An unidentified hiker in Australia was “extremely lucky” after being bitten by what he thought was a harmless diamond python, which he had captured and took home to show his kids.
Unfortunately, it was a case of mistaken identity, as the reptile turned out to be a poisonous broad-headed snake, which looks very similar to a diamond python.
The incident occurred last Wednesday in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, as reported by Yahoo! Australia.
The man was hiking with friends when he spotted the reptile and captured it. When he was bitten, he didn’t think anything of it until returning home and becoming violently ill.
“The hiker ended up in the hospital after violently vomiting for three hours and [experiencing] a large, swollen hand,” Ray McGibbon wrote on his Southern Highlands Snake Catcher Facebook page.
A nurse from Bowral Hospital phoned McGibbon to get an identification of the reptile to determine the proper treatment. A photo of the snake was sent to him and he identified it as a broad-headed snake.
“They did find traces of venom in the hiker’s system,” McGibbon wrote. “After six hours, [he was] sent home to recover. During that time, I collected the snake from his residence, got the location to where they found the snake and returned it back to its habitat Saturday morning.
“After myself doing the trek and how long it took to walk in and back, the hiker was extremely lucky to make it out after being bitten [and injected with venom, and without receiving any first aid].
“The hiker is feeling extremely lucky. It could have ended up a lot worse than it did.”
McGibbon wrote that all broad-headed snakes have the potential to cause death from a bite, that its “venom is neurotoxic with powerful procoagulants and is weakly hemolytic.”
McGibbon shared the story to educate people.
“So please, if you see a snake or any reptile in the wild, admire it in its own habitat,” he wrote. “Take photos or a video, and please DO NOT try to capture it or take it home.”
