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by VAsnakeman on February 9, 2006
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Wow, the real Mark O'Shea.
I just wanted to know why they took your show off Animal Planet. Hands down, yours was my favorite to watch... Also, what channel would it show on? Ill need to order it...
BTW, Im on the east coast of the US.
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by Chris_Harper on February 9, 2006
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Eugenio,
That concept was based on the anecdote about a farmer who was stung by a swarm of bees and reported that falling on to an electric fence immediately caused cessation of symptoms, various 3rd world physicians started using jumper cables off of cars and other devices to "shock" their snakebite patients. The initial idea was that since the human body has a slightly negative charge, and venom is positively charged, that somehow the electricity was changing the polarity of the venom, thereby disabling it molecularly from attaching itself to human tissue. THAT WAS THE THOUGHT ANYWAY. Did it really work? Not even a little. Every experiment that could be done was done, and it simply doesn't have the intended effect. The case has been closed.
Many people and even physicians who have used it, and had their snakebite patients survive, have fallen victim to the "false positive deception". They thought that it was what was curing their patients, but it wasn't. They would have been just as successful if they had put a pebble under their tongue, or sacrificed a chicken at midnight. The truth is that most snakebite patients survive anyway!
Supportive care alone, (IV Fluids, pain meds, oxygen, airway control,etc) will improve the survival rate of snakebite patients. Prior to antivenom, the mortality rate of Eastern diamondback patients was only 25%. With supportive care, not including antivenom, it's probably less than 5%.
But don't think for a second that I'm telling you to sit at home and ride out a snakebite. That would be foolish. Antivenom is the only real cure, and besides that, early antivenom is proven to reduce the amount of permanent damage that snake venom does. So if you are bitten, get to antivenom pronto. No one can predict what your severity of envenomation will be, and you may just be in the top 5%.
~Chris Harper
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by Herpwannabe on February 9, 2006
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Mark,
If snake bite is such a rare event as Chris mentioned, and I believe him, it seems to me that every show I watch about someone dealing with hot snakes have been bitten by some of them. Bill Haast count goes as far as 160+ times, and sounds like you also have been bitten. I watched a show of a guy (forgot his name at the moment) who was handling a cobra and on that show he also reported about being bitten by that same animal before, in one of his prime milking events. He almost died and has his left forearms' muscles pretty much destroyed because of that incident.
I guess, Bill Haast may have the benefit of having antivenom available to him at arm's length, as he deals with so many snakes all the time at the Miami Serpentarium. I am really curious to know what is the incident count of "on the field bites" of herpetologists, if there are such statistics available.
and how do they deal with it? I am kind of surprised that more herps don't have the same tragic fate of Joe Slowinski, considering you guys don't usually take antivenom with you.
Keep safe!
Eugenio
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Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by kin_onn on February 11, 2006
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Hi Mark!
I'm Chan from Malaysia...currently a 2nd year undergrad from the national university of malaysia doing my Bachelor of Science in biology majoring in zoology. I'm a passionate herper with most of my passion going to boigas and asian pit vipers. As someone mentioned..I love your work and your show is my fav. Was wondering if Malaysia or borneo is on your schedule for any research in the near future? If so..i would very much love to be apart of it! even as a porter.. ;)
Q2 : I love going out to the field to gather specimens and being a field biologist is pretty much the direction i'll be heading i think. How hard is it to get a job as a research assistant for lets say national geographic? (taking into consideration my location in south east asia)
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by keyz on February 18, 2006
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Hi again Mark , I hope you are well and enjoying whatever you are currently doing,
Just a Question wondering why you decided to look for the Patagonian Pit Viper? Was it that they are so rare or maybee the lack of knowledge about them? or sheer enthusiasm and dedication to find such an elusive snake?
Also it looked like some really hard work was put in to make this episode, was it as hard as it seemed?
I am fascinated by the more "unheard of" Reptiles and I am currently reading a few small books about Sand Boas and various Blind snakes, They strike me as innofensive a secretive hoprfully a few traits I would like to have,! What is your opinion on these lesser kept and lesser known snakes.
Best wishes
Kieron.
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Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Medico on February 18, 2006
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Hey mark, I'm 14 and doing a school assignment on neurotoxins and Spitting Cobra's have really got me interested. I only have a few questions
Q1 how long is the "venom recharge" between spits
Q2 how does the venom delivered via a bite work?
Q3 how long does it take to "recharge" that venom
Q4 how long does it take to kill someone after being bitten?
Q5 Whats the death rate each year from spitting cobra bites?
Q6 is the venom that the snake spits the same as the same delivered via a bite?
Q7 If so, is it merely in diluted amounts, mixed with something or is it pure venom?
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by toddg on February 20, 2006
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High Mark. I really enjoyed your latest book. Unfortunately, a friend has borrowed it, for several months, and I can't recall the title! In it, you state that Mang mountain vipers reportedly spit venom. I've spoken to one of the keepers at my local zoo (They do have Mang mountian vipers on exhibit!) and he assured me that this is not the case, that they, in fact, can selectively aim thier musk gland. If you have evedence to the contrary, please share. I (and the keepers at the zoo) would much apreciate it.
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by LongDucDong on February 21, 2006
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Hello Mark! I was wondering what experiences you have had with Bothriopsis b. bilineatus and if you could share your thoughts and opinions on them.
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Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Stuart on March 5, 2006
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hi mark. Im Stuart from england and keep many reptiles, even though im only 15. I would like to know how to make my hobby of being a herpetoculturist, a career to become a herpetologist. Do you know of any universities that would study zoology or more specifically herpetology, which preferebly would be in the u.k. but any recomendations for such universities anywhere in the world would be welcome. Thanks
Stuart
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by Mark_OShea on March 9, 2006
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Hi Vikki,
Sorry it has taken over a month to get to the following replies. I have been so busy working to complete two books and two PowerPoint presentations, plus a few other herp projects that take up time and simply not visited venomousreptiles.org for some time.
Okay, you asked if I had gone further than the BSc.
Since I completed my BSc, as a mature student, over 20 years ago I have been so involved with first long term field projects (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 months away every year in the field) and more latterly filmwork (months away several times a year) that I have not had time to commit to going back into structured education. I did have a PhD planned back in the early 1990s, studying coconut husk pile herpetofaunas in PNG, based out of the Durrell Institute of Ecology and Conservation (DICE) at Univ.Kent, UK but could not raise the funding and it fell by the wayside. In truth I have spent so much practical time doing fieldwork that I probably have more field experience than many professors and I have written about my discoveries. That was what led The British Chapter of the Explorers' Club of New York to honour me with one of only nine Millennium Awards for Services to Exploration in Zoology in 2000 [Buzz Aldrin and fellow astronaut F.Story Musgrave, balloonists Donald Cameron and Brian Jones, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, mountaineer Sir Chris Bonnington and polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, historian Michael Wood were the other recipients] and the following year my Alma Mater, Univ. Wolverhampton, to honour me with a DSc (Doctor of Sciences degree) for my contribution to herpetology. So I do have a doctorate even though I would like to find the time to also do a PhD.
Your second question mentioned that I seem to prefer reptiles to amphibians and asked if I specialise. Well reptiles and amphibians are very different groups of animals, reptiles being closer to birds and even mammals than they are to amphibians, but only the French recognise them as separate disciplines and use the term Batrachology for the study of amphibians. It is true that my main interest is reptiles and within reptiles my main areas are snakes (esp. venomous species), skinks and crocodilians but there are also turtles that I am very interested in and I support the ShellShock campaign to combat the Asian Turtle Crisis. Amongst amphibians it tends to be the secretive species that interest me most, rather than the beautiful dart-poison and treefrogs that turn everyone else on. I have always been fascinated by species that live in different habitats to ourselves and that accounts for my interest in seasnakes and sea kraits (which are ignored by many snake enthusiasts) and burrowing species like blindsnakes, amphisbaenians and caecilians. Each of these groups has a few die-hard supporters but since none are either easy or 'interesting' to maintain in captivity they tend to be over-looked, and that is what makes them interesting. In my PowerPoint presentation: Blood, Sweat and Snakebites: The Making of O'Shea's Big Adventure" I explain one of my maxims "It is not necessary to be Big or Dangerous to be a OBA Quest Species (but it helps)". Yes I have sought out and filmed king cobras, anacondas, pythons, Komodo dragons but the really fascinating species are often the ones hiding a few feet away, the little luminous lizard, the green-blooded skinks, the saltating Bachia, the ajolate etc.
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