Overview and characteristics of snakes that are found in the Crimea

There are a huge number of snakes on the Crimean peninsula. Some of them pose a real threat to humans. In our article, we will give a description of these creatures and tell you how to protect yourself on vacation, what to do when attacking, and how to provide first aid to the victim when bitten.

Let's make a reservation in advance - on the territory of Crimea there is not a single snake that poses a mortal danger to humans. Nevertheless, there are two snakes, the bite of which can cause people a lot of trouble - these are the steppe viper and the yellow-bellied snake.

The reptile has a rather distinctive appearance. The body length of an adult varies from 40 to 58 cm, as a rule, females are slightly larger than males. The snake resembles the most common viper, the only difference is a pointed muzzle, slightly extended forward. The shade of the skin is brownish-gray, on the back you can notice a zigzag pattern, which has the form of ordinary spots, randomly located along the back. There are also spots on the sides of the reptile, but they are not as rich and bright as on the back, and are arranged in exactly 2 rows.

The skin on the belly of steppe vipers is usually much lighter, sometimes subtle grayish specks can be distinguished. Absolutely black reptiles are extremely rare here.

Like all other vipers, steppe poison is characterized by a hemolytic effect, that is, it has the property of changing the composition of the blood and destroying the walls of blood vessels (it is this property of snake venom that is used in pharmacology when creating drugs for thrombophlebitis). Strong pain, swelling and redness appear almost immediately at the site of the bite; in case of severe individual intolerance, the hand may even begin to turn blue. Often, the temperature rises and a fever appears.

This snake cannot be called poisonous, but, without a doubt, it is one of the most aggressive in Crimea. This reptile attacks anyone who approaches it, regardless of whether the person threatens the snake and its offspring or not.

The yellow-bellied snake has a very impressive size - up to two meters in length, it has a large head and strong teeth, so the snake does not have the slightest difficulty in biting through human skin.

When attacked by this snake, a painful sensation arises, but usually there is no need for medical attention. - the wounds heal on their own within two to three days, however, a small scar remains in memory.

Quite often, snakes become real victims of human prejudice.

This is a relatively small snake, the length of which rarely exceeds 80 cm.The color can be very diverse - most often there are brownish-reddish individuals with a slight metallic sheen, but in the Crimea you can find gray, dark brown, and even completely black copperheads. A common feature of each of the snakes with this name is eyes with a pronounced cross line.

Copperhead has no poison, and its teeth are very small, even the largest individuals, when attacked, can only slightly scratch the skin... The intensity of such an injury can be compared to the result of a slight prank of a small kitten, such damage usually heals in a couple of days without the use of any medication. Young snakes are unable to even damage their skin.

Some Crimean reptiles are automatically considered poisonous by people on the grounds that they are too beautiful. We can say that this is a kind of medieval witch hunt, only in a different guise. The leopard snake is one of these victims of the slander.

This is a medium-sized snake - up to 1-1.5 meters in length.

The skin resembles the leopard print fashionable in recent years - it has a whitish or gray body with red or red spots with a black border. Like all other snakes, this snake can climb trees, but most often it hides on the ground under various shelters, for example, under boulders and snags.

The leopard snake can bite but such wounds do not carry any danger. As a rule, such snakes attack children who see a beautiful "lizard" and try to catch it with their hands. The wound is practically not felt and heals very quickly. Such snakes do not carry any danger to humans, which cannot be said about the reptiles themselves. Nowadays, the animal is actively being exterminated: some kill snakes "just in case", others are caught for the sake of getting an expensive skin, and still others are kept in home terrariums.

Everyone is well aware of the usual one - this is a dark-colored snake with characteristic and easily distinguishable spots of white or yellowish color on both sides of the head. Such snakes prefer moist places, feed on frogs and mice.

Such snakes rarely bite, but if this happens, then the sensations will not be the most pleasant. - the fact is that these reptiles have bent teeth, with which they can tear the skin, and they do not brush their teeth, therefore, an infection can get into the wound. Treatment is usually limited to the use of standard antimicrobial solutions.

It is much worse if, to defeat the attacker, it already uses the means of "chemical attack" - sometimes an angry snake simply throws out all the contents of its intestines on a person.The smell will be disgusting, nothing can be removed, while it is highly persistent - it lasts a week or even more.

There are not many places in Crimea where you can meet poisonous snakes. For example, in the mountains they are not, if only in a clearing or a small section of the steppe at its foot. Reptiles are not found directly in stones and rocks.

There are no snakes in the Black Sea either, they are found on land, mainly in the steppe or near forests.

In most cases, snake bites do not pose any threat to humans, so all treatment is reduced to the usual disinfection of the wound. The only exception is the bite of the steppe viper, however, and it does not pose a real risk to people. In the vast majority of cases, a person recovers without the use of special therapeutic methods of treatment within 2-5 days. Still, contact with this reptile is best avoided.

If you spot a snake, then try to stay calm and move away, do not tease the animal in any way - no need to hit it with a stick, grab the tail and twist it, no need to be photographed with a reptile, all this most often ends with a bite.

If such an unpleasant event did occur, the main thing - do not panic! Blood may appear from the wound, you may feel a worsening of the condition, swelling and spots of an unknown color may appear at the site of the bite, but in any case, people do not die from the poison of this snake. With timely assistance, you can significantly alleviate the condition of the bitten.

Serum is most effective, however, it is not available in every first-aid post, and attacks, as a rule, take place far from urban settlements where doctors work, so first aid will have to be provided on the spot. First of all, you need to suck the poison out of the wound - keep in mind that this can be done only if there are no wounds and injuries in the oral cavity. Try not to swallow the poison, but even if this happens, then do not worry - the composition is broken down in the stomach and excreted along with urine from the body.

The victim needs rest - it is best to place him in a dry, shaded place. Give him as much water as possible, if there is none, any other drinks will do, but definitely non-alcoholic, since alcohol only increases the severity of pain symptoms after a bite.

To reduce the degree of manifestation of an individual reaction, give the victim antihistamines, for example, "Suprastin", "Tavegil", "Zodak" or any other.

About what snakes are found in the Crimea, see the next video.