Durban - The last thing Anesh Ramrathan expected to see as he was washing up after supper was a black mamba under his bathroom sink.
As if the shock wasn’t enough for the Brindhaven resident, the slithery uninvited guest - the species is Africa’s longest venomous snake, reaching up to 4.5m - proceeded to bite him in the arm.
He became drowsy and started frothing at the mouth, but the father of one is grateful to be alive.
The drama unfolded at his home on Thursday night.
Ramrathan, 40, a worker at the Verulam Crematorium, was washing his hands when his wife Ashmitha spotted the metre-long snake under the sink.
“My wife screamed snake! And all I could see was a long figure quickly slither out of the bathroom and under my 6-year-old daughter Omishka’s bed. My wife grabbed our daughter. I looked under the bed and saw the snake coiled up. I grabbed a stick and hit it several times until it died.”
Ramrathan placed the dead snake in a plastic packet and burnt it, not realising he had been bitten.
“I remember coming back into the house and asking my wife for a glass of water. I felt a burn on my arm and realised I was bitten. I asked her to rub an onion on the bite,” he said.
Ashmitha said she called a neighbour for help and he tried to suck the venom out of her husband’s arm.
“Anesh became very drowsy and then started frothing. His chest started to tighten and he was battling to breathe. I contacted (security and emergency response company) Reaction Unit South Africa and they transported my husband to hospital.'
She said Ramtharan was placed on drips, given oxygen and anti-venom. He was discharged the next day.
Ashmitha said she believed the snake got into the home through the bathroom window.
“We have a bushy area at the back of the property. I believe this is where the snake came from. Since the incident I have been checking every part of the house to make sure we are snake free.”
Ramrathan, said he was lucky to be alive and would never try to kill a snake again, but rather call a snake catcher.
Snake expert Nick Evans said he had been called to numerous cases over the past week, mainly to catch black mambas.
“The spotting of black mambas is common because this is their breeding season. They are on the move and if confronted, it’s best to leave them alone and call for professional help,” he said. “Snakes only strike when they feel threatened or in danger, as in this case.”
Evans said if bitten by a snake you should get someone to drive you to the hospital immediately. Do not try to suck out the poison.
“Try to remain calm and use a pressure band around the infected area to slow the spread of venom.”
Evans can be contacted on 072 809 5806.
Martin Rodrigues, manager of the Crocworld Conservation Centre, said several snake species that live just below the ground were known to emerge after heavy rains, as experienced in Durban recently.
“Most of these snakes are harmless to humans, however, there are a few exceptions to watch out for.
“These include the Southern Stiletto Snake, also known as the Bibrons Burrowing Asp or Side Stabbing Adder.
“Although their bite is not deadly, they have a potent cytotoxic venom so the bite is painful and causes moderate to severe swelling in most cases, and may lead to the loss of a limb or digit as the venom breaks down the tissue cells surrounding the bite.”
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