|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 04/23/2005 : 23:54:54
|
The show was was something of a disappointment. It was put on by a different promoter and a lot of people I'd expected didn't show up. The crowd was also small, which was good in that I could look over the exhibits at my leasure.
An example of one of my favorite turtles was on hand.There is nothing in the world quite like a matamata.
Also got to visit with old friends from the SHHS, of which I am a charter member.
One of the best presentations I've seen in a long time was put on by herpetologist John Moher. I wish I'd taken notes in case I get back into it. The guy is good, and it was worth the trip and the ticket just to watch him work. The star of his show was a western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), and he uses a trick that I'd never thought of. He keeps this animal in isolation, in a covered cage. Except when it's being presented, it never sees him. Thus, it is highly defensive and rattles furiously throughout the time it's on stage. My big eastern (C. adamanteus) is so used to me that I'd have to beat her with a stick to get a buzz out of her. A spectacular snake, but a total pussycat.
I also made arraingments for the livestock I'm getting rid of. They will be going on display at the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmimgton, NC.
Taken all in, it was an ok event, and the sparse crowd allowed me to pop wheelies with my electric sled whenever I felt like it -- well, I'm lyin' a little. The scooter won't pop a wheelie (a vast disappointment), but anyway, my travels were pretty much unimpeded. I talked briefly with the officials about more aggressive promotion of the event, then bought a quanity of frozen rats and came home.
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
|
Edited by - filthy on 04/23/2005 23:58:14
|
|
|
Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
 Posted - 04/24/2005 : 02:56:39 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
Thus, it is highly defensive and rattles furiously throughout the time it's on stage. My big eastern (C. adamanteus) is so used to me that I'd have to beat her with a stick to get a buzz out of her. A spectacular snake, but a total pussycat.
So all the scenes in western movies when the rattler rears it's ugly head and bites people just for spite is much exaggerated? |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
 |
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2005 : 04:12:20 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
quote:
Originally posted by filthy
Thus, it is highly defensive and rattles furiously throughout the time it's on stage. My big eastern (C. adamanteus) is so used to me that I'd have to beat her with a stick to get a buzz out of her. A spectacular snake, but a total pussycat.
So all the scenes in western movies when the rattler rears it's ugly head and bites people just for spite is much exaggerated?
Yup. All bullshit.
In all of my years of dealing with snakes, mostly venomous snakes, I have yet to find an aggressive one and don't know of anyone else who has, urban myth to the contrary. People who get bitten by snakes do so from in some way messing with the animals. Most bites are recieved by people such as myself, who deal with them on a daily basis and get careless. For example, all of my bites were the result of mistakes and, I admit, stupidity on my part when handling them.
There are some exceptions. Some snakes such as female pythons, king cobras, and bushmasters brood their nests. These might get aggressive in defense of the nest, but are unlikely to leave nest to actually attack.
Many snakes put on a chilling, aggressive-looking display. The hoods of cobras, for example, and my resident, african puff adder has actually caused me to take a step back on more than one occasion. She's awesome! She swells up and hisses loudly, raises herself into her fighting posture, and might even false strike a couple of times. Her strike, one of the fastist of the serpents, has great power and, knowing the potential of her venom and the length of her fangs, I am very cautious with her. But after the step back, she will quickly calm down and retreat.
It is the same with rattlesnakes. They talk a good fight, but don't want to get into one.
Back when I first started doing this, at age 12, all but a very few of the snakebites in the US were on the foot or ankle. Today, they are mostly on the hand. That in itself tells the whole story.
The famous, last words of the drunken Texan go somewhat in this manner: "Hey Bubba, watch this!" 
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
|
|
|
Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2005 : 06:58:47 [Permalink]
|
| Sounds like a great expo! There was one near my place, small one aimed to children and laymen, awhile ago. I wanted to go but mom got all irky and didn't want to, and sister wasn't in town. As I need to be driven around, no reptiles for me. Pity. The shark one was cool, though; I got to pet a shark! Yay! |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
|
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2005 : 08:40:04 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by Siberia
Sounds like a great expo! There was one near my place, small one aimed to children and laymen, awhile ago. I wanted to go but mom got all irky and didn't want to, and sister wasn't in town. As I need to be driven around, no reptiles for me. Pity. The shark one was cool, though; I got to pet a shark! Yay!
As these things go, it wasn't really a great one. We had one a few years ago that had a tremendous number of really exotic animals and was so crowded that it was hard to get around. My conservation society did the presentation, myself wrangling the exibits. I was pretty nervious about the crowd being so close to the stage. At that one, we presented a large (almost 6' and very strong) and really nasty nile monitor. Had I lost my grip on that animal, someone could have been hurt. To be on the safe side, my girlfriend and another member were standing close by with tongs and the will and skill to use them -- a good idea always when presenting any large, potentally dangerous reptile outside of an enclosure. But it was a superb show.
Find some way to blackmail your mom into taking you to the next one. Brazil has so many wonderful creatures to see, including the afore-mentioned matamata, that I wish I could go myself.
The shark felt like sandpaper, didn't it? Do you remember what species?
Hah, I just remembered; as I took the nile out of it's travel case, it took a tremendous dump on the stage. Such are the trivals of the show circuit. 
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
| Edited by - filthy on 04/24/2005 08:42:27 |
|
|
|
Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2005 : 10:32:23 [Permalink]
|
quote:
Originally posted by Ricky
This is possibly the coolest picture of a snake that I have seen.
Filthy, how many times have you been bitten?
Ricky, that is a marvelous series of pics! I'm not sure enough of the species to try and ID it, as I'm not all that familiar with down-under serpents, but it is obviously one of the pythons.
I have had three venomous bites that really hurt me and one of those was life-threatening. I have had perhaps a dozen (not sure) that didn't amount to much more than a fat hand/arm and pain. I have no idea how many nonvenomous bites. Possibly hundreds. If the snake is not hot, I simply grab it.
I have had only one bite treated, and made the unwelcome discovery that I am sensitive to equine serum. I wound up in shock and on a venelator with that one (a large, eastern diamondback). With the venom and the antivenin, it almost killed me.
I carry the information and a source for anitvenin with me all the time. With some of the species I occasionally deal with, AV is not all that easy to find. With today's drugs, the anapaleptic(sp?) shock I'd get from it is not as serious as it once was.
My right arm is much weaker than my left (a good snakebite is like a good marriage: it lasts a lifetime). I cannot entirely straighten my right thumb, and the hand gets cold very quickly due to poor circulation. There is also some nerve damage. The tip of my left forefinger is bent and has only a little feeling in it.
It all sounds pretty ghastly, but I've been lucky. I know of some in a lot worse shape from far fewer bites.
One of the reasons that I won't have a bite treated unless I have to is that it is likely that I will know more about it than the attending physician. Few doctors get to treat snakebite on any sort of a regular basis, so the first thing they do is hit you with the AV, as the book says, although the smart ones will monitor it for a while, first. Then, because the swelling is usually huge (think bad sprain by an order of magnitude), they are likely give you a fasciotomy.
Some four or so years ago, I was bitten by a pretty big copperhead and my right arm puffed up like the Goodyear blimp. I got into a bitter argument with my younger daughter and son-in-law concerning the ER. I finally convinced them that I was not going to take AV for any copperhead bite, and that I'd get a fasciotomy when my fingers turned blue, and leave me the hell alone with my pain. I do not reccommend this for anyone but myself.
My recommendation for first aid for any serious venomous snakebite: a set of car keys, a full tank of gas, and the shortest route to the hospital. Have someone call ahead to let them know what's coming, and do not try to put a ligiture on the limb. It will do more harm than good.
The dark side of what I do these days...
|
"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
|
| Edited by - filthy on 04/24/2005 10:34:16 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
