IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY

AND FAMILY

AND AWESOMENESS!!!

Visit DRN on Youtube

‹ ›

Woman learns hard lesson as snakes start moving again

It sounded like air escaping, but it wasn’t until it was too late that a Cordova woman realized what was actually making the noise.

Pam Cutter says she was bitten by a snake Tuesday afternoon that had been hiding behind her car tire.

“I was checking the air in my tire while it was on the car,” Cutter said. “I heard the hiss after I finished and I thought it was a leak.

“I put my hand behind the tire to check for the leak, and that’s when he bit me.”

The snake bit her about two inches above her wrist. Cutter never found out what kind of snake bit her because she “freaked out.”

“Everything I did was wrong. I panicked and ran over to my neighbor’s house,” Cutter said. “They tied off my arm and I was taken to the hospital by ambulance.”

At the Regional Medical Center, “They told me it appeared no venom had been injected.”

Derral Linder of Linder’s Snake Rescue and Removal in North says non-venomous bites from poisonous snakes, while not common, are far from rare.

“Snakes have knowledge that their venom is used to kill prey, and they know we are too big to be prey,” Linder said. “They can control not only whether they will inject venom but how much.

“The Centers for Disease Control says that 30 percent of all snake bites each year in the U.S. are dry. There are about 8,000 venomous snake bites. Of those, 8 to 10 are fatal.”

RMC emergency medicine physician Dr. Simons Hane says the cold-blooded reptiles are beginning to appear as the weather grows warmer.

“We don’t see a lot of snake bites here, usually about 10 to 15 each year,” Hane said. “The degree of a snake bite is determined by the level of pain and how quickly swelling spreads from the site of the bite.

“I was bitten about 15 to 18 years ago by a water moccasin and the pain was immediate. The bite felt like someone was pouring molten lead into the wound.”

Hane says there are commonsense precautions one should take in the event of a snake bite.

“We tell people they should never attempt to suck out the venom, cut the wound area or ice it under any circumstances,” Hane said. “Stay calm, elevate the area of the wound and get to a hospital as soon as possible.

“They are starting to come out and they are nothing to mess around with.”

Cutter says she will be more careful in the future. She’s also learned a very important lesson: “Not to stick my hand anywhere I can’t see it.”

City considers stepping up oversight of exotic pets

Columbus residents who enjoy the company of gators, boas, wallabies and other less-than-traditional pets might soon face stricter oversight from the city. The Board of Health will consider a proposal that more explicitly details what animals the city wants to oversee, then would require permits for those animals and for the stores that sell them.

Details are being worked out, including the cost of the permits, which would be less than $100, city officials said this week.

City rules already call for permits for some of these kinds of pets, but the rules are vague and not strongly enforced, said Roger Cloern, assistant health commissioner. This is an attempt to provide clarity to the public and pet-store owners and more closely monitor the animals in Columbus, he said.

Only about 50 pet owners have permits, and those were prompted by resident complaints, said Columbus Public Health spokesman Jose Rodriguez.

Some unusual pets are becoming more popular, including backyard chickens, he said. In the past two years, the city has had 127 complaints about chickens and other fowl.

One concern about some pets is the potential for illness transmission, said Dr. Aaron K. Messer, the city’s public-health veterinarian.

About 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases originate with animals, he said. In 2003, two Ohioans were sickened with a disease called monkeypox, which was believed to have come from a wallaby and a prairie dog.

Columbus Public Health officials are eager to hear from pet owners and others before the board votes this summer, Rodriguez said.

The department has reviewed similar regulations in other cities, including Cleveland, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore.

At this week’s city Board of Health meeting, Terry Wilkins, owner of Captive Born Reptiles, questioned the Columbus proposal. He has stores on Morse and Refugee roads and sells alligators, large snakes and other pets.

The pets he sells have not caused injuries or deaths, Wilkins said. He worries about harassment of pet owners and is upset that the business community was “deliberately kept in the dark” about the effort, he said.

Christopher Eaken, who also spoke to the board, said the proposal would be hard to enforce and that the city would be better off spending time and money on other things.

Pet owners would have to apply for an annual permit, which would be issued by the city on a case-by-case basis through a process that could include a home visit to make sure the owner has appropriate accommodations for the pet, Cloern said. If an animal is to be kept outside, neighbors would be surveyed, Rodriguez said.

The pet-store owners who sell the affected pets would be responsible for making sure customers have the required permits before taking the pet home. Only a handful of pet shops in the city would needs the permits, he said.

Department officials hope that people who already have pets that require a permit – and those who buy pets outside the city – would seek permits as well, they said. If those pets come to the attention of Columbus Public Health, the staff would approach the owners about getting a permit, Cloern said.

Feds investigating mailed ferret, snakes from Lynchburg

ROANOKE – It gives new meaning to the phrase “You’ve got mail.“

United States Postal Inspectors say someone tried to mail a live ferret from Appomattox to Puerto Rico. But before the package got out of Virginia, a postal service worker noticed something was wrong.

At the Lynchburg Post Office, the box started moving. After obtaining a search warrant to open the package, investigators got quite a surprise: “Stamps” the ferret was inside. Inspectors say Stamps’ inability to stay still might have saved his life.

“I’m really not sure what the effect of that whole trip would’ve had on him. I’m not sure if he would have made it or not,“ said Craig Bradley, who along with his wife Jane, adopted Stamps.

Photos from the Postal Inspector’s office show someone stuffed Stamps into a makeshift cage, doped him up on Benedryl, and tried to mail the ferret to the U.S. Territory.

The Postal Inspector handling the case, David McKinney, believes whoever tried to mail Stamps knew they were up to no good. The return address on the package is an abandoned house, and the sender doesn’t exist.

Ironically, McKinney says during the same month three years ago, and from the Lynchburg main post office, a man mailed an eight-foot-long python and a second snake to a customer in Kansas. The python escaped in a truck. The mail carrier found it on top of the mail. Another postal worker who just happened to be a snake wrangler, caught the python, then put it in a bag.

The pictures McKinney sent of the snake case show just how large the snake was.

McKinney says both cases are equally strange, but he does not believe the cases are connected, outside of the Lynchburg main post office.

The Bradleys still need to take Stamps to a veterinarian to get him checked out. The check-up will test Stamps for a disease similar to parvo in dogs. If the test comes up negative, the Bradleys plan to get Stamps acclimated with some of the 15 other ferrets they have in their home.

The Bradleys volunteer at the Big Lick Ferret Shelter and Hospice in Roanoke. Craig Bradley says Stamps’ muscle structure is strong, and teeth appear in good condition, so he believes whomever had Stamps before mailing him took good care of the ferret.

The Bradleys also believe Stamps playful demeanor should serve him well when it comes to getting along with others. The couple estimates Stamps’ age at two-years-old.

———

5:45 p.m.

ROANOKE – A Roanoke couple has adopted the ferret. It’s name is Stamps.

They plan to take it to the vet soon and hope to acclimate it with the other ferrets they own.

The couple, Craig and Jane Bradley, also help out with the local group Big Lick Ferret Shelter and Hospice.

The Bradleys say Stamps looks great. Craig Bradley whomever took care of Stamps before probably didn’t abuse him.

I talked to the postal inspector handling the case, David McKinney. McKinney told me he’s been able to rule out a man who mailed those pythons to Kansas back in 2007 as the person who mailed Stamps.

McKinney said that whoever mailed Stamps went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks, meaning they probably knew what they were doing was illegal.

McKinney said the return address was an abandoned home and the sender’s name was phony.

Watch Those Snakes, Expert Says

Watch Those Snakes, Expert Says

COLLEGE STATION, April 22, 2010 – Warmer temperatures in Texas mean budding flowers, spring storms – and plenty of snakes. The state is a ground zero for many types of the reptiles, and about 37 different species of snake call Texas home, meaning there’s lots of hissing and slithering going on out there, and hikers and walkers should be aware that snakes are now active, says a Texas A&M University expert.

Teresa Shisk-Saling, a registered veterinary technician and experienced herpetologist in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says she has already received calls from people this spring who have had some very un-wanted visitors.

“Snakes are now active, they are on the move and people need to be alert if they are outdoors and in an area that could contain snakes,” she notes.

“But above all, don’t think that all snakes are dangerous. Too many people believe the old adage that ‘the only good snake is a dead snake.’ That is just not true.”

Although snakes are found in most of the world – Ireland, Iceland and New Zealand are some of the snake-free countries – only four types found in Texas are venomous: the coral snake, copperheads, cottonmouth (also called water moccasins) and the rattlesnake. Of those four, the coral snake has the most potent venom, Shisk-Saling says, but “the good news is, coral snakes are not seen that often.

“The others, especially rattlesnakes and copperheads, can be found just about anywhere in Texas and the Southwest,” she says.

A case of mistaken identity is often found in the case of the rat snake, she explains. It has markings very similar to a rattlesnake, and for that reason, people often kill it the instant it’s seen.

“The rat snake is one of the most common found in the state, and it tends to be very aggressive, so people often kill it just to be on the safe side,” she adds. “But it is harmless, and like all snakes, it serves a very useful purpose – it helps control unwanted rodents and insects.

“One of the questions we often get is, how do you tell a venomous snake from a harmless one? The answer is, it’s very difficult,” she adds. “There seems to be an exception to almost every rule about identifying venomous snakes. If you can turn one over, you will see that along its back tail, there are rows of scales, called scutes. If you see a double row of these, it means that snake is not venomous. A single row means it is.”

One good reason not to kill every snake you see: Many types are protected by law, even some types of rattlesnakes, Shisk-Saling notes. “It’s not a good idea to go hacking away at any snake you see because you could be breaking the law and face a fine.”

The best way to avoid snakes? “Stay away from places they are likely to be,” she says. “This includes most rocky or brushy areas.”

And don’t worry about those “snake tales” such as coming across a 20-foot python, as is often seen in southern Florida.

“Those are tropical snakes that come from Asia and South America, and they would not survive a Texas winter,” she says. “They may do well in Florida, but you are not likely to see them here. We have a difficult time keeping those kinds alive here under controlled environments and in covered living areas.”

For more information, she recommends several websites such as: http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps

http://www.austinherpsociety.org/newsite/austinHerps/herpsOfAustin.html

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/endang/animals/reptiles_amphibians

##########

About research at Texas A&M University: As one of the world’s leading research institutions, Texas A&M is in the vanguard in making significant contributions to the storehouse of knowledge, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represents an annual investment of more than $582 million, which ranks third nationally for universities without a medical school, and underwrites approximately 3,500 sponsored projects. That research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting in many cases in economic benefits to the state, nation and world.

Two-headed bobtail lizard found in Australia

The two-headed bobtail (a type of skink native to Australia, also known as the Shingleback) was rescued in Coogee, New South Wales, by workers from a reptile park.

Now housed at the reptile park in Henley Brook, Perth, it’s doing well – despite the fact that two-headed lizards tend to not have very long life expectancies.

The lizard – which doesn’t just have two heads, but has a set of forelegs on either side of each head – is even able to eat with both mouths.

The major downside of having two heads is that it makes moving around quite difficult, and the larger of the two heads has a tendency to try and attack the smaller head.

The bobtail’s brother, who has just the one head, is also housed at the park.

Shores couple surprised by 11-foot gator in front yard

SILVER SPRINGS SHORES – Virginia Cowing and her husband, Richard, were returning to their Silver Springs Shores home around midday Wednesday after some errands in town when she happened to notice an 11-foot alligator in the yard.

She let her husband know right away.

“I thought she was going to shove me out of the car by the way she was poking me,” he said.

Nuisance alligator trapper Patrick Williams, of Hawthorne, captured the reptile in their front yard on Hickory Road.

“He probably weighs between 400 to 500 pounds and is somewhere between 35 to 50 years old,” Williams said. He said the reptile will be destroyed.

DC Man Kills Son’s Lizard

A northwest D.C. man learned the hard way that animal cruelty laws include lizards.

The Washington Humane Society claimed 43-year-old Nelson Privado was angry after his son returned home late from school in October and decided to take it out on the boy’s pet bearded dragon. Privado threw Beardie across the street, killing it.

This week, Privado was convicted of animal cruelty and sentenced to 40 hours of community service, a $100 fine and one year of supervised probation. Neighbors said the crime is about more than just killing a lizard.

“Especially in front of a kid, that’s violent behavior,” said Mike Toburen. “That can be carried on generation to generation. It’s not a very good example.”

Animal advocates are outspoken about the need to stop the frequent occurrences of animal cruelty.

“We have 5 officers that are out there every day, and we investigate over 1,300 complaints a year,” said Scott Giacoppo, of the Washington Humane Society.

It’s important to catch these acts of animal cruelty so that they don’t progress, the Washingotn Humane Society said.

“Unfortunately, you know, today it was the lizard,” Giacoppo said. “Tomorrow it may be the son.”