Last night the children found a snake in the bedroom headed to the dining room. They called for Dh and then came to get the camera. Husbands and children seem to love this particular brand of excitement, I opted to pass. Sure enough Dh reached for the snake and received a bite for his trouble. Baseball bat in hand he proceeded to try to crush the snake. The snake appeared dead and he took it outside. I have obviously not impressed upon him the make sure it's dead theory, ie cut off it's head. From the picture it was difficult to tell exactly what type of snake it was and he was able to go take a look once more to verify the shape of the snakes head was not diamond. When he went the second time the snake was gone. Either the chickens got it or it was still alive, I dislike those odds. Either way, we called the local ER just in case, they had no clue and don't even stock anti venom, they would have to transfer him to Wichita if it was necessary. We called the ER in Wichita and they were unable to provide much help except the number to poison control. The lady at poison control became concerned because of the pattern on the snake, it could be a gopher/bull snake or Massasauga, the latter is venomous. They told us what signs to look for and said that they would call back in 2 hours to check on him. He had a small muscle spasm in his hand and then it began to itch but both subsided. We were grateful that it wasn't serious but were able to find a hospital closer that carried anti venom (just in case) by that time. All in all it was an eventful night. *Pic to come as soon as I find my card reader :(
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3 comments:
There are very very few venomous snakes in Kansas -- especially in your particular part of Kansas. My son and I are kinda "into" snakes (local ones) so if you want to email me the picture - I can tell you what it is (if he didn't beat it unrecognizable).
This is the second blog I've read that had a snake bite. Glad all was okay, PTL! We have bull snakes, they get 15 to 2o ft long and look alot like a diamond back rattle snake. Alas they kill rattlers so we let them stick around, besides they are good mousers, even if they snitch a turkey egg or two.*wink*
Glad your Dh was okay, next time maybe he should kill it first then look, that would be my suggestion, LOL!!!
Well, your pics started a lively debate in my house :) Was the top pic taken of it BEFORE he hit it?
My first reaction was "eastern hognose" because they try to flatten their heads and hiss to make you think they are vicious (a rattlesnake imitation, if you will), and if that doesn't work, they will roll over and play dead (honestly!) They are fascinating pets because they actually don't bite - they will "headbutt" you though - strike out and bump you with their snouts as if biting.
But Steven says no, I'm wrong, he's sure it's not a hognose. He was leaning toward either a Plainbelly Water Snake or some kind of bull snake. It is hard to tell without being there and really getting a good look. So many snakes come in a variety of pattern colors (as you can tell by any google search - a species can had a range of variation from dark to light depending on where they live, etc.
Next time you're in Wichita, see if you can find time to take the kids up to Great Plain Nature Center (29th St. north and Woodlawn) and they have tons of interesting programs up there about native Kansas animal species.
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