Snakes and Statistics on people who keep Snakes

Even for people who are scared of snakes, many of them consider snakes to be fascinating and interesting. For centuries, snakes have been a part of societies around the world. Snakes are found in various forms of entertainment, including movies and books. Many times snakes are portrayed as being evil. Many people would agree that snakes and spiders are some of the creatures that cause much fear and fascination among people around the world.

Why are many people afraid of snakes? Usually, it is because people are afraid of snake bites. In Australia there are about 3,000 snake bites per year, of which 200 to 500 receive antivenom; on average one or two will prove fatal. About half the deaths are due to bites from the brown snake; the rest mostly from tiger snake, taipan and death adder. Some deaths are sudden, however in fact it is uncommon to die within four hours of a snake bite.

By itself, these statistics do not seem that overwhelming. Most people are not scared by the stats. The reason people are so fearful is because of the way the snake bite normally happens. The snake is very quiet and stealthy. In many cases, you may not even know the snake is there until you have already been bitten. As you continue walking, you may suddenly feel a painful and sharp pain in your leg. When you look to examine your leg, the only thing you see are two teeth marks. In a short period of time, depending on the species of snake, you begin to get tired. You become very nervous as you realize what has happened.

In 1906, the untreated death rates were as high as 40% to 50% for death adder and tiger snake bites! Improved supportive treatment and the availability of effective antivenoms has reduced this considerably.

Even though a fairly large number of snake bites occur each year, a growing number of people have snakes as pets. Before you choose to do this, it is highly recommended that you talk with a professional so you can become knowledgeable about what is required to own a snake as a pet. This will help you to avoid potential danger.