copy of the nile croc bite, with pictures

[cmack91]

this is a copy of the original post by MLynch at redtailboas.com

beggining of post:

Tagged by a Nile Croc
I didn't really know where else to put this, so here you go.

I've been a little absent as of late, part of that was due to work, the other was due to the fact that I was tagged by a 4ft Nile Croc earlier in the month, and typing has been a challenge (outside of my iPhone).

On October 1 I was at the office getting ready for a program - the stars of which were going to be a 14ft Burm, and a 4ft Nile Croc. I had packed-up all of my other critters and had saved the croc for last. I got him out of his enclosure easy enough, I put him on the floor, pinned him by straddling, closed his mouth and was holding it shut with my left hand (as per usual). In this position he can't go anywhere, and once I had his mouth held shut he would rarely make a fuss. I reached for the tape with my right hand (we always tape him up before a program... last thing we need is a bite during a show. Not that we mishandle him in any way, but being that he's a croc his temperament is less than pleasant... even on a good day). Anyway, as I was bringing the tape up he jerked his head just enough to break my grip and less than a second later he had clamped down on my left hand. ...It's amazing what happens when instinct and adrenaline kick in! I'm not sure what happened to the tape, but my right hand immediately went down on his head to keep him from thrashing/ripping (which he did anyway, but not as much as he would have otherwise).

He held my hand for a good 3 or 4 seconds, I guess (I wasn't really timing it), and in that time he bite me three times. There was a moment of panic in there because after one of the bites I lost all feeling from the tip to the top knuckle on my ring finger - I wasn't sure if it was still attached. He eventually let go enough for me to pull my fingers free. ...I don't really remember putting him back in his enclosure. I did, becasue I can remember seeing him looking back out at me with blood all over one side of his head, but I have no recollection of how I got him in there.

Needless to say I didn't do my program. Instead I was taken to the hospital and received 37 stitches in my left hand. 30 in my ring finger, and 7 in my pinkie. Amazingly there was no bone, tendon, or muscle damage! And my fingers were, otherwise, completely intact.

Pics to follow. Warning - they may be graphic for some tastes.


The Nile Croc (pic taken earlier, over the summer)




On the way to the hospital (sorry, I didn't think to unwrap it for the pic) October 1




One week after the bite October 8:









Three weeks after the bite October 25:





end of his post.

obviously this is, as stated, nothing compared to venomous snakes or allergic reactions caused by snake bites, but makes the average bite from the average snake (on this site) seem like nothing

i figured i'd make a new thread so everyone would know that the post itself is here, so non-members of rtb.com can view the pictures

[JLC]

Thanks for sharing this with us....and thank the original guy for allowing you to share it with us!

I'm actually kinda glad he didn't get a picture of the raw wound itself...my skin is still twitching from the stitches. LOL Looks like he could easily have lost part of his finger if things had gone even slightly differently than they had. I hope he makes a full recovery with no lingering nerve damage!

[cmack91]

i did, i asked him prior to posting this and he said yes and i sent him the link