REPTILIA 329 



Treatment of Snake Bite. — If administered very soon after the 

 person is bitten, anti-venin serum is effective. A tight ligature, 

 preferably of rubber, should be placed above the wound, but must 

 not be left on more than half an hour at a time or gangrene will set 

 in. The wound should be cut open with a knife or razor blade and 

 may be sucked although this is unsafe if a person has sores in his 

 mouth. A strong potassium permanganate solution is injected or 

 poured upon the wound and serum is administered if available. 

 After the first few moments potassium permanganate is not effective.' 

 Subsequent treatment should include the draining of a wound for 

 two weeks at least. 



Most engineers and explorers now carry into territory where 

 rattlers and moccasins abound, antivenins, a little vial o{ potassium 

 permanganate crystals^ a scalpel or razor-blade to cut open the wound, 

 bandages, and a tourniquet. However, if one wears boots or puttees, 

 he is usually quite well protected. Hypodermic injections of strych- 

 nine are useful as a stimulant. It is held by some that small doses 

 of alcohol are beneficial. This is a pernicious belief, as the adminis- 

 tration of alcohol is likely to hasten death by distributing the venom 

 more rapidly in the blood vessels. Caffeine (strong coffee) and 

 strychnine are beneficial in relieving from giddiness and stupor. 



Susceptibility of Snakes to Poison. — The snake is not poisoned 

 by amounts of digitalis fatal to the frog. Its tissues are not sus- 

 ceptible, as isolated hearts behave the same. Cayenne pepper, 

 fresh slaked lime and powdered sulphur are worthless as snake 

 repellents. Snakes are immune to tear-gases and to poison gases 

 including phosgene and chlorin. They are, however, susceptible 

 very quickly to chloroform and also to mustard-gas. 



Do Mother Snakes Swallow their Young? — This question is one 

 that has often been propounded. There is absolutely no doubt that 

 snakes do swallow other snakes and that they may even, when 

 alarmed, swallow their own young. Many people have testified to 

 seeing the old snake swallow little ones, but no one has ever reported 

 the interesting phenomenon of the little snakes returning to the 

 light of day. Perhaps they do! 



1 Dr. A. M. Reese is studying the effects of potassium permanganate on mam- 

 mals receiving injections of snake venom that would ordinarily be toxic. 



