A Sneads man is in critical condition after being bitten four times by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Sunday outside his home on River Road.
Frank Shelfer was in the critical care unit at Southeast Alabama Medical Center as of Tuesday.
His mother, Minnie Lee Shelfer, said he was bitten just after he walked outside to get his first breath of fresh air after gall stone surgery last Friday.
“He had picked up a limb and went over to put in on a pile of other limbs outside, and he said he was bitten when he took a step to lay it on the pile,” Mrs. Shelfer said.
He doesn’t have much sensation in his left leg, due to an old injury, and he didn’t know he’d been bitten until he looked down, his mother said. According to Jackson County Fire Rescue Chief Tony Wesley, the four bites were to Shelfer’s left foot and ankle. Shelfer’s mother said she thinks she remembers her son saying he saw the snake’s fangs sliding off his shoe as the reptile departed.
Once he realized he was bitten, he did what he could to keep the poison from spreading through his body as he went for help.
“He hopped on one foot to the door of the house and called out to his wife (Lynne),” his mother said
He was flown to Southeast. From the ambulance that took him to the helicopter, his wife called the church, where his mother was attending services, and let her know about the bite.
His mother said the church members been praying for her son ever since.
He is being treated with anti-venom, his mother said, and as of Tuesday was still unable to move about. But he was able to talk with friends and family.
It is not known what prompted the bite. Herpetology expert Paul Moler said it’s possible that Shelfer, not seeing the snake, may have stepped on it.
Until his retirement, Moler led the herpetology research section for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Conservation Commission in Gainesville. He still volunteers for the section and for other departments at the agency.
He said the best defense against snakebite is being watchful and careful.
The Eastern diamondback can be found anywhere in its home region — from southern North Carolina to Florida, and west to Louisiana, according to National Geographic. It prefers open fields with plenty of seeds for its typical prey, like rabbits, rats and squirrels.
They don’t usually like heavily wooded areas with lots of canopy, Moler said, because there’s less seed there to attract the prey. Still, he’s seen them there, too.
“Just be aware of your surroundings,” Moler said. “Watch where you put your feet and hands. The snakes don’t really want to run into you at all. But when they’re feeling attacked, they’re going to do what they can to defend themselves. Frequently, their bites are dry bites, where they don’t even inject any venom. They’re basically trying to say, ‘Don’t tread on me.’ The other thing you can do is wear boots that protect the ankles in high grass, but the most important thing is to watch where you’re going. Keep your eyes glued to the ground.”
Moler said there are many myths that don’t hold up when it comes to avoiding snakes. For instance, wearing bells on one’s shoelaces won’t probably have any effect.
“Snakes are essentially deaf, but they feel vibrations and they probably know you’re there anyway,” Moler said. “But if they feel like they’re hidden and safe, it is rare for them to bite. It’s only when they feel threatened that you have to worry.”
If bitten, he said “the best first aid is your car keys” when in a remote area with no one close by to call for help. Minimize movement, but drive to a medical facility as quickly as possible.
The field remedies once regularly recommended — like tourniquets and cuts in the skin to suck out the venom — can be almost as dangerous as the bite itself and leave the victim maimed for life, Moler said.
