False Water Cobra, bites Options

[thedoc]

Hi.
Im thinking about getting a fwc, but my dad wont listen to me when I said that except from taking an alergic reaction, theyre bites arent exaclty fatal, hes convinced one bite will be enough to kill you, and says he wont buy it until someone tells him other wise. So im askin all fwc keepers and people who have suffered a bite to share their experiences so he can see that although they are dangerous, there not as bad as he thinks
thankyou
Conleth

[Helen_Aldred-Jon...]

hmm, well their venom is meant to be as bad as a timber rattlesnake, but because they have such a bad envenomation system (rear-fanged) it is harder to envenomate you, but that doesn't mean that they can't envenomate you, or that it doesn't have the potential to be nasty as there is always the potential for it to be nasty- read the other threads about fwcs, you have to be aware of the possibilty of getting bitten badly.

This post has been edited by Helen_Aldred-Jones: Mar 17 2004, 08:27 PM

[stroudster]

at first thought the name probably struck him as being a cobra, as that name would, however fwc's are colubrids, therefore belong to the same family as ratsnakes, etc.

they are difficult to find in this ocuntry at the moment, especially good quality captive bred specimens

they are not a beginners type of snake, they are very aggressive feeders and extremely quick, a fair bit of experience would be needed ideally to help you cope with it at first

your post is written in a tone where you kind of expect to get bitten? you should avoid getting bitten by this species, and it would not be a 'macho' thing to get a tag from a fwc. although there bites may not be painful, most of the people who have said this are reasonably experienced herp keepers who have (generally) had worse confrontations. this does not mean the bite is not painful, if you get bitten well the site can swell rather large and is unpleasant, not like you average corn or boa bite

also you do not know you're allergic to the venom until you get bitten, unless you go for tests i presume so i would not immediately think that it would not affect you as much

[thedoc]

[thedoc]

Whats the worst possible reaction you can get from a false water cobra bite, I heard you can get a disfigured arm, is this true?

[barrymc123]

i heard that (not sure that this is true) they dont really do that much damage venom wise! i have heard of hoggies doing more damage, but dont take this wrong as im sure that the fwc if you get bit will do alot more damage if they get you proper!! so be carefull. if i was you i would spend a little bit of time with the snake and see if you can handle it!! is i doubt that you will be spending much time holding it! what ever happens good luck with it!!

[Irishgeko]

False water cobra bites a far worse then western hognose bites as already stated its the same toxicity as a timber rattlesnake but they have a very bad invenomation system. The worse case scenario from a bite and if you have a severly bad action is possibly loosing a limb.

[Irishgeko]

False water cobra bites a far worse then western hognose bites as already stated its the same toxicity as a timber rattlesnake but they have a very bad invenomation system. The worst case scenario from a bite and if you have a severly bad reaction is possibly loosing a limb.

This post has been edited by Irishgeko: Mar 18 2004, 08:20 PM

[Helen_Aldred-Jon...]

I am pretty sure that fwc venom can cause tissue damage and necrosis.

[DavidR]

people will react in different ways, some people will have barely any reaction just itching. others will swell up and can go into anaflaxic (spelling?) shock and that wouldnt be at all healthy.
if you arent comfortable with a snake with the potential to be dangerous then dont get one. if you do get one do as much research as you can, put in false water cobra hydronastes gigas into google, followed by venom toxicity or a variation on that and there is atleast one report up there ( i remember reading it a while back).
there was a website up afew months ago with a caresheet on false water cobra and the guy that wrote it had a little paragraph about when he got bitten by his FWC, he said it just itched for a while and mild swelling i think, but as i said everyone reacts differently,

[Natasha]

julie (potter) on this forum had one, and it now lives with evil_elvis i think, perhaps you should pm them or post in the snakes section? as someone said if you're prone to reacting to those kind of bites you can go into anaphalictic (sp) shock, this can kill, just as some people can die of bee stings or eating nuts if they are prone to it.

[thedoc]

Hi
Thanks for your replies
My dad says there not as dangerous as he once thought, and he will think about buying it, im not prone to having algeric reactions to things, but I think the best way to be sure is to not get bit. Thanks again.

[DJMCJERICO]

[Guest_Tariq_*]

If they reallly are as venemous as a timber rattler, then did you here about mark o shea. He was bitten by a timber rattler and was in a coma for 10 days.

[Guest_treeboa_*]

but I think the best way to be sure is to not get bit.

the only way you can be 100% sure of that is not to get one or go near one, get one cb if possible, get it used to being handled at an early age, hopefully then it will be more tractable, bear in mind these are a fairly big snake when fully grown, mate of mine had some, handled them all, couple of years down the line he got tagged by one that was just going into a shed, from what i remember he said his arm throbbed like hell but no lasting effects, but then again untill you do get bitten you do not know how you will react

[Guest_Maureen_Collinson_*]

.

This post has been edited by Maureen_Collinson: Oct 17 2007, 01:39 AM

[Helen_Aldred-Jon...]

I am sure that the late John Foden got tagged by a fwc and he was left with a permanently disfigured arm.

[Julie P]

Yes we did have a FWC, and he was fast, meal times.. well never seen anything like it! .
Chris had at that time 5 years experience working with Snakes, and did a lot of reseach on FWC's, and talked to the breeder 3 times before getting him.
Chris is a confident handler, and I know many will back me up on that.
He 'worked' with Venomous snakes in the US last year, so he did have knowledge and experience.
However, sadly for him we felt it best that he, the FWC should go to a new home with Baz... so we can see him when we visit.
The reason to parting was decided upon, after the Snake was about to be fed, he lunged forward and out of the viv... when he was cornered, he venomated everything that was within reach, it was dripping!!!!!.
Having children that do react to ' things ' we parted with him.
However, another point to make.. you never know what type of reaction you are going to get if it does bite you, even if you have never reacted to anything before.
Julie

[marinogdenbsx]

Personally i wouldn't wanna take the risk and keep any thing like that just stick to good looking snakes that are harmless!

Chris

[surferdude]

Don't see the attraction to a snake that could kill you or u could lose a lime from a bite!