A RARE MUTANT snake with three sharp fangs has been discovered making its venomous bite even more deadly.
Zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park were shocked to find the third fatal fang on a death adder they’ve had for seven years.
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Death adders are one of the most venomous land snakes in the world which produce a neurotoxic capable of paralysis, respiratory failure and eventually death if left untreated.
It also has one of the fastest strikes in the world, unleashing attacks at less than a tenth of a second.
Before antivenom was introduced, about 60 per cent of their bites to humans were fatal.
The extra fang was spotted hiding next to one of the other fangs on the left side of the death adder’s mouth.
This fang can still produce venom, meaning it could inject victims with even more fatal fluids than other death adders.
“I’ve seen plenty shedding fangs, they’ve got one hanging off the side there that eventually drops off, but to have one functioning as a third fang like that, it is wild,” said park manager Billy Collett.
“Having that third fang actually means she delivers more venom.
“She’s got not two but three that come flying out, so we’re getting massive yields from her.”
Snakes are milked of their venom to produce antivenom that counter snakebites.
Collett said that the “bizarre” mutation might actually make the snake “the most dangerous death adder in the world”.
“It actually makes me a little bit more nervous milking this girl, because she’s got three fangs,” he added.
“Death adders have got really flexible jaws in general and on that left hand side there, you know having two fangs in that one spot, I get pretty nervous.”
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SEVERE CASES OF VENOMOUS SNAKE BITE SYMPTOMS
- Extensive swelling, blistering and eventually tissue death (gangrene) in the area of the bite
- Paralysis – starting with drooping of the upper eyelids and progressing down the body to produce an inability to swallow, breathe or move
- Shock and loss of consciousness
- Kidney failure with little or no urine being passed
- Massive blood loss – as a result of bleeding from the mouth, nose and wounds, vomiting blood, and passing blood in urine or stools
- death
Source: NHS
