Transcript Snakes of Florida - Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

Florida Venomous
Snake Safety
Training Seminar
What is a Reptile?
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Ectothermic (Cold Blooded) Thermoregulation
Hibernation
Scales
No Eyelids & No External Ear Openings
Snakes are vertebrates
Sensing their Surroundings
• Excellent eyesight
• Sense vibrations
• Smell with their tongue
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Why the forked tongue?
Heat sensing pits
Poisonous or Venomous
What’s the difference?
• All venoms are poisons but not all
poisons are venoms.
• Venom requires a delivery mechanism.
• Can a poisonous reptile bite and harm
you?
Ignorance & Fear
(Misconceptions)
• Snakes’ evil reputation in western culture
and world religious traditions.
• Snakes will chase and purposefully try to
bite people.
• Legends & Tall Tales.
Venomous vs.
Non-Venomous
Identification
Snake Identification
Non-Venomous
• Small Head (similar size to body)
Note: Applies to North America only.
Eastern coral snake is an exception.
• Long Slender Body
• Round Pupils
• No Rattle
Snake Identification
Venomous
• Large “Ace of Spades” shaped head
•Neck smaller than the head.
•Short, fat, body which tapers to a thin tail
•Tip of the tail of juveniles is lighter colored
(yellowish to cream colored)
•Vertical slit (cat’s-eye) shaped pupil
(except coral snake)
•Rattle present on rattlesnakes
Non-Venomous
Head Profile
Venomous
Head Profile
Snake
Identification
Basics
Snake Identification
Never say never or always - except there is
always an exception to every rule.
• Body Coloration: Many color variations exist
even within the same species.
• Patterns: While colors vary, most species will
exhibit a general color pattern that does not
dramatically differ from one individual to
another.
Snake Identification
• Bright and Contrasting Body coloration.
– The Eastern Coral Snake displays a
brightly contrasting color pattern consisting
of red, yellow, and black bands down the
entire length of the body.
– Know Your Area: In the Florida Keys,
some Eastern Coral Snakes do not have the
typical red, yellow, and black bands!
Uniform Coloration
Speckles
Stripes
Spots
Cross Bands
Blotches
Rings
Diamonds
Warning
Behaviors
Warning Behaviors
• Defensive body postures
• Striking
• Loud hissing (Florida Pine Snake)
• Vibrating tail (rattle simulation in dry leaves)
• True rattle
“Herping”
Snake Location and
Interpretation
• The right place, right time, right weather.
• Protect yourself:
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First Aid Snakebite Kit.
Leather Gloves. Chaps or high boots in
thick vegetation.
Preparing your fellow herpers.
Where’s your snake hook?
Binoculars for looking from a safe distance.
Field Guide & Measuring Tape
• Props are GREAT!
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Snake shed skin
Snake skull
Rattlesnake rattle
Shed rattlesnake fangs
Preserved snake hide
Endangered Species
• Never pick up or harass in any way an
endangered snake.
• Educate your tour groups.
• Many species are insular.
• Talk about habitat.
Florida’s Many
Non-Venomous Snakes
Non-venomous Snakes
• Over 40 species of native snakes and only 6
venomous species.
• Snakes are everywhere, but run-ins are rare.
• Many non-venomous snakes can fool people
into thinking that they are venomous.
Red rat
snake
Florida water
snake
Scarlet king
snake
Black racer
Garter
snake
Yellow rat
snake
Glass
snake
Brooks king
snake
Ring-neck
snake
Venomous Safety
After the Break
Time to
Grab a Snack
Venomous
Safety
• The following information has been gathered from
books, medical journals, pamphlets, and websites.
You will this presentation find a bibliography, links,
and more at www.naplezoo.com/snakes. The
resources offered serve only as a sample of available
information and commonly suggested methods.
• Those responsible for this presentation take no
liability for their effectiveness or application.
• These are offered for you to create a safety protocol
that is tailored specifically to your needs.
Stay out of the
STUPID ZONE!
Stay out of the
STUPID ZONE!
• Know Florida’s 6 native
venomous species.
• Exotic species may be encountered.
Through a process of elimination snakes can
be identified to be exotic and/or venomous.
Once identified, the doctor will know if
further expert resources and medications are
needed to treat the bite. Contact local
herpetologists for help.
Create A Safety Protocol
• The most important necessity for insuring the
highest standard of safety in case of venomous
reptile bite is to have a safety protocol in place
so people are informed about what to do, and
to get to the hospital as quick as possible.
• The first-aid done before reaching the hospital
may save a life.
Safety Protocol Basics
– Identify special needs depending if it is for an
individual, family, or business.
– Identify specific roles & responsibilities for all
persons that might be involved with emergency
procedures.
– Venomous reptile bites are rare, therefore, many
physicians may not be experienced in handling
cases of snake bite. The more YOU know the
better!
What do YOU know?
• Be informed regarding up-to-date basic
emergency medical treatment procedures. Be
informed of who the physicians are in your
county or state that are the most informed as to
how to properly treat venomous reptile-bite
(have contact information). What you, as the
patient, family member, or co-worker may
know could possibly save a life.
What to Do
If a Bite Occurs
• All occurrences of snakebite should be taken
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seriously until the incident is deemed to be
otherwise.
If the snake cannot be identified then it should
be assumed that it may be venomous.
NOTHING should interfere with getting the
victim to the hospital as fast as possible.
First aid for snake bite should be administered
at the scene of the incident.
REMOVE ALL JEWELRY!
The following information is provided as a
public service by Steve Grenard. Grenard’s
Medical Herpetology was the first
comprehensive survey of the importance of
amphibians and reptiles to medicine and is also a
compendium of information on treating
envenomation by snakes and lizards.
Any questions may be directed to
[email protected].
• Allow bite to bleed freely 30 seconds.
• Use Sawyer Extractor for 15 seconds to
1 minute over both fang tracks.
• Clean and disinfect bite area thoroughly
if possible.
• Apply hard direct pressure over bite
using a 4x4 gauze pad folded in half x 2.
• Soak gauze pad in Betadine solution if
TM
available and if victim is not allergic to
iodine.
• Strap gauze pad tightly in place with
adhesive tape.
Sutherland Wrap
(Compression Bandage)
• Over-wrap dressing above
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and below bite area with ACE
(elastic) bandage.
Wrap bandage as tight as one would for a sprain.
Not too tight.
Check for pulses above and below elastic wrap; if
absent it is too tight.
• Immobilize bitten extremity,
use splinting if available.
• If possible, keep bitten extremity below heart
level or in a gravity dependent position.
• Go to nearest hospital or medical facility
immediately.
• Try to identify the snake involved in the bite
incident.
Snake Bite
Kits
• One roll of 3" and two rolls of 6" ACE elastic
bandages with clips for “compression.”
• Sterile 4 x 4 surgical gauze pads; a small
bottle of betadine solution if not allergic to
iodine.
• One roll each of 1/2" and 1" surgical
adhesive tape.
• Two “Sawyer Extractors,” if you choose.
• Rubber gloves & antiseptic wipes.
• Eye wash bottle.
• Copy of your Snake-bite Safety Protocol.
• Snake bite symptoms checklist.
• Splinting materials (arm or leg).
Sawyer
www.sawyerproducts.com
Extractor
• Two “Sawyer Extractors,” if you choose.
• Rubber gloves & antiseptic wipes.
• Eye wash bottle.
• Copy of your Snake-bite Safety Protocol.
• Snake bite symptoms checklist.
• Splinting materials (arm or leg).
Be Prepared
Whether you are out in the field, keep snakes
as a hobby, or work with them in your job,
these essential kit items, the ability to apply
them rapidly without panic or confusion, can
buy you precious time and help save your life
if the unthinkable occurs. Practice regularly.
Rattlesnake
Bites
Six
Venomous
Snakes
Florida’s 6 Venomous Snakes
• Viperids (Pit Vipers)
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
Florida Cottonmouth Water Moccasin
Canebrake Rattlesnake
Southern Copperhead
• Elapids (Cobras, mambas, coral snakes )
Eastern Coral Snake
Snake Dentition
• Non-venomous: No specialized teeth (fangs)
– Aglyphic dentition
• Venomous:
– Solenoglyphic (Front hinged & movable)
– Proteroglyphic (Front Fixed & non-movable)
– Opisthoglyphic (Rear fanged)
• Coral snake exception
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
• Can strike up to 2/3 the length of its body.
• Record length: 8 feet.
• Favors living in dry scrub type habitats.
• Habitat is being heavily encroached upon.
• Insular Species: Overwinters with other
species in gopher tortoise burrows.
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
• Does not have to rattle before it strikes.
Rattle can be broken off.
Those snakes that don’t immediately
rattle are more likely to survive.
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
• Because of its small stature, it is often mistaken
for garter snakes, juvenile black racers and
other non-venomous species.
• Florida’s two species of hognose snakes
occasionally are also confused with the Pygmy
Rattlesnake.
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
• The rattle of most pygmy rattlesnakes is
underdeveloped and so small that it makes no
sound.
• Common in lowland pine flatwoods and
around bodies of freshwater.
• Found throughout Florida up to North Carolina
and west to eastern Texas.
Southern Copperhead
• Record length: 4 ½ feet
• Often confused with juvenile cottonmouth
water moccasins.
• The tip of the tail of a juvenile copperhead is
sulpher yellow in color.
Adult
Copperhead
Juvenile
Cottonmouth
Southern Copperhead
• Has the largest range of all the southeastern
species of venomous. (north to Mass., West to
Texas and to SE Nebraska).
• Found in Florida only along the Apalachicola
river and its tributaries.
• Bite is painful but not usually deadly.
Cottonmouth Water Moccasin
• Juvenile form has a very distinct crossbanding
pattern (fades as they get older). This pattern is
similar to the southern copperhead, therefore,
these two are often mistaken for one another.
• Gives warning by opening its mouth and
displaying the cotton-white lining inside.
Cottonmouth Water Moccasin
• More frequently found in wetter areas when
younger. Adults often found far inland away
from any water.
• Found throughout Florida, north to Virginia,
and west to Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Canebrake Rattlesnake
• Can strike up to 2/3 the length of its body.
• Chevron (zig-zag) shaped crossbands.
• Reddish brown stripe down the back with tan
or pinkish body.
• Record length: 6 feet 4 inches.
Canebrake Rattlesnake
• Frequents low bottomlands and areas that
tend to be fairly damp unlike the Eastern
Diamondback which prefers dry areas.
• Ranges from north Florida to southern Maine
and west to central Texas.
Eastern Coral Snake
• Red, yellow, and black bands totally encircling
the body across the belly. Red bands border
next to the yellow bands.
• Forget the poem and think of a traffic light.
Forget the
Poem!
Eastern Coral Snake
• Elapid snake being more closely related to
cobras, mambas, and sea snakes.
• Can strike, bite, and forcibly inject its venom.
• Ranges from throughout Florida north to
southeastern North Carolina and west to Texas
and into northeastern Mexico.
Eastern Coral Snake
• Found in a variety of habitats from dry scrub
forest and flatwoods to wet hammocks and
edges of swamps.
• Behaviorally very shy and secretive. Usually
hiding in cool damp areas like dead logs or old
woodpiles.
Avoiding
Venomous
Snakes
Avoiding Venomous Snakes
• Perspective: Lots of snakes are out there and
we never see them or have issues.
• Stay aware of your surroundings.
• Watch where you put your feet and hands.
Avoiding Venomous Snakes
• Weather & its affects on reptile behavior.
– Florida’s average temp. is around 72° F.
– Reptiles are least active when outside
temps are below 60° F and above 90° F.
– Reptiles are most active in morning and
evening when it is cooler.
• When & where do reptiles bask?
Avoiding Venomous Snakes
At home:
– Watch where you’re going!
– Where reptiles might be encountered.
Reptile’s favorite basking areas.
– Yard work & gardening
– Wear proper clothes.
Avoiding Venomous Snakes
In the Field: Many professions daily bring
people into close contact with native snakes.
– Habitat disruption & displacement of wildlife.
– Working in wooded areas or in/near dense
brush.
– Never step over something that blocks your
view of where you are going.
– Wear proper clothing.
Questions?
Thank You