Cedric holding an adult king cobra he caught in an eco resort in Perak.
Some people pour yellow powdered sulphur around their campsites, but “sulphur is useless against snakes,” says Cedric Chin, 47, a seasoned snake handler from Ipoh.
“And don’t panic if you are bitten because many snakebite victims make it to the hospital hours after being bitten,” he advises.
If you love the great outdoors, Chin recommends understanding snake facts.
A research paper in 2021 revealed that between 1965 and 1971, there were 5,203 reported cases of venomous snake bites in Malaysia, 18 of which were fatal.
Of these bites, 1,136 were confirmed as from the Malayan pit viper, while 3,765 were from unknown snakes because the victims couldn’t recognise them. Another 302 bites were by various other venomous snakes.
“You can hardly see a Malayan pit viper until you step on it because the brown blotches on its skin look exactly like dead leaves on the ground.
“Anglers are particularly at risk because the Malayan pit viper likes to rest along river banks, marshes and lakesides, especially near exposed tree roots. They like it wet and that’s where anglers go too,” Chin explains.
For hikers in dense woodlands, the most common viper strikes come from the Wagler’s pit viper, also called the temple pit viper because of its abundance in Penang’s Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas.
Cedric catching a king cobra found in a piece of idle land in Ipoh.
“In a study done by nine local scientists and published in January this year, it was found that 51% of reported viper bites are on the victims’ hands and forearms, 12% on the thighs and calves, and 25.85% on the feet. Just knowing where pit vipers usually bite will tell you how to avoid them,” Chin advises.
“When hiking, adopt a ‘wide-angle’ view of your surroundings, being observant of objects within 3m in front and to your sides. Look carefully before gripping tree trunks or branches for support.
“Vipers sitting on tree branches tend to have bits of bright green on their bodies that stand out if you pay attention. As for the danger of being bitten in the foot, your shoes make a lot of difference,” he says.
Vipers tend to be small and do not have long fangs. Even good quality knee-high rubber boots that some anglers wear when they hike along wetlands in search of fishing holes can keep viper fangs from piercing through.
“For hikers, good leather hiking boots do the same,” Chin notes.
While viper bites are rarely lethal, the haemotoxins in their venom cause excruciating pain, with the destruction of red blood cells and tissue necrosis causing permanent limb mobility problems and even amputation.
Chin advises anyone bitten by a viper to seek immediate medical attention, preferably at a government general hospital.
Cedric’s daughter Beverly, then seven, experiencing the strength of a reticulated python’s coils in a controlled experiment while learning to be a snake handler too.
“You must be able to tell the doctor that you were bitten by a viper or a cobra because antivenoms are snake-specific, depending on whether the venom has haemotoxins or neurotoxins. People who go outdoors should spend time reading up and studying pictures of snakes to be able to identify them,” he stresses.
Then there are the rare yet super dangerous snakes: cobras, king cobras and reticulated pythons.
“Just 1mg of venom from a baby king cobra will kill you in 30 minutes. An adult king cobra’s fangs are 1.5cm long; it will pierce your boots and not let go, pumping venom continuously. Its one bite pumps enough venom to kill 20 adult humans,” warns Chin.
Fortunately, cobras are not fiercely aggressive and will gladly slink away when disturbed. When threatened, they give plenty of warning before biting.
“They will raise their heads high, flatten it to form a hood and create a loud, low-pitch hiss that will make your hair stand.
“For anglers, your best defence is your fishing rod, but don’t beat the cobra with it! If you hit it, it becomes furious and then it will really want to attack you.
“Instead, extend your rod and try to use it to block the snake from advancing. Then slowly and calmly step back.
A baby king cobra has enough venom to kill an adult human in 30 minutes.
“On seeing you back off, the cobra will know you are not a threat and will back off too,” he says.
As for the reticulated python, a fairly common snake in Malaysia, Chin says it is non-venomous and only poses a danger to humans when it grows beyond 4m long.
“At that length, it starts eating wild boar. It will wait along wild boar trails in ambush. Some will rest on tree branches and drop onto passing wild boar, while others hide along the trail. It is when people use wild boar trails in jungles that they encounter these pythons,” Chin says.
Large reticulated pythons are so strong that if they make two coils around your neck and squeeze, you lose consciousness in under 10 seconds.
Chin says that if you are unlucky enough to have a python coil around you, do one of three things: “If you have a knife, poke it anywhere along its body repeatedly and it will let go.
“If you don’t have a knife or if your arms are trapped in the coils, bite the snake’s body as hard as you can.
“If you have beer or any alcoholic drink, pour or spray it on the python’s head. They really don’t like it and will leave.”
