Carpet Python Venomous?

Is there a chance that there is venom in a carpet python? A friend was bitten by one and she had to go to the hospital for the bite. She told us it was due to it having just enough venom to make her sick.

1 Like

I have never seen nor heard of anything suggesting that carpets can have venom. So, possibly she is confused by the quick swelling of a non-venomous bite. Even the one tag I took from Kai swelled pretty good and bled a decent amount.

2 Likes

My first thought would be it’s just due to the amount of bacteria found in a snakes mouth

2 Likes

Provided it was actually a python, there is zero chance she was envenomated.

8 Likes

Was the carpet python a pet? If not it might not have even been a python. If it was it was likely either due to swelling or bacteria.

2 Likes

Yes it was a captive bred carpet python. Thanks folks.

3 Likes

Maybe you should let her know that it’s not venomous and it was just a tag.

1 Like

yep, I’ll talk to her later this evening.

1 Like

Carpets are not venomous. That said, many/most snakes have some proteins in their saliva that resemble venom precursors and can have a degree of biological activity.

Something I would ask though - had the animal recently eaten? Being as I suffer from an extreme allergy to rodents, I know from experience that catching a bite from an animal that has recently eaten a mouse/rat can lead to a gnarly anaphylactic reaction that an uninformed doctor might decide is envenomation

8 Likes

Wow, I have never heard of that. Definitely good to know.

I will mention that to her later. Thanks for that information.

1 Like