By Sarah Brookes and Elly Cormack
A toddler is lucky to be alive after he was bitten by one of Australia’s deadliest snakes while playing in his backyard in York.
Tirsha Craven said by the time she got her two-year-old son Arlo Kohn to Northam Hospital he had gone limp.
Arlo Kohn is lucky to be alive after he was bitten by a suspected western brown on Sunday.Credit: Facebook
“His foot was like a balloon, hot and hard and when I looked closer there were two little fang marks,” she said.
Craven said while she didn’t see the culprit, her older son had spotted a snake in the backyard several days earlier.
At hospital Arlo was treated with Black Snake anti-venom which is used to save bite victims from species including tigers and western browns, also known as gwardars, all commonly found in the Wheatbelt.
“Staff came back to me and gave me a form, his blood levels showed deterioration of the muscles affecting his kidneys where the venom was flashing through,” she said.
Arlo was treated with Black Snake anti-venom after he was bitten in his backyard. Credit: Facebook
“They think he was bitten by a western brown.”
The Australian Museum said while the fast-moving species had relatively short fangs, the venom was highly potent and a bite should be treated as life-threatening.
If his mum hadn’t taken such quick action, the outcome could have been very different.
The snake left two small fang marks on Arlo’s leg. Credit: Facebook
If you are bitten by a snake the advice is to call 000 immediately, apply pressure to the wound and avoid washing the bitten area.
With Elly Mitchell.
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