10-year-old boy bitten by poisonous snake

I, for one, am glad to know that there a still a few urban kids who play in the grass along a riverbank.

Yes, it is dangerous, but it is also a part of growing, exploring and developing.

Keeping the snake in the packpack was helpful, but not so smart.

Glad to hear that he is recovering and hope his mum dosen't stifle his adventurous spirit.

Gary

The tiger keelback or yamakagashi is one of the most common snakes around, I get them in my yard all the time, they are venomous BUT they are REAR FANGED so it is extremely rare to get any poison if bitten by one of these guys unless maybe you get bitten on a finger where the snake can get its mouth around the finger or perhaps a toe on a kid.

MOST Japanese don't even realize these are poisonous, if its true the snake was in the kids back pack I suspect they have likely been catching these snakes & even been bitten but no venom getting in any wound. Until today.

I often rescue these snakes when one of my cats corner them or even bring them in the house. I like critter so no big deal getting them moved back outside or away from my cats.

If you see a snake just LOOK at them, if they scare you step back(they are MORE scared of you!) & walk away, its very simple, no need to call the cops & please don't kill them

Just a month ago I was going home with my daughter and we saw a snake in our park. The park has few tiny , 20cm tall bushes, and some trimmed grass, so how did a snake hid there is beyond me. The area itself is very busy, urbanized one. Major shopping district, big department store, heavy traffic- and a snake. I warned all mom friends, snapped photos...A boy from the college nearby caught the snake and took it to the police.

I'm probably going to get lots of minuses for this, but I would have probably happily watched the snake for a bit (I've got a soft spot for them) at a respectful distance and not said anything. I suspect my children would do the same. Stories such as this are rare because snakes tend to keep out of the way of humans. As you said, they do get into urban areas and thrive - I've see them a few times in a park near work in central Tokyo (Bunkyo ku). I find it quite reassuring to see another animal in Tokyo apart from humans, pets, pigeons, crows and the occasional rat.

damn. i thought it was a mamushi that bit the kid. researched keelback. had one in my house last year. thought it was a harmless green snake. as GW says, snakes are our friends. i have ferrets and kites that eat snakes, snakes that eat toads and frogs, deer that eat my vegetables...nature has a natural balance. love all, but be aware.

Some scientists say there's no such thing as a truly non-venomous snake.

Either way, as one doctor put it, they "don't clean their teeth".

So always safer to get the wounds looked at and washed as early as you can.

Yeah the backpack. Maybe not the best container but possibly the smartest thing to do under the circumstances. Identifying the snake is of huge importance. The time it took to call an ambulance though. I'm quite astonished.

I've come across snakes in several different countries, poisonous or not, I tend to keep my distance. Especially as I have a habit of being bitten by various creatures!

The snake was captured by the boy's friend and handed over to the police.

Pretty ballsy move. Well done kid!

As mentioned by other posters, the tigerback or "yamakagashi's" fangs are in the back of it's throat. Mainly to prevent frogs from escaping.

Their venom however is 20X more potent than Habu venom. Fortunately, however, they have much smaller venom glands and deliver less than 1/50th of venom than a habu.

That boy's friend has some serious cojones! Good job, young man!

I had to search tiger keelback. Surprised by its beauty and graciousness. As someone said above, it's very likely they were trying to capture it (well, they actually did)

My neighbors raise mongooses in their farms to guard against snakes which feasts on their chickens, ducks and eggs.

Even the poisonous snakes have no chance against them 99.9% of the time!

So if your yards or gardens or garages have plenty of snakes then get a pair of mongooses and the snakes will instinctively go away!

We get quite a lot of snakes around here, mainly in the fields and paddies but occasionally near houses - they seem to come looking for baby swallows in nests under the eaves at this time of year. We also often find sloughed snakeskins draped around the blackberry brambles in the garden. Most of the snakes we see are aodaisho or shima hebi. I don't think I've ever come across a yamakagashi, though usually they move so quickly getting out of the way it's hard to tell what they are..

I'm glad the little boy is going to be OK.

perhaps if Snakes are on the increase here, then Cat\ ownership should likewise be encouraged

I don't think there's any suggestion of any increase, is there? I certainly wouldn't want my cat picking a fight with a poisonous snake.

Introducing mongooses wreaked havoc on the eco system of Amami island.

Orignally intended to eradicate Habu, the mongoose hunt during day, while Habu are generally nocturnal. The result was the near extinction of the Amami Short Eared Rabbit, as the mongoose would raid their dens as easy prey.

Further eradication efforts by humans led to rat infestation.

Introducing mongooses wreaked havoc on the eco system of Amami island.

Exactly. So did the introduction of domestic cats (who eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds) and goats (who eat copious amounts of local vegetation, exposing the soil which then runs off into he sea and affects the coral) to the Ogasawara islands.

i got mamushi in my garden. always careful now as local people have sad stories. basically, wear shoes and long pants near small grassy rivers and you'll be OK. see them twice a week. Habu in Ishigaki, be very careful at night. but snake alcohol is very delicious.

Glad he'll be okay! I wish Japan Today had put a pic of the yamakagashi. I looked in up on startpage.com to see if I've seen them. Yes, I have. Most men love a good snake story, and I have a few.

saw one this morning. so beautiful colours.

It's interesting people talking about seeing snakes quite often. In the last four years I haven't seen a single live snake in my area with the exception of the local pet store. I have seen one shed skin though so I do know they are around.

Is there a website showing snake types by area within Japan ?

Best I can come up with it these two:

https://natureinjapan.wordpress.com/about/cool-critters-wildlife-of-japan/poisonous-snakes-adders-and-vipers-of-japan/

http://baikada.com/e/pocketsnake/

According to jiji press at jiji.com , the boy is recovering. He was bitten around 6pm and his mom called an ambulance at 8:10pm.

The kids played in the grass covered area near the river- which is never a good idea. And the most baffling to me was that they kept the snake in the kid's backpack all the time.

Good that the boy is recovering. Tiger keelback (ヤマカガシ) is one of the most dangerous snakes in Japan.

Just a month ago I was going home with my daughter and we saw a snake in our park. The park has few tiny , 20cm tall bushes, and some trimmed grass, so how did a snake hid there is beyond me. The area itself is very busy, urbanized one. Major shopping district, big department store, heavy traffic- and a snake. I warned all mom friends, snapped photos...A boy from the college nearby caught the snake and took it to the police.

Really scary experience!

A brave friend .. the snake's hug rather requires an immediate transfer to the hospital. Well, he recovered consciousness. It could have been different.

Snake bites boy, not news. Boy bites snake, News!

Cleo, better a Mongoose than a cat!

Hiro, yep good solution!

I see them when swimming in rivers. Tend to be timid around humans.

The boy's mother called an ambulance a few hours after he was bitten as his bleeding did not stop and he complained of headache

Um, the mother should have called the ambulance right after she saw the boy bitten by the snake. At any rate, I'm glad the boy has been pulled back to consciousness. And I have been impressed by the courage of his friend. Good job!

These kids are clearly not afraid of snakes at all and must be experienced snake catchers already.

BTW, my neighbor who is a farmer raises a pair of mongooses and keeps them in a very long leash like a dog .

He frees them whenever a snake is sighted and we have the best seat in the stadium with an Orion in one hand!

Educator60

The mother of the bitten boy was not with him and his friend when they were playing outdoors away from home.

Yes, I knew. I mean, chances were that several hours(give or take a few) had passed after the boy got back to his house bleeding and suffering a bad headache. And his bleeding became uncontrollable when she finally called the ambulance in the night. That's what NHK says.

Is there a website showing snake types by area within Japan ?

I've seen numerous snakes in nearby Parks - though have no clue upon whether any are dangerous or not.

In Egypt, Cats are considered highly due to their perceived ability to attack Snakes - perhaps if Snakes are on the increase here, then Cat\ ownership should likewise be encouraged more than cute looking dogs.

If you try to catch a snake it will bite you. Don't try to capture them, report it and don't be a hero