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live rattlesnakes loose in a theatre

mr_genius

By mr_genius
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Palehosefan Grand Master

Palehosefan

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"That to me is very scary," herpetological association representative Tom Whiting said. "I would hate to be watching a movie about snakes and have a rattlesnake bite me."

 

I, personally, would hate to be watching any movie and have a rattlesnake bite me. Possibly if it was something like Cats and Dogs, then it might put me out of my misery.

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Texsox Grand Master

Texsox

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As a public service announcement. BYW snakes usually do not release venom when they strike humans. They need the venom to take down food. That bitof information will probably not be of much comfort if you gwt struck.

 

Rattlesnakes are very pretty. I love seeing them in the wild.

 

First Aid for Snakebites

Over the years, snakebite victims have been exposed to all kinds of slicing, freezing and squeezing as stopgap measures before receiving medical care. Some of these approaches, like cutting into a bite and attempting to suck out the venom, have largely fallen out of favor.

 

"In the past five or 10 years, there's been a backing off in first aid from really invasive things like making incisions," says Arizona physician David Hardy, M.D., who studies snakebite epidemiology. "This is because we now know these things can do harm and we don't know if they really change the outcome."

 

Many health-care professionals embrace just a few basic first-aid techniques. According to the American Red Cross, these steps should be taken:

 

  • Wash the bite with soap and water.
  • Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
  • Get medical help.
"The main thing is to get to a hospital and don't delay," says Hardy. "Most bites don't occur in real isolated situations, so it is feasible to get prompt [medical care]." He describes cases in Arizona where people have caught rattlesnakes for sport and gotten bitten. "They waited until they couldn't stand the pain anymore and finally went to the hospital after the venom had been in there a few hours. But by then, they'd lost an opportunity for [effective treatment]," which increased the odds of long-term complications. Some medical professionals, along with the American Red Cross, cautiously recommend two other measures:

 

  • If a victim is unable to reach medical care within 30 minutes, a bandage, wrapped two to four inches above the bite, may help slow venom. The bandage should not cut off blood flow from a vein or artery. A good rule of thumb is to make the band loose enough that a finger can slip under it.
  • A suction device may be placed over the bite to help draw venom out of the wound without making cuts. Suction instruments often are included in commercial snakebite kits.

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NorthSideSox72 Grand Master

NorthSideSox72

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QUOTE(Texsox @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 04:08 PM)
As a public service announcement. BYW snakes usually do not release venom when they strike humans. They need the venom to take down food. That bitof information will probably not be of much comfort if you gwt struck.

 

Rattlesnakes are very pretty. I love seeing them in the wild.

 

But I am sure you realize as much as anyone that the rules of first aid don't necessarily apply if you are in the backcountry, Mr. Big Bend. I'd recommend you carry a Sawyer Extractor Kit, soft constrictive bands, and some antihistimines. If you have room, chemical cold packs are handy too.

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Texsox Grand Master

Texsox

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QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 05:12 PM)
But I am sure you realize as much as anyone that the rules of first aid don't necessarily apply if you are in the backcountry, Mr. Big Bend. I'd recommend you carry a Sawyer Extractor Kit, soft constrictive bands, and some antihistimines. If you have room, chemical cold packs are handy too.

 

Exactly. Usually the people hurt are either owners or kids who find one around their home. We ate one on a campout that was shot earlier at a friends ranch. Very tasty. Not as oily as I was lead to believe. It was similar to gator tail.

 

One of my backpacking discussion lists got on waterproof stuff sacks versus pack covers. Have you ever left the pack cover at home and went with dry sacks? I always pack in zip lock bags, and have considered adding those white trash compactor bags to line the inside. But always take a cover.

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NorthSideSox72 Grand Master

NorthSideSox72

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QUOTE(Texsox @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 05:27 PM)
One of my backpacking discussion lists got on waterproof stuff sacks versus pack covers. Have you ever left the pack cover at home and went with dry sacks? I always pack in zip lock bags, and have considered adding those white trash compactor bags to line the inside. But always take a cover.

If I'm doing a trip on the water (canoe or kayak), or if I'm going somewhere that rain is unlikely (like the desert), then I just pack the stuff I need to keep try in waterproof bags (ditty bags, dry compression bags, or just trash bags) and forget about the pack cover. If I'm backpacking in a place where rain is semi-possible or likely, then I do the pack cover as well.

 

This is twice in the last two days that you and I have hijacked a thread. :P

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Palehosefan Grand Master

Palehosefan

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Authorities said pranksters released the young venomous rattlesnakes in a dark theater at the AMC Desert Ridge near Tatum and Loop 101 in Phoenix.

 

I think that's the key. Depending on how young the snakes were, baby rattlesnakes don't know how much venom to use when biting yet and are the most dangerous. Though I think they should change the word "pranksters" to the word "criminals".

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Texsox Grand Master

Texsox

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QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 06:22 PM)
I think that's the key. Depending on how young the snakes were, baby rattlesnakes don't know how much venom to use when biting yet and are the most dangerous. Though I think they should change the word "pranksters" to the word "criminals".

 

Correct, the youngins are the most dangerous. I wonder what charges they would come up with. In theory they are deadly, but anything like manslaughter or murder would be overkill, I think.

 

What would they be charged with? Someting less than a felony I think.

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NorthSideSox72 Grand Master

NorthSideSox72

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QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 11:12 PM)
Yeah Tex, I would think something like simple assault would be sufficient. Aggravated Assault would be about the max I would expect.

Circumstances of aggravation are a little complicated. Usually for Ag Assault to be used, an assault has to occur with a special circumstance or instrument in addition to the act itself. An instrument would be a deadly weapon, for example, which this may or may not qualify for. A circumstance would be that the victim was a law officer (in most states, any assault or battery on a law officer automatically gets upgraded to aggravated). Not sure if this would qualify.

 

Either way, Ag Assault could be a felony. Not sure this rises to that level. I'd go simple assault.

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