Interesting info from AZ Game and Fish

Sande J · Posted: 4/12/2005, 7:05 pm Post subject: Interesting info from AZ Game and Fish

A biologist from Az Game and Fish came by our office today to give us the spiel on venomous and poisonous creatures of AZ and safety tips,etc. Most of you on the site are already a wealth of information and probably already know these things, but just thought I would take a moment to share.
He said our biggest concern is africanized bees locally and that to make sure you are prepared to cover your head and run and seek any type of shelter as soon as possible. Swarms that are moving are not such a concern as much as disturbing a hive. Thats when they really come after you! He also said that out of every four snakes that they see or handle in the field, 2 of them are western diamondbacks. In other words, they are alot out there folks! He brought in a fine adult specimen found only 2 weeks ago on the doorstep of Game and Fish (good place to turn yourself in if you are a snake I guess) and the big boy will now be permanent resident of the Phx Zoo. He said that a snake cannot be displaced more than 1/2 mile from where it is found or it will most likely die if replaced in another location. (I didnt know that). He also DOES NOT recommend the sawyer extractor as a means of removing venom, and I found this interesting as I have one, and probably others here rely on one as well. He said they are not designed for bites from snakes any larger than 20 inches. They did testing on pigs (shoulda been goats Wink

) and the devices did little good, only extracting necessary cellular fluids. He said by far and away getting to medical attention is the best bet. If bitten, take off all jewelry or rings...and if bitten on the leg, loosen the shoe or boot only, dont take it off because you may not get it back on. He said you have a good 6 -8 hours to get to medical attention without any real worries. He said in most cases you are not going to die from this snake bite, just get a move on and get to help. I guess for the many of you that do remote backcountry traveling, knowing where the nearest medical service is would be a good item to add on your map. He had lots of cool spider and scorpion pictures and one of the blister beetle which I noticed is the same one Heat took a very close up pic of last week. They omit a poisonous fluid that creates blisters that spread. Sure glad we didnt touch them Shocked

! He also said that there were no actual brown recluse spiders in AZ, and I always thought there was, of course someone else may know different.
Add input if you'd like, I found some of this info very interesting!
_________________
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stone, good in everything..
-William Shakespeare-

Hikngrl · Posted: 4/12/2005, 7:09 pm Post subject:

Sande, thanks! Can never hear that kinda stuff to often! It is time to start worrying 'bout these guys so all the info we can get is welcome!
_________________
~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

Good info Sande, I wonder about the brown reckuse info though?

Arizonaheat · Posted: 4/12/2005, 7:27 pm Post subject:

Very, Very interesting, lots of great info.
_________________
Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

he's right, TIM. The Brown Recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) only lives in the midwest/southeast.
There are, however those nasty things called Brown Spiders (Loxosceles sonora) but fortunately they are less dangerous than their cousins. Check this out: if you see a brown spider and can catch it in a jar, look at the eyes. Brown Spiders have 6, others have 8.

Most entomologists still use the term "black widow" only for the easter species and prefer to call the southwestern version the "widow spider".

SandeJ, did he touch on the subject of evidence that shows only half of rattler bites actually inject venom (dry bites)?
I was wondering how much truth there is to that info.
_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

Sande J · Posted: 4/12/2005, 8:04 pm Post subject:

Nope, he didnt talk about dry bites at all, but he did say that the baby rattlers will give you the full dose in most cases. And from the second they are born they have all their 'defensive faculties' in place. No learning processes or development of these processes are needed. Guess you could say they are natural born killers... Shocked

_________________
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stone, good in everything..
-William Shakespeare-

matt gilbert · Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 698 Location: Mesa

What about the sawyer extractor kit for the mojaves and other snakes with neurotoxins? I wouldn't bother using one for a regular rattler, but I wonder about the others.
_________________
Cogito ergo ambulo cum sacculo
-Matt Gilbert

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

Did they mention Bark Scorpions at all?

Guess you guys are right about the Brows Recluse, looks like I got some bad info.

Sande J · Posted: 4/12/2005, 8:12 pm Post subject:

It's not about the type of snake, but rather the size, according to him, the extractor does not accomodate the bites of snakes larger than 20 inches - (30 inches max). Maybe it would work on a baby bite, but I am not sure about that. Also, a description of the snake for medical personnel is about all they need. Not the actual snake. He also talked about an anti venom from Mexico that they are starting to use on Gila monster bites that works like magic.
_________________
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stone, good in everything..
-William Shakespeare-

Sande J · Posted: 4/12/2005, 8:16 pm Post subject:

Arizonaheat · Posted: 4/13/2005, 4:40 am Post subject:

Here is a useful link for those interested in Arizona Poisonous Critters

http://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/centers/apdic/critters.shtml

Daddee · Posted: 4/13/2005, 9:14 am Post subject:

Hmmm....very interesting on the brown recluse. The 4 yr old son of a friend of mine was recently (Monday afternoon) bitten by a spider and the effects on his skin/muscle tissue were identical to that of a brown recluse. They even took him to the hospital where the doctors confirmed that it was likely a brown recluse and then scheduled him for surgery to remove the affected area from the bite. That supposedly happend last night - I haven't heard any word since yesterday evening.

You'd think that they'd have someone on staff at a hospital (formerly Desert Samaritan - it's a Banner something-or-other-now) that would know if there are/aren't brown recluse in the area. Strange.

I'll have to get more information from her and see if they captured/killed the spider or not.

Seems like I'm getting some very conflicting info here.
_________________
"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

GTG · Posted: 4/13/2005, 11:15 am Post subject:

Daddee · Posted: 4/13/2005, 1:35 pm Post subject:

Good info Todd - thanks.

I'm familiar with the Brown Recluse from living hin Houston and they were a constant danger there. Here it seems there are more black widow spiders - and they're much more visible than the timid brown recluse.
_________________
"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

GTG · Posted: 4/13/2005, 3:48 pm Post subject: speaking of bees

Oh yeah, speaking of bees, I found another bee hive in an old mine not too far from my house on Saturday while Messami and I were exploring the local trails. Those of you interested in searching old mines (JW63 et all), be careful, there may be a hive inside. This one had been there for a while and maybe had been attempted to have been removed by someone in the past as there were numerous dead bees lying about.

GTG
_________________
Good things come to those who walk.