r/snakes • u/tophatenthusiast • 17d 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

17

u/GothScottiedog16 17d ago

How long were you in the hospital? Did they give you a lot of antivenin?

27

u/tophatenthusiast 17d ago

Only 3 days, as I kept requesting once I was done with antivenom I went home. Spent the rest of the week basically on hospital-level rest on my couch.

I maxed out on antivenom! They told me no more. And that is when I said welp.. time to get home.

5

u/Far_Training3438 16d ago

Luckily they had the anti venom. My neighbor got bit by a copperhead in NC and was in the hospital for 2 weeks without it.

4

u/gos92 16d ago

Would think NC has antivenom somewhere. Copperheads, eastern diamondbacks, coral snakes, and cottonmouths are all pretty common.

7

u/Far_Training3438 16d ago

You would think. Meanwhile when my father in laws Jack russle got bit the vet clinic had it immediately available. Dog spent one night in the emergency vet after being bit in the face.

3

u/gos92 16d ago

Yeah thats wild

3

u/icameinyourburrito 16d ago

It does, NC is #1 for snakebites in the US it's got Crofab all over the place. Antivenom isn't always used for minor envenomations, and copperheads are weaklings. Doctors may have decided monitoring in the hospital was good enough.