IT has been eights months since The Bluff-based snake catcher Warren Dick was fighting for his life after being bitten by a black mamba and now the professional snake catcher has been dealt with luckier cards after being bitten by a black mamba for the second time.

Dick is thankful to be alive after a close call with a black mamba during a rescue in an informal settlement in Hillary on January 14.

Also read: Black Mamba strikes at seasoned snake catcher, leaving him fighting for his life [Video]

The capture

Dick was on his way to meet his wife when he got an urgent call about a large, odd snake. The caller said it was grey with a white belly, a small head and a thick body. He added that the snake had been staring at him when he woke up. Thinking it might be a black mamba, Dick hurried to the informal settlement..

Dick looked in the other three rooms before going back to the first one about 25 minutes later, he said. The man living there was sure the snake was behind some cloth on the wall because he often heard rats there.

“The snake was last seen on the roof of the first room, but for whatever reason, the guy who called me was convinced the snake was not there anymore and had move to an adjoining room. We searched all three other rooms before returning to the first room some 25 minutes later,” said Dick.

After a long search, Dick found the snake behind a piece of wood against the wall. “I let the piece of wood fall and quickly got my tongs on the snake, a relatively easy catch in the end,” said Dick.

The friendly nip

But the rescue took a turn when Dick moved the snake to a bucket. “As I let go of the head it somehow twisted and the one fang nicked the tip of my thumb, my thumb instantly bled,” he said.

Dick stayed calm and called fellow snake catcher Nick Evans, who told him to go to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. On the way, Dick said his thumb did not burn like it did when he was bitten last year. It felt like a paper cut, said Dick.

At the hospital, Dick looked for any signs or symptoms as Evans came to get the snake for study. After 30 minutes, Dick remained completely normal and came to the conclusion that it was a dry bite.

Dry bite

“All snakes are able to measure, or control, the amount of venom that they inject into prey or foe. I was blessed that it decided to not inject venom,” he said.

The black mamba was a male and measured around 2.5m long. While Dick cannot understand how the snake had managed to bite him, he stressed that people should express caution when handling snakes.

Contact:

To have snakes removed or insects identified contact Warren Dick on 072 211 0353.

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