. There is no antivenom for the bite of this species, as it is not required and bites are symptomatically treated.

Basically, picking this snake up is not worth the pain or inconvenience!

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