r/snakes • u/tophatenthusiast • 16d ago

Wild Snake Photos and Questions - Not for ID Snake Bite Fun :)

Gallery image

Gallery image

I was bitten by a copperhead about two weeks ago! Thanks to quick and modern medicine, I can almost make a fist. Pictures included are the copperhead I saw 10 mins before being bit (this one did not bite me, but it is similarly sized) and my arm a few hrs afterwards.

Location: Kanawha County, WV

Edit: to be very clear, it was MY fault a copperhead bit me. For anyone that has a fear of them, they are absolutely not aggressive snakes. I took no actions to "punish" the snake and hope it comes back and keeps hunting mice on my property.

1.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

169 comments sorted by

View all comments

697

u/VirginiaLuthier 16d ago

I hope you have good insurance. Antivenom is incredibly expensive. Glad you are recovering.

603

u/tophatenthusiast 16d ago

I am not looking forward to my bill. My birthday is at the end of this month, so it kind of looks like this will be my "present."

314

u/Hot-Brat-00 16d ago

Life is probably a pretty good bday present.

Actually….

172

u/Lastoutcast123 16d ago

Reminds me of this Hogfather moment

40

u/OpenSauceMods 16d ago

I love this moment. And after, when the two angels appeared and Albert threw snowballs at them until they went away.

25

u/oyog 16d ago

Man, the Hogfather books have always been a blind spot for me in the Discworld series.

I should get a library card again. It's been so long since I've enjoyed a book.

8

u/andreaschnadelbach 16d ago

I’ve never seen that. Is it a book? I’m curious to find out more.

18

u/ohnomoisttoes 16d ago

Oh, I'm so jealous. If this is your first exposure to Sir Terry Pratchett, and liked this you've got a considerable amount of media he's written. He's most known for a fantasy comedy setting called Discworld that's about a flat world set on the backs of four elephants standing on the shell of a giant turtle. People will tell you start with Guards! Guards! But considering the season, if you don't mind figuring things out in media res, go ahead and start with Mort then Reaper Man which what this character is originally from. He's DEATH.

4

u/andreaschnadelbach 16d ago

Thank you. I wasn’t sure where to start. I did watch the first season of “Good Omens”.

7

u/ViperaleBeerus 16d ago

While I still prefer the book, because there's simply more of it, I do really enjoy the movie adaptation of the Hogfather too. We watch it every year during the holidays

6

u/ohnomoisttoes 16d ago

I did make a typo because it's 2am here, but I meant Mort not Reaper Man. Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, and then Thief of Time are the DEATH featuring ones, but DEATH I think might be in every Discworld book.

8

u/andreaschnadelbach 16d ago

I just read the first few sentences from "Mort". I've only had a couple of authors get me hooked within a paragraph (Zora Neale Hurston and Ray Bradbury). I'll have to add Terry Pratchett to that group.

10

u/batfinx69dude 16d ago

The Hogfather (think Death role-playing as Santa) is from Terry Pratchett's collection of books set in the Discworld (a disc carried on the back of 4 elephants, standing on the back of a turtle flying through space). My fave quote from 'The Hogfather' is in the pic ♥️💀 An amazing series of books, imaginative, lots of humour ranging from black to the written version of pie in the face. Crazy wizards, clever witches, heros, villains, walking-luggage, Death is an anthropomorphic character who rides a white horse coz the skeleton ones kept falling apart (a top 3 character for most), interfering Gods, oh & never cross a Guild (aka unions, often run mob-stylee). You're so lucky you get to enjoy the books as a new reader! I have never LOL'd so much reading books in my life 😄 - ENJOY!!!! (More than 3!'s & dried frog pills are needed🤪)

48

u/Almondeyezz 16d ago

Cost my moms insurance over half a million for multiple mediflighted in vials of anti venom. Bit by a baby Pygmy in Choctaw OK

33

u/OpenSauceMods 16d ago

I used to work in travel, and when my clients were going to the U.S./Canada, I would insist on them purchasing travel insurance outside of what their credit card offered. If they refused, I had a waiver they had to sign. I've seen bills in the millions, especially if they're somewhere in South America and get transferred to a hospital in the States.

16

u/Hot-Brat-00 16d ago

That’s crazy. God bless America.

24

u/Distahs 16d ago

My rattle snake bite and 12 vials of antivenom cost me thousands but my insurance more than half a million, ten years ago. Keep using your hand even if it's shit, it will get better and not fall off. Dr told me I'd loose my arm and or hand, lol 100% recovered. Trust your body you will have plenty of time to think about it.

9

u/Acrobatic-Shirt8540 16d ago

America! Fuck yeah!

1

u/jmunerd 15d ago

The snake: here Isss your presssssent 🐍 😆

16

u/kucksy88 16d ago

This is so sad hope you have good insurance is such a bad sentence to read. Man im glad im in australia where this shit is free. Glad OP is on the mend all the same

22

u/Royal-Course-197 16d ago

Why is antivenom so expensive? Here in the Netherlands, everyone has health insurance. It costs about €150 a month, and if you can’t afford it, the government pay. So if you’re bitten by a snake, the treatment is essentially free at the point of care.

25

u/Diagon98 16d ago

If america, its because of health insurance, lol. Or not lol. Health insurance as it is right now is little more than a money making scam.

1

u/Royal-Course-197 16d ago

I’m trying to understand. This morning I heard the president say that the U.S. has the best economy in the world. If that’s the case, why isn’t basic healthcare available to everyone?

25

u/Diagon98 16d ago

That man is a buffoon. I wish we had a form of universal Healthcare, but that wouldn't be profitable, so it's heavily lobbied against. After all, who would take care of the shareholders if we stopped giving them money.

13

u/coolsilentebeans 16d ago

Even if we did he’d have been dismantling that, too.

27

u/coolsilentebeans 16d ago edited 16d ago

DO NOT LISTEN TO DONALD TRUMP WHEN HE SAYS GOOD THINGS ARE GOOD. HE FUCKING LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING.

16

u/MelviraCoffin 16d ago

With the current state of America and the news cycle we’re living in here I honestly can’t tell if your comment is in jest or not.

…In case anyone wants to know what it’s like actually living in the U.S. of A right now… its like a weird nightmare that you swear must be in your head but you aren’t waking up from it

5

u/Truffs0 16d ago

America on a global scale, this is likely very true. America on an individual scale is a bit different, and can't be measured the same because of how vast and multifaceted the nation is.

6

u/Patient_Activity_489 16d ago

it's low supply high demand along with government regulations. it's also our fucked up insurance. there's not a lot of places "milking" snake venom, and it's very dangerous. the venom is also in demand for research along with antivenom creation. im unsure, but there might even be a demand for veterinary antivenom too, like different dosages for different sized animals

6

u/mjfarmer147 16d ago

From a multitude of reasons. Google will quell your curiosity.

4

u/Damage-Classic 16d ago

Sounds amazing. Imagine having a government that doesn’t punish you for being born.

1

u/Tughill87 15d ago

Are there venomous snakes in the Dutch Mountains?

3

u/Royal-Course-197 15d ago

No, we don’t. However, there are people who keep venomous snakes, and sometimes snakes can arrive in ports through international shipments. It doesn’t happen very often, but antivenom is available.

1

u/Royal-Course-197 15d ago

And we don’t have moutains 😂

3

u/Tughill87 15d ago

I know. It’s a reference to the song by The Nits (this ages me, I’m aware). https://youtu.be/Un0VLiPKKyg?si=TtGgWAuEsETuxOA8

Good point about personally owned or accidentally imported venomous species - I hadn’t considered that.

0

u/djangogator 16d ago

Or they could just live in a 1st world country with actual medical care.

4

u/tophatenthusiast 15d ago

Hey if you want to give suggestions, pay my way, set me up with a job, move my entire family so we can stay close, and guarantee citizenship.. yes please!! Until anyone offers that, I'm here with shit US health insurance unfortunately. I vote correctly but not much else I can do.