Keeping snakes as pets!

Reptiles are growing in popularity as pets with snakes, particularly becoming more fascinating; thus, with regular handling can be quite tame. Nevertheless, snakes are obviously not the right pets for everyone. They have unique requirements and should only be kept by those with the commitment to understand and meet their needs.

Did you know?

That:

• Snakes are very adept escape artists, so make sure you have an escape proof terrarium (a container in which living plants and creatures are kept in an environment that replicates the natural environment), keeping in mind that snakes are persistent about finding and squeezing through any small gaps.
• Providing a temperature gradient and making sure the warm side of the terrarium is warm enough are essential to your snake’s health and ability to digest its meals.
• Terrarium built fully of glass is suitable for the varieties of smaller snakes, those that require high humidity, because the glass will not be affected by damp problems. If your pets require low to medium humidity then a glass fronted wooden terrarium would be suitable.
• Snakes will eat anything that moves that they can overpower. But, do not put prey in that is too large for a smaller snake as it might cause injury. It is highly recommended that snakes are fed with frozen rats which have been thawed to room temperature are the most convenient for the hobbyist. It is essential that your snake be trained to feed this way as a healthy rat is quite capable of seriously injuring even a large snake.

What are the basic housing requirements for keeping snakes as pets?

1. Space: Must have adequate space to build a suitably sized terrarium that may contain enough environmental enrichment which replicates the natural environment. As in the case of height, a terrarium should be made tall enough especially when considering keeping snakes that naturally dwell in trees.
2. Use of Glass: Glass made terrarium is suitable for the variety of smaller snakes, and those that require high humidity, because the glass will not be affected by damp problems. If your pets require low or a medium humidity then a glass fronted wooden terrarium would be suitable.
3. Environmental Enrichment: The plants and natural elements in each terrarium should mirror the natural elements of the different types of snakes. Essential features though include a pile of leaves and bark, a terracotta pot, a hide box or a hollow log that the snake has narrow access to where it can hide and sleep.
4. Heating: This should be provided at one end of the cage, creating a temperature gradient between 20-28 degree centigrade. At this hot end, a heating pad or shielded heat lamps can be provided, allowing the snake to get even warmer if it desires.
5. Drinking water: Add some water in a shallow water dish that can’t be tipped over. Ensure that the cage is kept dry, as these snakes do not do well in humid environments.
6. Substrate: Line the cage with butcher paper or any other paper without ink for easy cleanup. Gravel, kitty litter or wood shavings should never be used because they trap moisture and waste. These materials also provide hiding places for parasites especially when they are not properly disinfected. 

Management of Snakebite at Community Level

In the rural areas or countryside where snakebites are most frequent, transfer to a hospital may not be feasible within a reasonable time frame of a few hours. In that case, at a community level must cope with the emergency as suggested below:

1. Check history of snakebite and look for obvious evidence of a bite (fang puncture marks, swelling of the bitten part).
2. Immobilize the whole patient as far as possible and especially the bitten limb and give reassurance.
3. Arrange transport of the patient to medical care as quickly, safely and passively as possible by vehicle, boat, bicycle, stretcher etc. Ideally, the patient should lie in the recovery position (prone, on the left side) with his/ her airway protected to minimize the risk of shock and inhalation of vomit.
4. Discourage time wasting and potentially dangerous traditional treatment such as tight ligatures (torniquets), incisions, suction and application of herbs, ice, chemicals, "snakestones", etc.
5. If the snake responsible has already been caught or killed take it with the patient but ensure safety and avoid direct contact.

The Do's and Dont's Incase of Snakebite

Essential First Aid Procedures:

When someone has been bitten by a snake, reassure the victim who may be terrified. Reassurance is justified as most bites result in negligible or no envenoming and, even if a victim is envenomed, there is usually ample time to transport them to medical care. Deaths occur in hours after elapid bites, in days after viper bites. The majority of venomous snakebites may be managed without the use of antivenoms. Antivenom is best administered in a medical setting!

• Remove constricting clothing, rings, bracelets, bands, shoes, etc from the bitten limb.
• Immobilize the whole patient,especially the bitten limb, using a splint or sling. Muscular contractions anywhere in the body, will promote the absorption and spread of venom from the site of the bite via veins and lymphatics and all movements should be avoided as far as possible.
• Always keep the bite area below the level of the victim's heart to reduce the flow of venom.
• Cover the bite area with clean, moist dressing to reduce swelling and discomfort.
• Monitor the vital signs (pulse, temperature, blood pressure, breathing) of the victim. If there are signs of shock, lay the victim flat and cover with a warm blanket.
• Avoid the many harmful and time wasting traditional first aid treatment. Rejected or controversial first aid methods; Cauterization, incision or excision, tattooing, immediate prophylactic amputation of the bitten digit, suction by mouth, vacuum pumps or 'venom-ex' apparatus, instillation of chemical compounds such as potassium permanganate, application of ice packs (cryotherapy), 'snake stones' or electric shocks are absolutely contraindicated as they are all potentially harmful and none has proven benefit. Incisions provoke uncontrolled bleeding if the blood is incoagulable, may damage nerves, blood vessels or tendons and introduce infection. Suction, chemicals and cryotherapy increase the risk of tissue necrosis.
• Transport the patient as quickly and as passively as possible to the nearest medical care.
• Since species diagnosis is important, the snake should be taken along to hospital if it happens to have been killed. However, if the snake is still at large, do not risk further bites and waste time by searching for it. Even snakes which appear to be dead should not be touched with the bare hands but carried in a bag or dangling across a stick. Some species e.g. rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachatus) pretend to be dead (sham death) and even the fangs of a severed snake's head can inject venom!

What Not To Do:

1. Do not wash, rub, massage or temper with the bite wound in any way (these interventions may encourage systematic absorption of venom from the site or introduce infection).
2. Do not allow the victim to engage in physical activity such as walking or running. Carry them if they need to be moved.
3. Do not apply a tourniquet to the area above the wound.
4. Do not apply a cold compress to bite area.
5. Do not cut into the bite.
6. Do not give the victim stimulants and pain medications unless instructed by a medical physician.
7. Do not raise the bite area above the level of the victim's heart.
8. Do not suction the venom - doing so may cause more harm than good.

Prevention of Snakebites

Being sensible is the most important. Familiarize yourself with snakes that are common in the area, in the event of a bite, identifying the type of snake may help with  treatment.

In the house;-

1. Snakes may enter in search of food or find a hiding place for a while, hence keep the house clean by clearing away undergrowth, toys or tools that make great hiding places for snakes,
2. Store food in rat proof containers, and
3. Do not keep livestock, especially chickens, in the house, as some snakes will come to hunt them.

In the farm yard, compound, or garden;-

1. Keep walkways clear of bush, flowers or shrubs. Keep grass short or ground clear around the house and clear underneath low bushes so that snakes cannot hide close to the house,
2. Clear heaps of rubbish, building materials etc from near the house,
3. Clean up any spilled food, fruit and bird seed, which can attract rodents, hence attract snakes to the yard,
4. Do not have tree branches touching the house,
5. Keep granary and water resources (reservoirs and ponds) away from the house (as these may attract animals that snakes will hunt), and
6. Listen more carefully to wild and domestic animals, they often warn of a snake nearby.

In the bush or countryside;-

1. Firewood collection at night is a real danger,
2. Watch where you walk. Step on to rocks or logs rather than straight over them - snakes may be sunning themselves on the sides,
3. Do not put hands into holes or nests or any hidden places where snakes might be resting,
4. Wild animals, especially birds, may also warn of snakes nearby,
5. Many snakebites occur during ploughing, planting and harvesting and in the rainy season. Rain may wash snakes and debris to the edges of roads, and flush some species such as burrowing asps out of their burrows, so be careful when walking on roads after heavy rain especially after dark,
6. Drivers or cyclists should never intentionally run snakes over on the road. The snake may not be instantly killed and may lie injured and pose a risk to pedestrians. The snake may also be injured and trapped under the vehicle, from where it will crawl out once the vehicle has stopped or has been parked in the house compound or garage,
7. Be careful when handling dead or apparently dead snakes - even an accidental scratch from the fang of a snake's severed head may inject venom,
8. Wearing shoes and using a torch at night are helpful, and
9. Sleep in a zip up tent or tuck a mosquito net under the mattress when on camping trips.

Snake Bite Classification

Very broadly, snakebite envenoming based on their venom components can be classified in the following clinical patterns of envenoming:

1. Cytotoxic envenoming is characterized by painful and progressive swelling with blood-stained tissue fluid leaking from the bite wound, hypovolaemic shock, blistering and bruising. The victim will complain of severe pain at the bite site and throughout the affected limb, and painful and tender enlargement of lymph glands draining the bite site. Species involved with this type of bite include spitting cobras, carpet viper, puff adders, Gaboon and rhinoceros vipers.
2. Haemorrhagic envenoming is characterized by bleeding from the gums, gastro-intestinal and genito-urinary tracts, and bleeding from recent and partly healed wounds. Species involved with this type of bite include carpet viper, Gaboon and rhinoceros vipers, boomslang and vine snakes.
3. Neurotoxic envenoming is characterized by moderate or absent local swelling, progressive descending paralysis starting with drooping eyelids and paralysis of eye movements. There may be painful and tender enlargement of lymph glands draining the bite site. The patient may vomit, the saliva may become profuse and stringy and eventually there may be difficulties with swallowing and breathing. Species involved with this type of bite include black and green mambas, non-spitting cobras and Berg adders.
4. Myotoxic envenoming is characterized by negligible local swelling, increasing generalized muscle pain and tenderness associated with features neurotoxic envenoming and progressive descending paralysis culminating in paralysis of breathing. The species involved with this type of bite include yellow-bellied sea snakes.

Mixed type of envenoming may occur. Mixed cytotoxic and neurotoxic bites in the case of rinkhals but not with other spitting cobras. Mixed haemorrhagic and cytotoxic bites from carpet vipers, North African desert vipers and puff adders.

Snake venoms

Snakes have adapted to a wide range of habitats and prey species. All snakes are predatory carnivores; none are vegetarians although some eat eggs. Since snakes are preyed upon by other animals, they tend to be secretive and have evolved many survival strategies. By understanding something about snakes’ habits, simple precautions can be adopted to reduce the chance of encounters, and consequently bites. Some truth apply to all snakes – they prefer not to confront large animals (such as humans) to give them the chance to slither away.

Many snakes are non venomous, while others are only mildly venomous, and not particularly dangerous to humans. However, only a few are highly venomous and their bites potentially lethal.

Venom milking from a snake with reared fangs.

The primary function of snake venoms is to help the snake immobilize and eventually digest its prey. Snake venoms are complex compounds containing numerous components, mainly proteins. The most important venom components that lead to significant clinical effects after a bite are enzymes and polypeptides toxins.

The amount of venom injected during a bite depends on various factors: species and size of the snakes, mechanical efficiency of the bites, whether one or two fangs penetrated the skin, and whether there were repeated bites. For some reason, not all bites by venomous snakes lead to venom injection (dry bites). Even after several bites or after eating their prey, snakes do not exhaust their venom, and they remain just as venomous.

It is very important to realize that even in the case of dry bites or when people suspect or simply imagine that they have been bitten by a snake, they can develop some signs due to extreme anxiety: over breathing, stiffness or dizziness, agitation, or shock with profound slowing of the heart.

Within the same species, large snakes will also tend to inject more venom than smaller ones, but the venom of the latter may be richer in some very dangerous components. Bites by small snakes should therefore not be neglected but should receive the same attention as those by larger snakes.

Facts about Snakes

 

Did you know that?

• Only 10% of total snake species in the world are venomous.
• Most venomous snakes will only attack when provoked or threatened.
• Snake are not aggressive creatures, they also do not chase humans.
• The Inland Taipan snake is known to have the deadliest venom known to man. Although highly venomous, it is very shy and reclusive, and prefers to escape from trouble, biting only if threatened.

Inland Taipan Snake, Oxyuranus microlepidotus

• The potency of a snake’s venom does not disappear even after the snake is dead.
• All venomous snakes possess a vertical elliptical cat-like shaped pupil while non venomous ones possess around pupil in the center of the eye.
• Triangle shaped heads usually point to a venomous snake while a ‘U’ shaped head points to a non venomous snake.
• Venomous snakes possess a depression between the eye and nostril called a pit while non venomous snakes do not possess pits.

15 Facts about Snakes: Bookroom Package (Focus)

Awesome Facts About Snakes

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