Snake catcher’s diary: Sarel sniffs out unusual Mozambique spitting cobra
The cobra spat into a little dog's eyes.
Summer is almost here, which means snake season is upon us.
Already South Coast snake catcher, Sarel van der Merwe is running around rescuing snakes.
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After catching a green mamba in Southport recently, Sarel received a blurred photo of a snake from Wayne Naidoo, which he was unable to identify.
Later, he phoned Sarel again, telling him that their dog had a problem with its eyes.
Hearing this, Sarel jumped into his car and drove to their house, where he found a Mozambique spitting cobra hiding between tiles in the home in Oslo Beach.
“We don’t find cobras here, so it is thought the snake could had caught a lift in Wayne’s friend’s car from Oribi,” said Sarel, adding that the dog seemed to have recovered.
Sarel explained this highly venomous, mostly nocturnal cobra species has a highly toxic blend of cytotoxins and neurotoxins and also has a set of specially evolved front facing fangs, allowing the snake to spit venom up to two metres.
Venom in eyes will cause massive irritation and can cause long term damage if not treated correctly and within good time. If spat in the eye, it will immediately start burning and the venom should be washed out of the eyes with lots and lots plain water (no milk or any other substances) and medical attention should be sought immediately.
Bites from these snakes are mostly cytotoxic, causing massive tissue damage around the bite site. However they do have mild neurotoxic agents as well, which may cause symptoms like shortness of breath and drowsiness.
This is not a common find for the South Coast, however a few specimens have been seen and caught some 15 – 20km inland from Port Shepstone.
They are fairly common along the north coast.
If you have an emergency contact Sarel at 082 683 1604.
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