New Guinea small-eyed snake

Poder do veneno

Mordidas

O veneno sai pelas presas ou pelos dentes quando ele morde.

O que o veneno dele faz?

Its venom is strong enough that it is considered a dangerous snake. Common symptoms include local muscle pain and tenderness, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, dizziness, headache, low blood pressure and spontaneous bleeding. In severe cases, the venom also affects the nerves and muscles, causing drooping eyelids, slurred speech and jaw locking, and death can result from respiratory paralysis (when the muscles used for breathing stop working).1

Qual é o perigo para as pessoas?

This snake has been linked to many fatal bites. The first proven human death occurred in 1958 in Wau, Papua New Guinea, where a young man died 36 hours after being bitten on the base of the thumb while handling the snake. It causes about 40% of snake envenomations on Karkar Island, but less than 10% on the mainland, where death adders cause most snakebites. Plantation workers are most at risk, especially when moving husk piles, cutting grass, walking on plantation tracks or harvesting cocoa beans.1

Boa notícia: os médicos têm um remédio (soro antiveneno) ou um tratamento para isso.1

O que ele faz quando está com medo?

Although it is normally shy, it becomes highly aggressive when disturbed, for example if it is handled or stepped on, and then it strikes quickly and readily. Its bite is tenacious and chewing, and it is not easily released.1