KNYSNA NEWS - With the arrival of spring, beautiful blossoms and warmer weather so do very hungry snakes slither out after their winter hibernation.
Everybody who lives where there is vegetation in Knysna needs to be aware of the busy "snake season" ahead, warns Knysna fire chief Clinton Manuel.
"At the beginning of summer, in August and September, snakes, the puff adders in particular, come out in the warmer weather – as they are hungry and also need to mate and are thus sexually active. They thrive in these next few hot months," says Manuel who confirms that this year already there have been three Knysa snake call-outs and two in Sedgefield.
Manuel says as the weather warms up now snakes become more active and aggressive.
The reason for puff adders liking people's homes are the attractions humans provide them with, like domesticated birds, crumbs which attract rodents and, says Manuel, "an association that where human homes are there is food, safety and warmth".
He says they can be found anywhere and everywhere in Knysna where there is vegetation – along with Knysna's other prolific and venomous boomslang. The only place this rules out is the centre of town, he says.
He says snake call-outs from now on are frequent and only once the snakes are finished mating, have had enough to eat and are pregnant in January and February, do the sightings slow down.
Manuel's safety tips
• Keep vegetation around your property clear to avoid the boomslang, which live in dense bush and trees;• Avoid shrubs coming right up to your house, which snakes could hide in;
• Be careful if you have an aviary, and do not have birds nesting in your roof, because boomslang are attracted to the birds as they eat the eggs of nesting birds; and
• Cracked peach pips can be bought from local nurseries to spread around door entrances to your home, as puff adders do not like sliding over them and this acts as a good deterrent.
Manuel says the fire department is willing to remove snakes from properties, which they then relocate into the wild, but he urges the public to assist them with this exercise.
"We really encourage anybody who wants a snake removed to take careful note of the position of the snake, be it in the garden or the porch or inside the house. You need to be able to pinpoint where it was and where it went when we get there, as accurately as possible. Do not approach it, but try to keep track of it as far as possible in order to help us."
The Garden Route has an abundance of snakes.
While some snakes are venomous, there are some that can inflict a painful, but nonfatal bite. Most snakes are quite harmless.
Not all snake venom is the same, so it’s important to know which venom belongs to which, as this will greatly determine the treatment that should be applied should the unfortunate happen.
- Neurotoxic – nerve-acting poison
- Neurotoxic venom paralyses the musculature. Early warning symptoms are tingling in the lips, inability to swallow saliva and increasingly difficult respiration. The pupils dilate and do not respond to light. The action of such venoms is usually fairly rapid with severe symptoms manifesting themselves within hours in most cases.
- Cytotoxic – cell-acting poison
- Cytotoxic venom destroys the cells, usually causing massive necrosis or death of large parts of tissue. Adders have long fangs and this means the venom can be injected quite deeply into the tissues.
- Haemotoxic – blood-acting poison
- Haemotoxin causes the prolongation of blood clotting time or destroys the blood's ability to clot at all. The victim suffers massive tissue bleeding and huge "bruises" develop all over the body. Blood oozes from all mucous membranes. It is slow-acting and responds rapidly to the correct antivenom. In severe cases blood transfusions may be necessary.
• Cape cobra (Naja nivea) – neurotoxic. Apply pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital immediately, support breathing.
• Cape coral snake (Aspidelaps lubricus) – neurotoxic. Apply pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital.
• Black spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis woodi) – cytotoxic. Pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital.
• Rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachatus) – Neurotoxic. Pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital.
• Puff adder (Bitis arietans) – cytotoxic. Pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital.
• Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) – haemotoxic. Pressure bandage, immobilise limb, transport to hospital.
These inflict painful but nonfatal bites
• Berg adder (Bitis atropos, montane) – neurotoxic.
• Red adder (Bitis rubida) – toxin not known.
• Southern adder (Bitis armata) – toxin not known.
• Common/Rhombic night adder (Causus rhombeatus) – mildly cytotoxic.
• Many-spotted snake (Amplorhinus multimaculatus) – mildly cytotoxic.
• Spotted harlequin snake (Homoroselaps lacteus) – cytotoxic.
• Do not inject antivenom. Antivenom is refined from host serum and a percentage of people are highly allergic to it. Anaphylactic shock will kill these patients. Patients often has a good chance of surviving the bite without antivenom.
• Do not cut into the bite, this will probably assist the venom to spread more rapidly.
• Do not suck on the bite. If you have cuts in your mouth there will be two patients where there was one.
• Do not apply electrical shock to the patient. It is a dangerous myth that application of shock or a stun gun is of assistance. You are more likely to kill than cure using this method.
• Do not give drugs or intoxicants to the patient, unless advised by a medical practitioner.
• Do not rub topical substances into the wound. Clean the wound with mild disinfectant and dress lightly with something like Betadine ointment, but preferably leave it alone.
• Do not apply a tourniquet. You are likely to do far more damage with the tourniquet than without.
• Do not apply ice or heat to the wound, both may cause harm.
If you come across a snake indoors or on your premises, DO NOT kill it. Move away from it and phone the following numbers to have someone come to remove it: Knysna fire station 044-302-8911 (all hours), Sedgefield fire station 044-349-2900, Knysna 082-564-6892, Sedgefield 082-305-2488 (Antony).
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