Posted on 09/22/2007 11:18:58 AM PDT by girlangler
Fishing writer survives bite from deadly snake
By JOHN RUDOLF
LAKE HAVASU NEWS-HERALD
LAKE HAVASU - It took only a split-second to turn an idyllic day fishing on Lake Havasu into an excruciating encounter with one of the deadliest creatures in nature.
Early on the morning of Sept. 11, Doug Busey, 49, the Tahoe Daily Tribune's longtime fishing writer, stepped off of a friend's fishing boat to snap a few photos from a beach on the lake's California side. He knelt down to get a better angle on a cactus, and a dark blur jumped out at it him. Only then did he hear the rattle and see a snake coiled on the ground before him. Blood spurted from two gashes on his left ring finger.
"I can still see it," Busey said. "That familiar tail. ... It had about six buttons on it."
Friend Steve Lightfoot raced him to the hospital, where doctors quickly administered 12 vials of anti-venom, potentially saving his life. Nevertheless, the pain was excruciating.
"It feels like your hand wants to explode," Busey said. "They gave me something for the pain after I started screaming a little."
The tattoo of a cobra, fangs exposed, on Busey's right arm did not evade the watchful eye of the nurses at Havasu Regional Medical Center. "They asked, 'Is that what I think it is?'" Busey said.
With beaches, palm trees, sparkling blue waters and some of the best fishing in the Southwest, Lake Havasu and its surrounding wilderness is an outdoor paradise. But this oasis lies in the middle of a vast desert, home to some of the most venomous snakes in the United States, and it can take only a little bad luck to bring you face to face, or face to fang, with a snake packing enough venom to kill a horse.
Poisonous snakes bite about 8,000 people in the United States each year, and only about 2 percent of those bites are fatal, according to Food and Drug Administration statistics. Permanent scarring and loss of limbs can also result, although with rapid treatment by anti-venom, a full recovery can generally be expected. The deadliest bites are those close to the heart or on a major vein or artery.
Between 30 and 40 percent of rattlesnake bites are "dry," meaning the snake has injected no venom, said herpetologist Dr. Gordon Burns of Kingman.
The most toxic rattlesnake in North America is the Mojave rattlesnake, known as the Mojave green for its light green coloration. Its bite is particularly deadly because it packs a powerful neurotoxin, which acts on the nervous system, as well as the more common hemotoxin, which actually dissolves tissue where it is injected. The Mojave is common in the Lake Havasu region.
Because of its neurotoxin, a person bitten by a Mojave green may feel no pain for the first 20 minutes or so, Burns said, but that should be no reason not to seek immediate help.
There are a number of myths about what to do after a poisonous snakebite, Burns said. But whether it is the "cut-and-suck" method or wrapping a tourniquet around the affected limb, most folk remedies do more harm than good, he said. Only the administration of anti-venom will reliably reverse the effects of the poison.
There are several other things to avoid. One is getting excited or panicked, which speeds up the heartbeat and increases the circulation of venom through the body. Elevating a bitten leg or lying down is also a big mistake. "Keep the bitten area below the level of the heart," Burns said.
Some members of the population have also missed the bulletin that it is not wise to tangle with rattlesnakes, Burns said.
"Probably 50 percent of bites are going to be young to middle-aged white males," he said. "We call them 'interactive bites' because they're messing with the snake."
Not surprisingly, alcohol plays a major role in these encounters.
"I had one guy who saw one going under a pile of hay, and he grabbed it by the tail and tried to pull it out," Burns said. "As the story evolves, it turns out he had drank a couple of beers."
With each vial of anti-venom costing more than $2,000, deliberately tangling with a snake can be costly as well as a life-endangering proposition.
In other cases, such as Busey's, a snakebite is simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there was a lesson to be learned even in his purely accidental encounter, Busey said.
"You can just get caught up in the scenery," Busey said. "You've got to remember that beyond those beautiful green trees is desert, and there are some of nature's deadliest animals out there."
This is not Busey's first run-in with dangerous wildlife this summer. In June, a marauding brown bear damaged his truck and boat and attacked his tent with him sleeping inside. Now with a rattlesnake bite added to his woes, fishing buddy Lightfoot offered Busey some blunt advice.
"You've got to quit pissing off the wildlife," he said.
Editor's note: Busey was hospitalized for a day and has since returned home to Minden and resumed work at Lowe's in Carson City. Swelling has gone down in his left hand, but his ring finger remains red, black and blue and he is unable to move it. "My spirits are high and I'm praying that my insurance is as good as it's been in the past," said Busey, pointing out that each vile of anti-venom costs $2,600. "If not, I'm going to be selling fishing rods and reels.
"It was a frightening experience and without the expediency of people at the hopsital and my friend Steve (Lightfoot), I might not be sitting here."
To contact Busey to wish him well, phone (775) 267-9722.
Well we live right in the middle of the city, but I’ve seen plenty of non venomous snakes in my garden, so I’ll watch for the little rattlers. Maybe I’ll get a photo. I’m way more worried about the dogs getting ahold of one of those nasty cane toads here. They are the bane of my existence.
susie
Then there was the one about the two friends hiking in remote backcountry when one stepped off the trail to take a leak......”The doctor says you’re gonna die,” his friend told him sadly.
Just be careful eating rattlers. Make sure they are a clean kill. If they bit themselves in the throes of death, you can't eat them. Best to separate their heads quickly and cleanly.
Shelley's foot was puffed up - the bitten toe looked like a banana - but there was no fluid to drain out, just general swelling. It was excruciatingly painful, and ice did no good at all.
She stayed overnight at the vet with a mild sedative for the pain, Benadryl, antibiotics, and a saline drip to wash the poison out of her system. The swelling was completely gone in 24 hours, she didn't even limp.
Next time she turns up with a swelling like that, I'll ladle her full of Benadryl first thing!
Are black boy and light green boy REALLY naughty?
Did I tell you that I almost got a free dog, but dodged the bullet?
The real word, antivenin, is almost forgotten today. Language is very often shaped by sheer stupidity.
No, the Mojave Green is a type of rattlesnake, but unlike the Western Diamondback, the Mojave green is territorial,..that means he might actually come out of his hole and chase you if you are in his territory.
Marines up at 29 Palms used to hunt them down because they would fetch $200/copy when you turned them over to the medical authorities so they could develop antivenom for them.
You’re right about that! I use a machete to cleanly and safely remove the head. If anyone cares, here is an easy way to tan a rattlesnake skin:
Slit up the belly from rattles to neck then peel the skin off and pour rock salt all over the fleshy underside.
Stretch the skin out and tack it fleshy side out on a board for a couple of days until it is dry. Then untack the skin from the board and rub the salted fleshy side across the top of a wooden sawhorse or other secure board, back and forth for about 20 minutes or so until the fibers in the skin break down and begin to look like suede. You are done, that is all there is to it!
I just took out a Western diamondback last week that kept returning to the back porch of an elderly woman. Only about 18” long, 4 buttons, so small. Not like the grandaddies we used to kill in the Colorado river bottom hiding in the irrigation Pipe south of Austin. Those were a good 8 ft long and thicker than your forearm. Rattles were over 12 and had been broken off. One of many.
Just checked out your homepage. Re: the blue snake, I think this site will provide the info about your shy “friend” - http://www.oplin.org/snake/fact%20pages/racer_blue/racer_blue.html
Good to know,..the one we took out fell victim to a falling stick and bit itself in the throes of its demise. Nothing would eat it afterwards.
A bit of borax doesn’t hurt.
I would be scared to death. That is one snake I do not want to meet up with.
Noooo you have to be careful, because it’s so easy to get another dog! ;)
Yes, the boys are pretty naughty. Actually, one is spending the night on a trial basis with a potential new owner. We’ll see if he’s too naughty to go live there!
It’s funny, the girl always waits to go outside to potty. The boys, not so much! Kind of like humans, I think the boys grow up a little slower. I would love to keep light green, but unfortunately he’s missing 2 important parts! He has a really cool personality, I would love to do obedience with him.
I remember walking along a Japanese stormwater drainage channel under construction back in ‘82 at Fuji, about a mile from nearest soul. Grunts hated patroling that area, because the snakes would drop out of trees on top of you and scare the Dickens out of you.
I walked along the channel, about 20 feet with knee high grass about 15 feet from the same treeline, when I thought i saw something move in the grass ahead of me, thinking, Ya know, this would be a great place for snakes. So I decided to turn around and follow the channel back. As I turned around 5 snakes turned from within about 3 feet from where I had been walking and went back towards the trees.
These were cute ones. Pit Viper looking heads, as thick as your forearm, green western diamondback type back pattern, with yellow underbelly, but short, maybe 24” long each.
Just the kind of snake that would really get you excited when they dropped on you as you patrolled under the jungle canopy.
I always wondered why they called it anti-venin. I’m sure it means something. And, oft times it’s not stupidity, it’s trying to remember what one heard. To most, Anti-Venom makes more sense than Anti-Venin. I would save pointing the finger and crying stupidity for really stupid things, not mistakes made in good faith. Now I’m off to dictionary.com.
susie
Oh my!! So you were bitten by a copperhead? They really itch, doen’t they?
Thank you. Looks exactly like the one I saw. A very pretty snake. We also saw one at the Morikami Japanese Garden. They are VERY fast! Hence the name I suppose.
susie
Not me, just my dogs. They didn’t mention it itching. All 3 just swelled some and acted a little *down* for awhile. Of course, that might have been the benedryl.
susie
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