Gideon Vorster, the 21-year-old Limpopo snake catcher, is recovering after a black mamba bit him a week ago. He shared how he ended up in a hospital after rescuing the reptile.
A picture shows a Dendroaspis Polylepis, black mamba, snake at the nursery of the Venom World company in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, near Paris.
Bitten by a Poisonous Snake
As specified in an IOL report, Vorster said he had rescued a snake from the ceiling of one of the Nkowankowa townhomes. He had been accompanied by Richard Max Radue, also a snake catcher. After rescuing the snake, Vorster noticed that it was in its shedding process and had marks on its body.
They were uncertain if the reptile was hurt while on the roof, so he decided to check on it before releasing it. It was after the checking process that the snake bit him. Vorster was thankful Radue rushed him to a local hospital.
When they were at the hospital, they realized he was not only bitten once but twice on his hand. Vorster, who has been a snake catcher for four years, said it was the first time a poisonous snake had bitten him.
Describing the feeling after the snake bite, he said it was scary. However, he was thankful he was on the mend. He was in so much pain but hoped to be back to snake catching next week.
Vorster admitted that he had a fear of snakes. When he was working at a lion and predator park, he went for training on catching snakes and immediately took a liking to it. The Limpopo snake catcher said he spent the whole day in the hospital and was back home recovering.
In a post on Facebook, Vorster said he did not play with the snake. As always, he was careful in handling it.
"As we all know, snakes are still wild animals," not to mention unpredictable and this situation was an unfortunate occurrence beyond his control, he added.
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Boomslang Bite
In Durban, Jason Arnold hopes to make it in time to save a dog that was bitten by a boomslang near Greytown in KZN, IOL said in a separate report.
The Durban snake catcher said he fetched the anti-venom from a local hospital and rushed to Greytown. He received a call from a family "that the snake was attacked and killed," and a dog was bitten during the process.
The dog was then brought to the veterinarian. According to Arnold, fortunately, someone contacted him and told him about the dog. He was also sent a picture of the snake.
The snake catcher confirmed that it was a boomslang. An extremely venomous snake species, according to Snake Facts.
Following the dog's encounter with the snake, the former had stopped eating, was lethargic and had pale gums. Arnold was convinced that the dog was bitten by a boomslang based on the dog's condition.
Arnold hoped he was fast enough to save the dog and that there was not too much internal damage.
According to the Durban snake catcher, both humans and dogs use the same anti-venom. There is a window period to administer it, but that would depend on the dog's current condition. Fortunately, it was not quite bad.
Relate information about the Durban snake catcher is shown on Dala U Crew's YouTube video below:
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