Snakes have wiggled their way under the city's radar recently, following letters sent from readers who have had recent snake encounters. Here Desiree Schirlinger passes on the knowledge of local experts, to unveil the mysteries of boomslangs, puff adders and other snakes in the area.
Snakes have wiggled their way under the city's radar recently, following letters sent from readers who have had recent snake encounters. Here Desiree Schirlinger passes on the knowledge of local experts, to unveil the mysteries of boomslangs, puff adders and other snakes in the area.
Imagine being deaf, smelling with your tongue and having to walk on your belly. Such is the life of snakes, essential creatures in our ecosystem, without which a great deal of our beautiful bird life will go without supper and we'd be overrun by pests such as rats and mice.
“The more I can enlighten people about snakes the better, then they can appreciate them for their value to us,” said Basil Mills, an experienced snake handler with 40 years experience under his belt. He warned that now is the time of year when precautions do need to be taken against our slithering friends, however.
“February to March is the time of year when the snakes are feeding up for winter and so they will be particularly active,” he said.
Luckily for Grahamstonians, Settlers' Hospital is always at the ready to deal with snake bite victims, whether you are on medical aid or not. “We are well equipped and have anti-venom in the fridge all year long. We also have all the means to deal with the snake bite symptoms,” said Sister Pria Govinden, the acting nursing services manager at Settlers'.
“We haven't had any cases in the past four months, but are aware that we are in snake season now where puff adder bites are the most common.”
Grahamstown is full of experienced snake handlers and here they've provided an easy to follow three-step plan to being snake savvy, so spread the word and tell your children, especially at this time of year.
Firstly, how to keep out of a snake's way? “70-80% of snake bites are administered to the feet and ankles, and the majority of bites are from puff adders," explained local snake handler Dr Sirion Robertson. "They rely on camouflage to protect them and don't slither away when they hear you coming, like the cobras do.”
When walking in the veld, especially in long grass where visibility is lessened, ensure that you are wearing a good pair of shoes, preferably hiking boots with a high ankle support; if not then long pants are very important.
“Using a walking stick to sweep the grass as you pass will also help warn snakes that you're coming,” said Mills, “and particularly at this time, keep your dogs on leads when taking a walk in the veld to protect them as well.”
It is also possible to guard your home and Mills suggested that if you live in a house near long grass that you suspect is favoured by snakes, then surround the perimeter of your house with a strip of shade cloth.
“A width of about a meter of shade cloth placed on the ground around your garden is a good deterrent as the snakes avoid slithering across the material,” he said.
Unfortunately incidents do happen, so what's to be done when you find yourself in a snake situation? “If the snake is closer than two meters, run. Get out of there as quickly as you can,” Mills said. “However, if it's further away then that, freeze, stand stock still and then slowly back off – always keeping your eyes on the snake.”
You should try your best to always know where the snake is, and throw a blanket or box to an empty space near the snake, where it will probably slither in looking for hiding. Then seal off the room and call for help and keep an eye on it. “It is important that people can tell us where the snake is if they find one, to tell us which room it's in or at least to give us a realistic area to search in,” said Robertson.
If the snake appears to be dead, do not touch it. Many snakes, such as the highly venomous rinkhals – or spitting cobra – feign death as a defence mechanism and can quickly spring to action when provoked too much. “All snakes are extremely good climbers and swimmers,” said Mills.
“If you are in water and a snake is swimming towards you, it's just looking for something to climb on to get out of the water.” Mills suggested that if you do find yourself in this situation, duck under the water immediately and swim away, completely submerging yourself. The last step to having snake sense is knowing the correct first aid in the event of a bite.
Firstly, an obvious step but probably the most difficult to follow is to keep calm. Panicking and running around will spread the venom quicker. If it's possible, try get a good look at the snake or take a photograph – do not go chasing after it if you cannot get a positive identification. Make sure to take note of your exact location and the time of the bite.
Settlers' Hospital will only treat a patient with anti-venom once a positive identification has been made on the snake responsible. “We will send a snake handler out to the location where the victim was bitten to search for the snake responsible so we know exactly what to administer,” said Govinden.
“While waiting for the identification we will treat the victim's symptoms to make them as comfortable as possible,” she said. First aid to administer before taking the victim to hospital varies between snakes, so remember this simple ABC guide and you'll always be prepared:
A: Adders, Area. The most common dangerous adder in the Eastern Cape is the puff adder. The venom is cytotoxic and affects the area of the bite. You will immediately feel the bite; it is extremely painful “like 200 bee stings” said Mills. “There is a great deal of local pain in the area of the bite, as well as swelling, bruising and death of tissue in the area,” according to Robertson. Do not bandage the bite area, but leave the venom to dilute through the blood stream and take the victim immediately to hospital as fast as possible.
B: Boomslang, Blood. This venom is haemotoxic, meaning that it affects the victim's blood. Keep a look out for bleeding at the bite site and internal bleeding also occurs. The venom is relatively slow acting so you have a bit more time to transport the victim to hospital. Unlike the venom of the puff adder, the boomslang bite should be bandaged to prevent spreading to the rest of the body. If the victim was bitten on the ankle, tightly wrap a bandage around the entire leg, as this will help slow the venom but not restrict blood flow too much.
Very importantly, if you've administered a bandage like this, every 15 minutes you must loosen the bindings for 10-20 seconds or else the entire limb could be lost. “If you've bandaged the victim and have to hand them over to paramedics or the hospital, make sure you remove the bandage you placed in case they are forgotten – you don't want to be liable for an amputated limb,” said Robertson. “The boomslang has extremely poisonous venom but the snake isn't that dangerous. They have good senses and will get out of your way as quickly as they can.” he said.
C: Cobras (including Rinkhals), Central nervous system. The venom is neurotoxic and so affects the central nervous system (breathing and senses). The bite is not painful like a puff adder's, and it may take the victim a while to realise they were even attacked. A pins and needles sensation might occur at the bite site, so check closely for the fang marks.
Muscle pain, drowsiness, nausea and confusion are some of the symptoms. Oxygen depletion results in respiratory problems and, “with a cobra bite you can help the victim by breathing into their mouth but do not pump their chest as you would in normal CPR, this will just spread the venom faster,” said Mills.
Administer a bandage to the bitten limb in the same way you would to a boomslang bite. Cobra's and rinkhals are known for spitting venom, often aiming for the face. If this happens, wash it out with water (NOT milk) thoroughly.
Cutting wounds to suck venom out and other such tales are outdated and will only make the bite worse, so do not believe these old wives' tales. Living in Africa, we understand that we have to co-exist with all manner of our abundant wildlife. Following these steps will help ensure that it is a peaceful existence between us and snakes.
SNAKE SIGHTING HELP CARD:
1) If the snake is closer than two metres, run! 2) If not, stand still and back off slowly. 3) Throw a blanket or a box to an empty space near the snake, and the snake will most likely crawl into it as it will look for cover. 4) Seal off the room and call for help.
The following are trained to capture snakes: Grahamstown Fire Station: 046 622 2923 Basil Mills: 083 420 26433 Sirion Robertson: 083 406 0264.
