Farmers urged to be on the lookout during snakebite season

The 2017/18 snakebite season was not yet in full swing yet a number of serious snakebites had already occurred.

Farmers urged to be on the lookout during snakebite season
Stilleto snakes can average between 30–40cm in length.
Photo: Johan Marais
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According to Johan Marais, CEO of the African Snakebite Institute, it was difficult to quantify the number of snake bites, but 12 cases of bites by the little-known Stiletto snake were recorded during the past week (late November to early December).

“I urge farmers to warn children and farmworkers to refrain from picking up small snakes since the chances were good that it could be a Stiletto snake,” said Marais.

READ How snakes can help farmers

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The main snake bite season usually lasted from January to April, but the mainly burrowing Stiletto surfaced during rainy and warm conditions.

Farms provided Stilettos with enough space and food, creating the ideal habitat. The snakes prey on geckos and other small snakes.

Marais said the Stiletto was a small, nondescript snake that averaged 30–40cm in length, dark-brown to blackish in colour and spent most of its life underground.

They usually emerge in the early evening, especially after summer rains and often end up in swimming pools.

Stilettos were often mistaken for mole snakes, he said, even though they did not resemble mole snakes at all.

The danger was their fangs and potent cytotoxic venom.

“If grabbed behind the neck the snake will twist its head sideways with one fang protruding and will stab it into a thumb or finger. If caught at mid-body, the snake will thrash around with its fangs sticking out and the person catching it will get bitten once or twice,” said Marais.

READ Snakebites: fact and fiction

Stiletto venom was potently toxic to cells, causing immediate pain, swelling, blistering and in many cases severe tissue damage.

This might result in a digit or two being amputated. It was an extremely painful and destructive bite but was not considered potentially lethal. However, there was no anti-venom for this snake’s poison.

The Stiletto snake was common in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo as well as much of North West, and is entering Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern Namibia.

It does not occur in the Western Cape, most of the Eastern Cape and most of Namaqualand.

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Annelie Coleman represents Farmer’s Weekly in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape. Agriculture is in her blood. She grew up on a maize farm in the Wesselsbron district where her brother is still continuing with the family business. Annelie is passionate about the area she works in and calls it ‘God’s own country’. She’s particularly interested in beef cattle farming, especially with the indigenous African breeds. She’s an avid reader and owns a comprehensive collection of Africana covering hunting in colonial Africa, missionary history of same period, as well as Rhodesian literature.