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Posted by VenomousKeeper on December 25, 2002 at 09:48:25:
First of let me start by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Now to the bite! I'm the keeper that was listed in the news article below about the Gila bite so I figured I'd clear some things up and give a few details. First, the Gila bit me on the knuckle of the thumb on my right hand. Secondly, it didn't happen while I was holding it. Here is what happened. I took several Gilas down to a lab for X-ray to make sure there was no egg developement before placing them in hibernation. The first Gila went off w/out a hitch, however, the second one got it's revenge. My first mistake was placing the Gila on the X-ray table unsecured and my next mistake was understimating their jumping ability. It was backing away in full defense mode, mouth open and hissing, when it was getting close to the edge of the table. I started to reach above it and the next thing I knew it leaped, yes leaped, a good 4-6 inches in the air to bite my thumb. I was able to pry it off w/in about 30 seconds w/in which time it got a good few chomps on my knuckle. It didn't hurt while it was on my thumb, but w/in a minute after I got the Gila off the pain started. First came the intense burning sensation around the thumb, then the wrist and slowly up the arm. Approximately 3 minutes after the bite I started feeling weak, sweating profusely, and slurring my speech. 4 minutes after the bite and I couldn't make out any images due to blurred vision, no voice recognition, and couldn't answer simple questions. The ambulance got there probably about 7-8 minutes after the bite. At the fist check of my blood pressure, probably 10 minutes after the bite, it read 80/50. As far as I know thats as low as it got. The pain in the arm was very intense even with morphine running through my system. Spent the night in intensive care and was released the following afternoon. This all started the morning of Friday the 20th at about 9:30. I still have no use of my right hand, lymph system still quite swollen, and yes, still a lot of pain. I was told by our toxicologist that it could take 3-6wks before I have full use of the arm again. If you take anything away from this, please let it be to never underestimate any animal. I made the mistake assuming that Gilas couldn't jump vertically, found out the hard way that they can! Hopefully people can learn from my mistakes because I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
all the best this holiday season,
Eric Viera
