Ssstriking hand that feeds it

2004-03-26 22:40

Engela Kruger

Bloemfontein - A moth that startled a pet puff adder almost cost a security guard his arm after the snake bit him on the wrist.

As a result, Ettienne Venter, 30, of Brandfort in the Free State is in Pelonomi Hospital nursing a swollen arm in shades of yellow, red and blue.

Fortunately for him, he got treatment quickly. If he had not, his new pet could have cost him his arm.

This is not his first close call, however. An index finger bears the scars of a previous puff-adder bite, but Venter doesn't seem to learn.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said he would have to get another puff adder.

"I phoned my boss's son who immediately brought me to hospital. I had terrible pain in my arm, shoulder and neck.''

Initially, he was given only painkillers, but was later transferred to the high-care unit where he was given anti-snakebite serum.

He said the bite had not been life-threatening, but that if he had not been taken to hospital in time, he would have lost his arm.

The poison spread to his upper arm, neck and shoulder.

A friend of his had taken his previous puffadder, which was about two years old and was more than a metre long. He had found the new one he found in a storeroom at work.

The new one was not as tame as its predecessor. On the day of the incident, Venter had taken it to work in a bag.

After it bit him, he released it into the bush as he was worried someone would kill it.

He said he had carried his previous snake in his shirt as protection and companionship. He had got his first pet snake at the age of eight, he said.

He said he would get another puff adder, but not immediately.

Venter said he was feeling better. He was on antibiotics. However, he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another week.

Asked if it wouldn't be better to get a non-poisonous snake as a pet, he said: "No, I like puff adders. And I know the risks involved in keeping these snakes."

- Volksblad