It's interesting to me that snake bites elicit so much more horror in the general populace than any other type of animal bite. I'm sure that, historically, this is due in part to the fact that even some very small snakes, especially certain elapids, are capable of delivering a bite that, while minimal in terms of any visible physical damage, can cause rapid death. This ability must have been particularly shocking to early peoples, resulting in snakes being viewed as having almost supernatural powers.



Of course, as we see from photos such as these, some snakes are certainly capable of causing massive and visible tissue damage and trauma around the bite.



However, I work at a vet clinic and regularly see the results of dog bites inflicted on other dogs, and the damage is regularly every bit as horrible and visible as what is depicted in these photos. We currently have a German shepherd here in the hospital that looks as if he had been skinned from just behind the head to his shoulders. Another dog, a very large female Rottweiller, was so badly mauled by one of her own adult pups that she died on the operating table. This dog was literally so covered in blood that you couldn't tell what color she was (white). I can easily imagine the damage that such teeth and jaws could inflict on human flesh, if so inclined, and treat the dogs here with as much respect as I do my rattlesnakes.



Often, when I begin a snake lecture with a very docile boid of some sort draped around my neck, I am asked "Why doesn't that thing bite you?" as if biting is an automatic and unavoidable behavior for snakes.



I usually respond by asking if the questioner owns a dog. "Does your dog normally bite you?" The answer being almost certainly "no," I then point out that all dogs are equipped with very sharp teeth and powerful jaws, and that any dog is CAPABLE of delivering a very serious bite, but most of them don't. The point is that just because an animal has the equipment to inflict a bite doesn't mean that it is inclined to, i.e., being well-armed doesn't necessarily imply malice. I believe that most snakes don't want to bite us, and would much rather avoid any confrontation with such a large and formidable adversary as a human.



The last thing a captive venomous snake wants to do is bite its keeper, whether the snake actually realizes this or not. In the big picture, such an act is likely to seal the snake's doom, since it is unlikely that anyone but the keeper is really going to care about the snake's welfare in such a situation, and most other (sane?) people will probably call for the "offending" snake's destruction (along with the rest of that unfortunate keeper's collection). It is our job to ensure, not just for our own sake, but for that of the snakes, that this does not happen. Do not take chances!



Yet, what amazes me is the horror that people, many keepers included, of being bitten even by a non-venomous snake. To me, this is just a non-event, except perhaps for large, long-toothed boids.



Non-venomous snakebites are by-and-large just so superficial and ineffective that I almost feel sorry for the snake and its puny efforts to defend itself. Next to a dog or cat bite (which ALWAYS become horribly infected), NV snake-bites are just nothing. I've had far worse from briars or household scrapes and cuts.



Perhaps this horror of ANY snakebite, venomous or non, comes from the fact that biting is really a snake's only available form of ACTIVE defense, that is to say, a form of defense that inflicts any damage, however minor, upon an assailant. With no limbs, they are incapable of clawing or scratching, and while many snakes resort to unique (and perhaps repulsive) defensive behaviors such as hiding, musking or playing dead, these are all PASSIVE forms of defense. (I am really unaware of constriction being used defensively, at least in a conscious way).



I am very interested in the phenomenon of ophidiophobia, which is always at the top of any list of human fears (just above public speaking). How many people are really going to encounter a seriously dangerous snake in their daily lives? To my mind, ophidiophobia is a major worldwide health problem in terms of the loss of productivity and quality of life that it imposes upon its sufferers, for no good reason. I have known people who are terrified of walking in the woods or going fishing becasue of snakes (while they think NOTHING of driving 200 miles on the interstate, a far more dangerous activity). We should all be doing our utmost to combat it. So much evil is caused by the ills that never happen.



Many "snake shows" capitalize on this supernatural fear, to the benefit of the showman's ego, who makes himself look as if he is performing some superhuman, death-defying feat by handling snakes. I am continually trying to undermine this approach with my own lectures, by demonstrating how even potentially dangerous snakes are not inclined to bite, and that most snakes are utterly harmless animals with bites less painful or damaging than that of an average parakeet (which can deliver a very painful pinch!). The snakes in my presentations are not refraining from biting me because I have some supernatural powers, or because I am preternaturally "brave" or daring (hell, I hate to fly!)... they are refraining from biting me because THEY DON'T WANT TO!



Best regards to all-



FSB













































