Sumter man clings to life after cobra bite

Stupid people want venemous snakes as pets, I hope this Idiot gets his license revolked and his snakes handed over to a zoo! Not only was he endangering his life by keeping such animals, but the lives of his neighbors as well should one of his snakes escaped from its enclosure!

what makes the zoo more qualified?

I agree with Robin.

Insider2...duh zoos are usually staffed by qualified people with more controlled environments which are safer for everyone including the animals.

Having dangerous animals in one's backyard is not smart for anyone.

Robin and CommonSense...you need to know what you are talking about before really saying anything. DOGS KILL more people in 1 year then snakes do in over 10 years just in the USA alone. Wow, that is something. Take your dog out of your home because you are endangering my life and neighbors....see where I am going. and YES, they are the same argument.
Also, what you don't know and the orlando Slantinel doesn't tell you is that most venomous keepers are Professional people. In Central Florida they are: doctors, lawyers, police, business owners and much more but the Orlando Slantinel don't tell you that.
please do some research and don't rely on a half*ss truth from this paper company that only writes "conflict and controversy".

CommonSense-he's licensed and there are more accidents in zoo's with staff then snake handlers. Do your research.
Also, dangerous animals in one's backyeard...are you aware we live in FL. and you have copperheads and water moccs. all over TN. Unless you live in space...you'll always have dangerous "animals" around you. Have you seen some of your neighbors?

knowledge wrote:

Robin and CommonSense...you need to know what you are talking about before really saying anything. DOGS KILL more people in 1 year then snakes do in over 10 years just in the USA alone. Wow, that is something. Take your dog out of your home because you are endangering my life and neighbors....see where I am going. and YES, they are the same argument.
Also, what you don't know and the orlando Slantinel doesn't tell you is that most venomous keepers are Professional people. In Central Florida they are: doctors, lawyers, police, business owners and much more but the Orlando Slantinel don't tell you that.
please do some research and don't rely on a half*ss truth from this paper company that only writes "conflict and controversy".
CommonSense-he's licensed and there are more accidents in zoo's with staff then snake handlers. Do your research.
Also, dangerous animals in one's backyeard...are you aware we live in FL. and you have copperheads and water moccs. all over TN. Unless you live in space...you'll always have dangerous "animals" around you. Have you seen some of your neighbors?

"Most venomous keepers are professional people..." Really? How does this fact make them more qualified to keep these creatures? Point of fact is that if one continues to place oneself in danger, danger will eventually strike. Those of us with dogs know that we can trust those animals, usually because we develop a trust relationship with the animal. Snakes cannot develop a trust relationship with a human, that's not how they're wired up. I have several friends who keep snakes as "pets," but they are still very wary of them, and very careful when handling them. The man bitten by the cobra needs our prayers and positive thoughts, not condemnation. Keeping that cobra was his choice. I just hope he does not pay for that choice with his life.

Silverwolf THANK YOU SO MUCH you have proven my point. Just because they are licensed does not make them more qualified. So, about zoo keepers.... should we go there? Dog owners-pit bulls, all the above...they KILL more a year then any snakes do...they are pet owners, EVERYONE knows they have them yet they still KILL.
SNAKES can be trained-reptiles can be trained-do your homework. I am a business owner of reptiles and have been dealing with them for over 25 years. Venomous and not.
You have serval friends that are very safe with them? Great. They are doing what they are supposed to do then. YOu should then UNDERSTAND or ask more questions.
Any Neighbors ever bitten by someone venomous snake?... Read up on that. What about the nice dog next door?...PLENTY.
Please just do your homework and yes we all need to pray for him. he CALLED 911 himself. He's smart enough for that instead of just sitting there.
Really Wolf--think about it.

Here is a letter the Orlando Slantinel never showed to their many readers when they first went on their crazy half-truth stuff. This is from the largest S. E. Herpetological Society and he deals with these reptiles. Did the Orlando Slantinel response or even post? NO!
Allow me to first say that I am very displeased and disturbed at the recent posting of addresses, by your paper, for those individuals who LEGALLY possess venomous reptiles. The bias displayed in the article leaves me wondering whether or not any of your stories can be trusted to contain an objective opinion or are simply designed to fan the flames of a nonexistent fire.
Instead of educating the public about the true “identities” of the permit holders, such as Doctors, Lawyers, Zoo Professionals, Biologists, Firemen, Law Enforcement Officers and many more PROFESSIONALS, you resort to half truths and implications of a rogue group of people keeping NIGHTMARES in their houses. How truly unprofessional of you, as a supposed information resource, to raise such a false alarm. Keepers are required to keep Hurricane/Disaster Protocols for these animals and to submit regular inventory reports to the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC).
For those of you who are interested in the truth, it may surprise you that in the fifty plus years of regulation by the FWC there has NEVER been a third party injury to the public stemming from a licensed individuals venomous snakes. But instead, thousands of people have been kept safe by these same people who risk their lives to not only save the unfairly maligned snakes, but also the lives of the public by capturing the animals for the Police Department who refuse do it. These same professionals have supplied countless vials of antivenin to Florida residents who have been bitten in their own yards or neighborhoods by native venomous snakes…again saving lives! In 2001, however, an estimated 368,245 victims were treated for DOG BITE related injuries in the United States.
In 1986, the Central Florida Herpetological Society formed "The Florida Antivenin Bank." This bank consisted of a collection of native and exotic antivenins to be used in the event of any incident involving local species and exotics. Subsequently, the program evolved into the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Venom 1 Team. Since then they have treated several hundred bites (local species and exotic) without a single fatality. Both the Florida Wildlife Commission record and the Venom 1 record can be traced back to the professionalism and the safety mindedness of keepers.
As the current President of the Central Florida Herpetological Society, I am proud to say that the vast majority of us who keep exotics (venomous and non) are committed to safety first! Please set my mind at ease and print this, so your public and readers know the truth and not just the opinion of an uninformed and seemingly fear-mongering writer.
Shawn K. Heflick
President/Biologist
Central Florida Herpetological Society
cfhs.com

Silverwolf THANK YOU SO MUCH you have proven my point. Just because they are licensed does not make them more qualified. So, about zoo keepers.... should we go there? Dog owners-pit bulls, all the above...they KILL more a year then any snakes do...they are pet owners, EVERYONE knows they have them yet they still KILL.
SNAKES can be trained-reptiles can be trained-do your homework. I am a business owner of reptiles and have been dealing with them for over 25 years. Venomous and not.
You have serval friends that are very safe with them? Great. They are doing what they are supposed to do then. YOu should then UNDERSTAND or ask more questions.
Any Neighbors ever bitten by someone venomous snake?... Read up on that. What about the nice dog next door?...PLENTY.
Please just do your homework and yes we all need to pray for him. he CALLED 911 himself. He's smart enough for that instead of just sitting there.
Really SilverWolf--think about it.

Thanks to 'Silverwolf' for some rationality. I hope the old guy pulls through but he knew what he was dealing with. I hold nothing against anyone who loves animals. Plus, he got bit on the thumb, it's not like he got bit in the neck or arm. A bite on the thumb is a sign of a momentary lapse safety, the snake got through when the man least expected it; that's what snakes do. This happens all the time in all walks of life to anybody, professionals and knuckleheads alike. It was a regretful mistake. Now everyone, mind your own damn business.

knowledge wrote:

DOGS KILL more people in 1 year then snakes do in over 10 years just in the USA alone.

I assume you mean pet dogs versus pet snakes? Sure there's 10 times more deaths, because there's 10,000 times MORE DOGS. Nice try.

Knowledge, no, they are not the same argument, and your "statistics" omit many factors. There are fewer snakebites because most people in the U.S. live in urban environments and most snakes live in more rural places. It's not common to hear of a rattlesnake being spotted in downtown Orlando, but in Wekiva Springs State Park it's a different story. On the other hand, people own dogs in great numbers in both urban and rural environments. So the amount of potential contact between dogs and people is far greater than for people and snakes.

knowledge wrote:

Silverwolf THANK YOU SO MUCH you have proven my point. Just because they are licensed does not make them more qualified. So, about zoo keepers.... should we go there? Dog owners-pit bulls, all the above...they KILL more a year then any snakes do...they are pet owners, EVERYONE knows they have them yet they still KILL.
SNAKES can be trained-reptiles can be trained-do your homework. I am a business owner of reptiles and have been dealing with them for over 25 years. Venomous and not.
You have serval friends that are very safe with them? Great. They are doing what they are supposed to do then. YOu should then UNDERSTAND or ask more questions.
Any Neighbors ever bitten by someone venomous snake?... Read up on that. What about the nice dog next door?...PLENTY.
Please just do your homework and yes we all need to pray for him. he CALLED 911 himself. He's smart enough for that instead of just sitting there.
Really SilverWolf--think about it.

Your statistics don't mean anything because FAR more people keep dogs as pets than venomous snakes, so common sense would tell you there will be more incidents involving dogs.

I would no more want to live anywhere near someone keeping exotic venomous snakes than I would someone keeping tigers or grizzly bears. At least if those animals got loose, they'd be easier to hunt down; a snake would be next to impossible to find. Were it to bite someone, their chance of survival would be limited by the fact that doctors might not be aware that this snake is not native to the area.

These animals are not pets and they should not be allowed to be kept as such. Zoos do not keep animals as pets; they are on exhibit and handled by keepers who take every precaution to keep themselves, the animals and the public safe.

The State should have banned snakes or outer animals not native to Florida as many or most of these creatures can thrive in our enviroment. The South Western part of the Everglades is overrun with pythons that were apparently released by their former owners or escaped from a "pet lovers" enclosure.

knowledge wrote:

Robin and CommonSense...you need to know what you are talking about before really saying anything. DOGS KILL more people in 1 year then snakes do in over 10 years just in the USA alone. Wow, that is something. Take your dog out of your home because you are endangering my life and neighbors....see where I am going. and YES, they are the same argument.
Also, what you don't know and the orlando Slantinel doesn't tell you is that most venomous keepers are Professional people. In Central Florida they are: doctors, lawyers, police, business owners and much more but the Orlando Slantinel don't tell you that.
please do some research and don't rely on a half*ss truth from this paper company that only writes "conflict and controversy".
CommonSense-he's licensed and there are more accidents in zoo's with staff then snake handlers. Do your research.
Also, dangerous animals in one's backyeard...are you aware we live in FL. and you have copperheads and water moccs. all over TN. Unless you live in space...you'll always have dangerous "animals" around you. Have you seen some of your neighbors?

THough i hate snakes, i have to admit Knowlege makes a strong case. One thing I will point out though, is that if the same number of people owned venomous snakes as dogs, those stats would be different.

I can see both sides of the argument, Donna Atlanta has a point, that there are far more greater incidents involving dogbite than there are with venomous snakes, because dogs are far more common.

Although this victim is licensed and probably has many years experience handling the snakes, what the heck were they doing in his back yard?? What if they got loose? Yes, we have rattlesnakes and water moccasins in Florida, but cobras are far more deadly, and antivenim had to be flown in from Miami to be administered. I don't understand it, if this guy handles cobras, shouldn't he have his own supply of antivenom on hand as a precaution???

A lot of you people are totally missing the point on the "dogs vs. snakes" arguement. The letter 'knowledge' posted cleary stated, "in the fifty plus years of regulation by the FWC there has NEVER been a third party injury to the public stemming from a licensed individuals venomous snakes." Yet, how many victims of dog molestations have their been during the same period of time? All he's trying to say is that you should be a LOT more worried about the irresponsible dog owner next door than the licensed snake handler who keep a cobra under lock and key. The chances of you getting attacked by that dog is A LOT more probable than getting bit by one of these peoples' snakes. Yet you don't see the outcry for people to get rid of dogs. Its all about making an INFORMED opinion, rather than a knee-jerk reaction based on the cherry-picked information the Sentinel chooses to give you.

Bud wrote:

The State should have banned snakes or outer animals not native to Florida as many or most of these creatures can thrive in our enviroment. The South Western part of the Everglades is overrun with pythons that were apparently released by their former owners or escaped from a "pet lovers" enclosure.

unfortuntely even if you banned them idiots would still bring them in... in actuality they would become even more expensive and rare and that would cause the problem to become even worse.

That is just what I was thinking - 10,000 might be a low figure

Mylar Baggins wrote:

<quoted text>
I assume you mean pet dogs versus pet snakes? Sure there's 10 times more deaths, because there's 10,000 times MORE DOGS. Nice try.

Knowledge

The point you are attempting to make today is the same one you failed to make when the Sentinel published the names and addresses of your associates.

"It's OK folks, were professionals!"

Again you rule out Murphy's law along with "since it hasn't happened yet, it never will.

There are circumstances that could send hundreds of these deadly creatures into neighborhoods, tornado's, vandalism, etc. creating calamity. In the case of the SW Volusia associate hundreds of people would need to be evacuated until his huge collection could be rounded up.

-Sick of it All- wrote:

Although this victim is licensed and probably has many years experience handling the snakes, what the heck were they doing in his back yard

Maybe this story is missing a piece. It sounds like this man was fairly responsible--if he wasn't, he wouldn't have bothered to get a license--so I find it hard to believe he'd let dangerous snakes run wild in his yard. It's likely he had some sort of enclosure for them.

Also, I think it would have been wise if he'd had his own supply of antivenin on hand. Maybe he did and it expired, or he'd already used it in a previous encounter, or...well, heck, any number of things could have happened. Or perhaps he just thought "oh, that will never happen to me."

I hope he pulls through all right...