Chinese Man's Attempts To Hand-Feed Venomous Pet Snake Ends In Thumb Amputation

A Beijing man had to get his thumb amputated after a serious bite from his pet snake, a venomous long-nosed viper. According to the South China Morning Post, Huang was hand-feeding the snake because it had fallen ill and was unable to eat on its own.  That's when the snake sank its teeth into his finger. 

The venom severely compromised his blood clotting ability, leading to necrosis in the bitten thumb. Due to the extensive tissue damage, doctors were forced to perform a medical amputation of the thumb.

“The poison jeopardised my blood clotting function severely. My thumb suffered from necrosis and doctors decided to amputate it,” Huang was quoted as saying.

Notably, Huang had been fascinated by snakes since childhood and decided to keep a long-nosed viper as a pet. In Chinese folklore, the snake, often called the "five-step snake", is believed to be so venomous that a person bitten by it would die within five steps.

Fascination with Exotic Pets

In recent years, China has seen a growing trend of people keeping exotic and often dangerous animals as pets. According to Liu Wei, a senior doctor at Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, most exotic pets are carriers of pathogens, including bacteria, parasites, and viruses.

"For example, lizards' faeces is likely to spread salmonella, which will lead to people getting a fever and diarrhoea or worse. Marmots can carry the rabies virus, which has a 60 percent possibility of death," Liu was quoted as saying.

"We suggest pregnant women, children under five years, senior citizens, and those with poor immunity or with basic diseases to avoid raising exotic pets," he added.

Unusual Pets In China

In February, Shanghai Customs intercepted a man at Pudong International Airport trying to smuggle a poison dart frog from Latin America into China. The frog, considered the world's most poisonous, was intended as a "personalised pet". Authorities euthanised the frog but haven't disclosed the man's punishment.