Meet 'Daz'...our doorstep challenge
By Garden_fool
7 Sep, 2009
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This young female adder was found late afternoon yesterday lounging on our (what I now realise is an embarrassingly grubby) back door threshold. They are born during August/September and leave the nest very soon after. Don't know why it was so close to the house but I wonder if the ground all around is so waterlogged that this wee madam (and her prey?) may be looking for drier, better drained ground. We're not going to panic, but just be observant as two years ago (when he was 9) our eldest spent over 3 days in hospital after being bitten by an adult female after he accidently knelt down right by her in long grass .
Unbelievably he even made the nationals. The press made a right meal out of it. We couldn't help but laugh at some of the tabloid headlines.
Still, he was delighted to have been assocciated with his hero Steve Irwin.
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It has made us more observant while working around the house but I doubt very much we'll see another that close again.
He's fine now, no lasting effects (which some do apparently). We we're very proud of the way he reacted after being bitten. He knew what had happened stayed calm, got his friend to get her Mum and she dialled 999. He was calm, told the Dr's in detail what had happened (the fact it was a snake, the species, the sex, size etc) although the medical staff were doubtful at first because he was only nine. I believed him and they believed me. But it was all this that got the press interested. Our friends in Oz heard about it.
We tolerated the nonsense headlines but declined to do radio interviews and magazine stories. Well to tell you the truth, the mags weren't interested because we would not 'sensationalise' the events. They wanted panic and screaming and blood etc. "Our living nightmare of sons near death snakebite Hell" kind of headlines. All John wanted to do was to tell people to look out for adders and not to hurt them.
11 Sep, 2009
Typical media GF. Glad that John is fully recovered :-)
11 Oct, 2009
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my mum is terrified of snakes,i am not to bothered but would be if there was one on my step.your poor son, hes very lucky hes ok by the sound of it.the nationals wow typical though all through a snake.fame could have been less painful.your sons a hero too.
10 Sep, 2009