DURBAN - A woman from Marloth Park about 30km from the South African-Mozambique border in Mpumalanga got the fright of her life when she went to open her refrigerator and felt something biting her right big toe.
Snake rescuer Juan de Beer from Juan’s Reptile Rescue Unit, who covers the Marloth Park, Komatiport and Hectorspruit area, said the woman was in her house when she decided to get something from the fridge.
“As she opened the fridge door, she felt something on her toe, when she looked down at her foot she noticed a snake biting down on her toe,” he said.
De Beer said that when he arrived the woman was having a panic attack.
“I calmed her down and identified the snake as a Mozambique spitting cobra,” he said.
He said another member of the unit then secured the snake while he attended to the bite on the woman’s toe. He said the bite was between her nail and the toe.
“I then marked down the time of the bite to monitor the progression of the swelling. I monitored the bite wound over a period. She had no pain but was experiencing a burning sensation which was on a scale of 4 to 5 out of 10,” he said.
He said he had contacted another snake rescuer named Chris Hobkirk for more advice and no further medical assistance was required in this case.
De Beer said due to the rainfall there was an increase in snake activity and there had been three instances where people were bitten by snakes.
He advised the public to be aware of their surroundings when walking outside at night and to wear closed shoes.
“Snakes are extremely active and we do not want any further bites to occur. If you are bitten by a snake, please do not try to catch or kill it, you will be putting yourself or someone else in a position to be bitten,” said De Beer.
He urged the public to call a security company or snake rescuer if they need assistance with a snake.
THE MERCURY