It was brought to my attention that somebody who is no longer a member of this forum, was bitten by an Echis (Saw scaled viper) of unknown species but believed to be colloratus. The victim then decided to phone a friend who has been bitten by numerous snakes and is thus an expert. I was led to believe that the advice he was given was "wait two hours and if nothing happens you will be okay".
Echis antivenom is made in South Africa and could have been sent to Durban if the bite had been reported to the right people before 4 o clock in the afternoon as the centre is closed now.
If you want to keep venomous snakes please research what the effects of the venom will be.
Most Echis venoms are strong haemotoxins and can take hours or even days to develop visual signs which are bleeding and the degree is related to hemoglobin level, platelet and white blood cell counts, blood urea and proteinuria. Even if you cannot see the effects, baseline clotting test should be initiated to monitor the progression of the envenomation.
Infusion of fresh frozen plasma on admission does not appear to be effective in preventing complications, so the hospital cannot really do much for you if you dont have the antivenom.
Treatment on admission with a specific antiserum is associated with a shorter duration of hemostatic failure and a reduced incidence of anemia and thrombopenia.
Renal failure (loss of kidney function) is common with Echis carinatus though and in one series over a three year period 62 cases of acute renal failure were recorded. This is not a joke and could permanently impact on your quality of life. The liver will also be affected negatively which is not something that will recover on its own.
Getting the correct treatment timeously is what could mean you will survive and possibly not have organ damage which will negatively affect the rest of your life.