Tecumseh Resident Remains Critical After Four Snake Bites (a bad day alert)

KOTV Website ^ | 7/15/2005

[Cowman]

Tecumseh Resident Remains Critical After Four Snake Bites

OKLAHOMA CITY(AP) _ A Tecumseh man remains hospitalized in critical condition after being bitten four times by two different snakes.

James Cave's wife Gloria says Cave was working at a garage near his home Sunday when he felt a pain in his foot and reached down and was bitten in the hand and foot by a pygmy rattlesnake.

Gloria Cave says Cave then fell backward over a barrel and onto a copperhead that bit him in the foot and groin.

Cave's son and a neighbor drove him to a nearby hospital where he received antivenin and then was flown to an Oklahoma City hospital where he remains.

Neil Garrison with the Martin Park Nature Center in Oklahoma City says it's unusual for someone to run into two poisonous snakes at once. And he says snakes usually don't strike unless provoked, stepped on or humans just get too close.

Garrison says one tip is to never put your hands or feet into areas where you can't see.

[Cowman]

Garrison says one tip is to never put your hands or feet into areas where you can't see.

Ya Think!?

[goldstategop]

They probably slithered into the garage for warmth. That being said, its unusual for snakes of two different species to nest in such close proximity in the same building!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Cowman]

its unusual for snakes of two different species to nest in such close proximity in the same building!

I thought that too. Unless this was some kind of snake crossroads motel or something

[dawn53]

My husband was a real "snake enthusiast" when younger (he had three pet snakes when we got married, LOL.)

He was also bitten by snakes, in the wild, pygmy rattler included.

He said he can't imagine this scenario either unless the guy had captured the snakes.

I guess anything's possible, just not probable.

[Zacs Mom]

Ouch! This is even worse than my friends daughter who was bite on the ankle by a copperhead when she accidentally stepped on it while raking their front yard. She didn't realize what had happen and when she jumped she stepped on it again and the snake bite her on the other ankle. It was pretty bad and she was sick and in pain for a very long time from the bites ~ but this poor guy sounds like he got it worse.

It hard to imagine encounter two different kinds of venomous snakes in one small area...and it's even harder to imagine that that area would be in your own garage!

[Ff--150]

"He said he can't imagine this scenario either unless the guy had captured the snakes.

Tecumseh, OK.--You could feed your family off the copperheads and rattlers there.

Have some lakefront property I'm will to sell there LOL!

[nuconvert]

"Cave was working at a garage near his home..." Also known as the Snake Bite Inn

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Sounds like working at a university for three years all compressed into a few seconds.

Get well soon guy!

[G.Mason]

That's it! I'll never have sex again.

[sgtbono2002]

The first thing I would do when I got home was burn down the garage.

[silverleaf]

slitherin ping

[Guenevere]

On one of those TV News Magazines..recently, they highlighted a town in Oklahoma who made the most of their natural resources.

For instance, in a little town here in Florida we have an annual festival to acknowledge, and enjoy the fruits of our river....clams, froglegs, etc.

In this Oklahoma town, their only resource is rattlesnakes.

They make an annual festival from this....from playing with them to eating them.

And folks bring in rattlesnakes from miles around.

To each his own, I guess.'

[texas_mrs]

Rattlesnake bites are FAR worse than copperhead bites. We just got the new vaccination for our dogs that protects against rattlesnake bites. (In case anyone out there doesnt know this is available...)

[R. Scott]

A rattler and copperhead in the same area? Unusual in my experience. James definitely had a bad day.

[punster]

---

...its unusual for snakes of two different species to nest in such close proximity in the same building!

---

In the Congress and Senate, you see it, everyday.

[R. Scott]

I had a friend who lived on a ranch in Oklahoma long ago. They had a large snake pit in which they collected rattlers for the annual Rattle Snake Roundup every year.

[Mad Mammoth]

"...it's unusual for someone to run into two poisonous snakes at once"

Oh I don't know about that, I've seen Fat Teddy Kennedy and Hiliarly FatAnkles in the same room at the same time.

[Jewelsetter]

LOL

[ConsentofGoverned]

A rattler and copperhead in the same area? Unusual in my experience.

perhaps the victim had a "friend" who left him a "surprise" in the garage..??

[tubebender]

I sure hope this doesn't cause you to have those nightmares again...