OT/ FL: Snake Handler Recovering From Black Mamba Snake Bite.....
Slimpickins
proper authorities regarding the transport of Deadly snakes, that, IMO,
should Never be allowed in the US other than for museums and zoo's
educational purposes. No one has the right to freely *own* such a health
risk, and have for entertainment ? a too risky (potential of a) public
menace.
Slim
Snake handler on the mend: `Next time he might not be lucky'
By Vicky Agnew
Staff Writer
Posted May 24 2001
Davie· Even in a world of concrete and condos, Mother Nature never lets you
forget who's boss.
Just ask Art Bass, an experienced reptile handler who was bitten on the hand
Tuesday by one of the world's top five deadliest snakes--a Jameson's mamba.
In short, Bass went mano a mamba, and the mamba won.
Bass, 66, who was in fair condition Wednesday at Memorial Regional Hospital
in Hollywood, declined an interview. But his boss, Michael Van Nostrand,
owner of Strictly Reptiles at 6450 Stirling Road in Davie, said Bass was
doing well.
"All Art said was that it was his fault," he said. "Next time he might not
be so lucky."
Strictly Reptiles, a reptile import/export business, is not a retail
business and has been in Davie for 11 years. Van Nostrand learned the
business from his father, and both men have known Bass for many years. He is
like family, Van Nostrand said.
Van Nostrand said he dislikes handling venomous snakes and relies on Bass to
do much of the dangerous work.
Doctors gave bass 14 vials of antivenin flown to the hospital from the
Florida Antivenin Bank Inc., operated by Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue. Nine of the
vials were out of date, but doctors used them anyway, Dr. Jeffrey Draesel
said.
Treating Bass temporarily depleted the bank's antivenin supply, and
Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Capt. Al Cruz had to search the state for more.
"We still have enough for one more bite," Cruz said. "We flew it in last
night from Orlando. ... But I have 40-50 more vials coming any day."
Bass' bite was the fifth this year that the antivenin bank has dealt with,
Cruz said. The antivenin comes from South Africa and each vial has a shelf
life of three to five years, he said.
Van Nostrand said his venomous snake trading is done with collectors and
other distributors around the world, as well as institutions for medical
research. Van Nostrand said he only sells venomous snakes to people who have
experience handling them.
"Nationwide it's a big business," Cruz said. "But most of the high-dollar
items with snakes are nonvenomous."
Cruz said collectors spend more money on snakes with unusual coloring or
patterns rather than on venomous ones. He said he keeps a database of
institutions and private hobbyists around the state that keep venomous
snakes.
Most of the interest among the medical community in venomous snakes is using
venom for pain medications and cancer research.
"Snake venom is the most complex of all poisons known to man. There are so
many different enzymes, proteins and heavy metals that compose snake venom,"
Cruz said. "A large percent of them are still unstudied."
To own a venomous snake in Florida, an individual must have a license. That
requires a person to be at least 18 years old, with no criminal history and
at least 1,000 hours of experience handling venomous snakes. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that Strictly Reptiles' license is
current.
It was business as usual Wednesday at Strictly Reptiles. Customers called
with orders and employees bustled around the warehouse-size facility caring
for the approximately 30,000 reptiles, amphibians and arachnids.
No one, however, was handling venomous snakes alone as Bass had done the
previous day.
Bass had already helped bag two coral snakes and three cobras for shipment
Tuesday and was supposed to have help bagging the mamba, but he decided not
to wait.
He had the seven-foot snake about half way into a cloth bag when the snake
raced up the handling hook and bit him on his right hand. Even then, Bass,
who has some 60 years experience working with reptiles, kept his cool. The
snake had retreated into the bag and Bass managed to close it, Van Nostrand
said.
"Once the snake's out of the cage, he's got to handle it," Van Nostrand
said. "You can't open the cage because then they all want to come out, and
he can't drop it on the ground."
Van Nostrand said Bass told him he tried to bag the snake alone because
other mambas he'd bagged recently had been docile.
Bass is ornery and has his own way of doing things, but he's tremendously
experienced with venomous snakes and normally doesn't take chances, he said.
"Art's been bit before, but this one left him a little nervous," he said.
"Last year, he was bit a by a western diamondback."
The rattlesnake delivers a dry bite, and Bass chose not to go to the
hospital. He suffered no serious symptoms, he added.
In an interview with the Sun-Sentinel in 1997, Bass said he had been bitten
by snakes 16 times. He was pragmatic about his dangerous encounters.
"That's what you get for messin' with them," he said at the time.
Vicky Agnew can be reached at vag...@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7922.
Mcc6050
>*I would hope* that this incident would serve to raise eyebrows with the
>proper authorities regarding the transport of Deadly snakes, that, IMO,
>should Never be allowed in the US other than for museums and zoo's
>educational purposes.
I would hope so, too, but apparently there's no prohibition against importing a
snake that's not native to this country.
Several years ago I read a book entitled, IIRC, "Mamba". Someone takes a black
mamba into the U.S., to NYC. The snake, a pregnant female, escapes and sets up
her nest in Central Park. The snake wreaks havoc one day, biting and killing
several people before she herself is killed. Unknown to anyone, tho, the eggs
are still in the underground nest, incubating.
Mac
Slimpickins
"Mcc6050" <mcc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010524132231...@ng-bk1.aol.com...
> Slimpickins wrote:
>
> >*I would hope* that this incident would serve to raise eyebrows with the
> >proper authorities regarding the transport of Deadly snakes, that, IMO,
> >should Never be allowed in the US other than for museums and zoo's
> >educational purposes.
**Mac Replied:
> I would hope so, too, but apparently there's no prohibition against
importing a
> snake that's not native to this country.
>
> Several years ago I read a book entitled, IIRC, "Mamba". Someone takes a
black
> mamba into the U.S., to NYC. The snake, a pregnant female, escapes and
sets up
> her nest in Central Park. The snake wreaks havoc one day, biting and
killing
> several people before she herself is killed. Unknown to anyone, tho, the
eggs
> are still in the underground nest, incubating.
>
> Mac
Hey Mac,
That's a scary scenario for a story, and honestly it's not too far-fetched
with our apparent 'wide Open', deadly, serpent/ snake rules (and
regulations) that we appear to have. Our federal Gov. Really ought to pass
and then enforce much more stricter 'dangerous' snake rules and guidelines.
Slim
Neely
news:4g9P6.41298$t12.3...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Thanks for posting this. I was discussing this with a friend of mine that
used to run several pet stores here in Charlotte. He's well versed in
"exotic" animals and used to be an animal wrangler for movies. According to
him, it is illegal to privately own a venomous snake in the state of NC
(where an earlier article stated this snake was being shipped). We were
wondering just who that snake was being shipped to. This article causes me
to think that it was headed for a research institute or zoo.
Neely
--
"A generation which ignores history has no past--and no future." R. A.
Heinlein
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Imagine what biotechnology could do with snakes,
eh?
...geminiwalker
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