Any herpetologists on board?

Factual Questions
1

Scene: Lake Cumberland, Kentucky (southern Kentucky), past weekend. It’s a huge lake, with wooded areas all around. It’s very rocky, with lots of slate. No beaches, just rocky cliffs.

Anyway, we were boating and had stopped to let the kids swim. We anchored about 20 feet offshore. I called all the kiddies onto the boat since it was lunch time. My brother said, “Hey, look at that snake.” Sure enough, a snake had come into the water. Oddly, instead of avoiding us, he made a beeline for our boats. His head was stuck up about seven or eight inches above the water, very rigid, and his mouth was open in an ominous position. My brother said, “I think it’s a cottonmouth - get the kids off the back of the boat!” Needless to say I grabbed the kids and threw them into the boat. Then I grabbed a syrofoam noodle and waited, ready to whack it if needed. (Hey, I know it’s Kentucky, but I didn’t pack any heat!) Anyway, the thing passed within a foot of our boat, mouth open the whole time. He was absolutely capable of climbing aboard at any time, should the mood have struck. Thankfully, it didn’t.

A couple questions: It was quite aggressive for a snake. I’m used to copperheads in Cumberland but they don’t worry me all that much since we try to avoid their territory - logs and leaf-strewn forest floors. Besides, they generally don’t kill people with their bite. But this snake was different. It was very aggressive. Could it have been a moccassin? In southern Kentucky? And why did it feel threatened when we had been swimming there for awhile and it came out only after we all climbed aboard? We were at least 20 feet away from shore.

If it was a moccassin, how can I avoid a confrontation in the future? And if I am confronted, and say the kids were all still in the water, would it have been better for them to keep absolutely still in the water or should they have tried to all make it towards the boat at the same time? I didn’t move when it came near me, and it left me alone. Is that the best route to take? If an adult would have jumped in between the kids and the snake, would that just aggravate said snake more? And what are the chances of us grabbing a pit viper behind the head, Steve Irwin style, prior to it biting us, especially in the water?

And if any of us been bit, would we have had time to make it to the nearest dock (10 minutes) and sought medical attention before dying?

Finally, is the emergency treatment for all snakes the same? (Tourniquet off the region bitten, make a 3 inch cut into the area, and try to bleed out as much venom as possible before it circulates) Or is this just an old wives tail?

I await your wisdom.

2

It does sound like a cottonmouth (water moccasin) to me. I have encountered these snakes in pounds and rivers in Louisiana many times and they can be quite aggresive. In fact, I have read that they are the most aggresive of the North American snakes and are the only snakes that will attack without any provocation. I experienced this type of behavior once while I was fishing. A cottonmouth charged the boat I was in. I managed to cast my line over it and hook it in the side with my lure. I ended up dragging it around until it was confused and then cut the line. It was very scary.

Cottonmouths range from southern Viginia into the deep South so it is quite possible that you encountered one in Kentucky. Like its name implies, its distiguishing characteristic is a white mouth with long fangs. However, you could have seen a common water snake which is often confused with the water moccasin and has a much broader range.

3

Most likely you would not die from a cottonmouth/water moccasin bite. That is, as long as you didn’t cut off your circulation with a tourniquet and introduce infection by cutting into your flesh in field conditions.

Any bite from a poisonous snake is dangerous; but the best thing to do is wash the bite, ice down the bitten area and get to a hospital. A simple suction kit might be helpful, but not if you start slasjing your arm up first. Most likely the hospital folks will not do anything drastic. Luckily for us U.S. folks, our poisonous snakes are fairly mild compared to others around the world.

As mentioned by mavpace, moccasins can be aggressive. I, too, have been on canoe trips where cottonmouths seemed to be overly interested in our boat. I don’t know exact numbers, but you would be hard pressed to find an otherwise healthy adult that was taken out by a moccasin bite. Children, old folks, or the sickly are more succeptible to any kind of trauma, including snakebite.

Interestingly enough, if you get bitten by an adult rattlesnake you are probably better off than if you get bitten by a juvenille. You might not think that would be the case by looking at the comparitive sizes of the snakes. However, a rattlesnake has different bite behaviors depending on the situation. A potential prey item will receive full venom. However, the bite a human would most likely get would be a defensive “Leave me the Hell alone!” bite. Not nearly as much venom released. As a survival strategy, the snake would tend not to spend precious metabolic energy releasing all of its venom unless absolutely necessary. A juvenille might not be as discriminating as a learned adult and might give you both barrels, as it were.

Also, any snkebite can introduce dangerous infection, regardless if venom is involved or not.

4

Never try to do the laceration and suction thing unless you have a snakebite kit for that purpose: This will generally include a sterile, single-use blade to lacerate the cut, and a pump-type device. A touniquette might be called for if you get bit by one of those exotic African or Australian snakes, but for anything in North America, the risks would outweigh the benefits. And NEVER, EVER use alcohol to treat snakebite: A depressant drug is just about the worst thing that you can do about venom. The main reason that people used to believe that rattlesnakes were so deadly is that they treated bites with alcohol: Rattler bites, when completely untreated, only have about a 5% fatality rate. Also, nothing in North America is likely to kill you before you can reach a hospital, and once there, they’re just about guaranteed to be able to save you with antivenin, although I don’t envy you the muscle pains you’d get.
Before you get to the hospital, the best treatment is just to keep the victim comfortable, drinking water, at a comfortable temperature, etc., and to avoid exertion as much as possible.

5

All right, no cutting, I promise. Actually I heard that technique from my brother’s nephew. He has 2 pet snakes. They are both constrictors, however, not vipers. He goes to reptile shows (think gun shows with snakes) and has spoken to people who keep rattlers. That is what they said to do if there’s no hospital around.

Of course, I should know not to take advice from men who keep rattlesnakes as a hobby.

6

According to Brian Daley, M.D., Director, Metabolic Support Service, Assistant Professor, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville and Derek Pendarvis, Resident-General Surgery, Surgery, University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, “There are many poorly substantiated treatment plans that may, in fact, do more harm than good. These include incision over the bite, mouth suctioning, tourniquets, ice packs and electric shock.” (found at: http://emedicine.com/med/topic2143.htm

You might get better advice on the management of snake bites from your local poison control center than from most of the people who post on this board. (Do I have to put one of those little smiley faces here?)

7

At webmd.com they say:

  1. Keep the victim calm, restrict movement, and keep the
    affected area below heart level to reduce the flow of
    venom.
    2. Wash the bite with soap and water.
    3. Remove any rings or constricting items; the affected
    area may swell.
    4. If the area of the bite begins to swell and change color,
    the snake was probably poisonous.
    5. Cover the bite with a clean, cool compress or a clean,
    moist dressing to reduce swelling and discomfort.
    6. Monitor the vital signs (temperature, pulse, rate of
    breathing, blood pressure) of the victim. If there are signs
    of shock (such as paleness), lay the victim flat, raise the
    feet about a foot, and cover the victim with a blanket.
    7. Get medical help immediately.
    8. Bring in the dead snake if this can be done without risk
    of further injury.
    Have fun with #8.