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Does anyone have some good solid advice regarding snakes? I know the obvious i.e. not wandering around the bush at night, watching where we step, keeping the grasses down, etc. I was curious about having anti venom on hand which I believe has to be refrigerated. The Ticos I have talked to don’t seem too concerned about it. I have a cabin up on an isolated mountain top-far from help should I or any of my guests need it.There are a variety of “bad” snakes around including terciopelo and coral. I have planted some ajillo around the place which usually gets bemused smiles from my Tico friends. Thanks for your thoughts.
If you are that concerned, look for anti-venom, especially for the Fer-de-lance (tiercepelo) & Bushmaster pit vipers. Although the Fer-de-lance is small and stays hidden, a bite can kill a child and if not treated within an hour you an adult is apt to lose an appendage. They are fairly rare, but more common south in Osa, mountains and preserves.
Corals do not have retractable fangs like a viper, are very coy and prefer to stay buried. Few bites are ever been recorded with Corals because of their reclusive nature. Both of these snakes have no warning sound like the rattlers.
Bushmaster’s are the largest pit viper, highly venomous and very aggressive, but nocturnal and prefer heavily forested areas. Bites need immediate attention since the venom destroys the organs.
You should spend some time talking with your local red cross clinic and seek their advice. Many more people have complications as a result of being given antivenom than from the actual snake bite as more than half the cases of snake bite in costa rica are actually dry bites – where no venom is injected (this is data from a friend who works for the unit that produces the antivenom in CR). The main reaction is a severe allergic reaction to the types of antivenom available/produced in Costa Rica because in CR they use horses to produce antivenom. In the US they use monkeys which results in less anaphalatic allergic reactions to the antivenom. Coral snakes need a different type of anti-venom than the pit vipers so its critical to know your snakes and which one bit you/your friend. Size of snake that bites you is also important as the smaller the snake the less deep the injected venom goes. Rattlesnake boots are a wize and usefull (but expensive) purchase from the US that have a mesh design that is supposed to stop a strike. Excellent flashlights such as a 4D maglite for each one of your friends and never ever walk at night in flip flops or with a crap flashlite like a LED one. Only use LED lights to read in bed as they do not project light far enough in darkness to use in the countryside or forest. I say these things from experience. I am a plant biologist and work in remote parts of national parks across CR for weeks at a time. I have never carried anti-venom as I am hyper allergic to lots of medications and my tico assistants would rather be injected by a red cross doctor than me. But I do have the local red cross clinic on my cell phone and am very well informed of the best practices to treat a snake bite victim should it happen (and its not happened yet). Quality information is your best defense.
Great advice alexgil. I have had contact with all the snakes above except F-d-l and several species of rattlers, but unless you are in the business of spending most of your life in the forest, desert or swamp, you really have to seek out these snakes, unless you run across a rattler laying in the road where it is colder. The best rattlesnake boots are at Cabella’s – http://www.cabelas.com , search snake boots $99-$149. I prefer the pull-ons because they double up as water/mud/snow boots.
Agree, that one should immediately go to the nearest Red Cross location!
We had several Fer de lance snakes on the property where we used to live, and occasionally saw them ‘crossing the road’ in a rural but not forest area.
Our dog was bitten by a rattle snake a few weeks ago, and survived, but that snake was killed as was the one we saw yesterday…
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