The Boomslang's Terrible Venom
You wouldn't want to shake hands with this snake even if it had any.
Its venom will make you bleed inside your body until you eventually die. Doesn't sound too friendly, does it?
Found in the short trees and shrubs of sub-Saharan Africa, the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) hunts for amphibians, small reptiles, birds and mice, and it shows no interest in animals too big to swallow. The sole member of its genus Dispholidus, the boomslang's common name means "tree snake" in Afrikaans and Dutch.
However, if someone gets bitten by a boomslang, that person is really damn unlucky - fewer than 10 deaths from D. typus bites have been recorded so far. Actually, the snake was thought to be harmless until the 1950's because it's anatomically so unsuited for biting people.
The snake is a so-called 'rear-fang' snake, so in order to inject an animal with venom, it has to open its mouth very wide - almost 170° - to be able to bite it.
An American herpetologist and a famous snake expert, Karl Patterson Schmidt, wrongly assumed a juvenile boomslang brought to him from a ZOO was unable to produce a fatal dose of the venom. He self-documented his own death and refused medication a few hours before his death, as that would silence the symptoms he was describing. He died an avoidable death, but was far away from the anti-venom, which was only available in Africa.
When it bites you, it may take several hours for the venom to kick in. Nausea, diarrhea, headaches and sleepiness are some of the symptoms, but the real problem is that the venom is a haemotoxin - it degenerates organs and tissue, kills red blood cells and acts as an anti-coagulant. It makes the blood come out of every opening, tiny cuts, such as gums, eyes or nose. The progressive internal (and external) bleeding can last several days, until the victim's very end. For Karl P. Schmidt, it took under 24 hours.
An anti-venom exists, and it saves lives if used in time.
Photo credit: William Warby
| Common name: | Boomslang |
| Scientific name: | Dispholidus typus |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| IUCN status: | N/A |
| Scientific reading: |