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whats this and..:

Author	Message
james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 12 Dec 2006 does that mean thats how many of this book was sold Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 96,479 in Books and has anyone been bit by a adder or had one strike,if so whats happend,when the fangs go in does it hurt, cant they eat and why. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 15 Dec 2006 anyone http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 15 Dec 2006 The amazon thing means that there are 96,478 books ranked higher. It doesn't mean much if the book you were looking at is special interest as not many people would have been interested in it. It doesn't mean it isn't a good book. If an adder bites a human it could loose one or both of it's fangs or end up with an infection. Best avoid being bitten. Have a search for adder bites, there are a few threads on here about it. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 15 Dec 2006 If you click on this link you will get the results of a search for the word bite on the adder forum: http://herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/search.asp?KW=bite&SM=1& amp;SI=PT&FM=4&OB=1 Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 k yes dont worry im not stupid enough to get bit,how much does it hurt. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 Post deleted arvensis39067.3694212963 Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group.

armata Forum Specialist Joined: 05 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 928 View other posts by armata	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 James - are the doors of your local library permanently locked? When I was a nipper - there were NO books, NO internet JUST DO IT 'I get my kicks on Route 62'

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 dont be so rude. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

Alex2 Senior Member Joined: 16 Dec 2006 No. of posts: 266 View other posts by Alex2	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 [QUOTE=james4]k yes dont worry im not stupid enough to get bit,how much does it hurt. [/QUOTE] Hi James, In the nicest possible way, to describe how painfull an Adder bite is is really nigh on imposible. Plus, everyone has different pain thresholds. I must say at this point that I've never been bitten by an Adder, but I can imagine it's no holiday in the Bahamas. Cheers, Alex.

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 yes i know. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 James I'm not sure who you though was being rude, I see nothing rude just some good advice. I have given you a link. If you follow it and take the time to look through the threads you will find descriptions of adder bites. You would think those on here wouldn't be stupid enough to be bitten by adders wouldn't you? Though many of us who work with them have been at one time or another. The bite will range from painless (dry bite) to extremely painful and life threatening. The pain is not going to be so much from the fangs breaking the skin but from the venom that is injected. I've had two dry bites in my life, both were painless. That doesn't happen in most cases though, so I guess I was lucky and should learn to be more careful. Does that help? Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 so if you get bit how do you know the difference between a dry one and not,also do you feel it go into you and how long do they lock into you for. the post before saying just do it. yes ,i wont be close enough t0o get bit. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 As Gemma said, look at the link she provided. Also do a google for adder bite or Vipera berus bite. We dont have all the answers here, you have to do some of the work yourself. Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group.

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 yes allright. i will. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 A dry bite doesn't hurt like hell and your finger, arm or half your body doesn't turn red and purple and swell up. You won't know if it is a dry bite so you should go to a hospital just in case, the symptoms of the venom can start quickly or up to an hour later. It isn't just a case of it being painful, adder bites can make you very very ill indeed. Bites are usually over before you realise it, I've never had one hang on, maybe other people have. Tony (armata) was just suggesting you just get out and do some herping. I would listen to him, he has more experience of adder than just about anyone else on the planet! When I started out there was no internet either. I had an interest in reptiles and amphibians so would go out locally to look for them from when I was as young as 9 years old. When I was 12 years old I had the chance to visit heathlands in Surrey, the first day I found my first adders. This is what I think Tony is trying to say, in the spring you just need to start to go out and find the animals and see them for yourself. There is very little risk of being bitten unless you handle them. If you keep a safe distance there is no problem. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

james4 Senior Member Joined: 13 Nov 2006 No. of posts: 466 View other posts by james4	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 yes no point going out ow,all hibernating,if they are but its a sunny day might they come out,how do they feed becuase there hibernating. dont worry dont want to be close to them lol. just view at a distance and take a pic.if it flashes may it startle them and may they strike out. http://ukreptiles.proboards55.com

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 They don't eat when they are hibernating. I would not bother to look at this time of the year, it really is too cold to bother. I will start looking in mid February 2007 for adders. It will only be on sunny days to start with, some may come out for a short while. There will not be much happening until March/April usually. Flash photography is not a problem. You would have to be very close to be in danger of them striking at you. You will have a lot of trouble at first getting close enough to even take a picture. Adders will usually see you first and make their way off as quickly as they can. It takes a lot of practice to get very close to them. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

armata Forum Specialist Joined: 05 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 928 View other posts by armata	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 I think we have made it clear in recent threads that adder bite is nothing to be trifled with. Immediate buring pain is the initial symptom of a potentially serious bite. The wound will often bleed quite freely out of proportion to one or two small puncture wounds. Then it can vary - swelling first visible by puffiness around the bite - if on a finger or hand the back of the hand can puff up alarmingly and become sensitive to the touch. Swelling can progress up the limb; the lymph nodes become tender and painful. Perhaps as much as two-three hours after the bite one can become feverish, sweating profusely with silmultaneous involuntary bowel movement of the liquid kind. Stomach cramps and kidney pain is common. Good safe antiserum is available but it is underused in UK. Also after severe swelling physiotherapy may be required for some weeks after recovery. Some people lapse into unconciousness soon after a bite - hypertension may occur, which is potentially fatal. So, not a snake to me messed with. But an adder will never bite unless provoked - and unfortunately that includes all those of you who go out and study them and have to pick them up now and then. The bite is always delivered by a rapid strike, adders never chew on you (thank goodness) and a bite can be with one or both fangs. An adder can strike for app half its body length. There is no truth in that females are more venomous than males, although a bite from an immature can be severe due to perhaps extra factions in venom composition - we don't really know that yet. I remember a while back Keith Corbett received a bite froma 30cm female and he suffered quite badly. 'I get my kicks on Route 62'

axel Member Joined: 16 May 2006 No. of posts: 31 View other posts by axel	Posted: 16 Dec 2006 An adder bite is no walk in the park. Nausea, vomiting, double incontinence, tachycardia and loss of conciousness have all been reported within 5mins of a bite. Other syptoms include hypotension, renal failure, seizures, coma, cardiac arrest and DEATH. Type 'Vipera berus envenomation' into google scholar if you require more info.

arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis	Posted: 17 Dec 2006 D'oh, I never thought of typing Vipera berus envonomation into Google, certainly some interesting links to look at. Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group.

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