Sea Snakes (Eels) Oh My! Leaving Sunday-Punta Cana here we come-any last minute advic

TNJ1996 · #1 09-12-2002, 02:25 PM

Leaving Sunday for Punta Cana (Allegro Bavaro)...getting really anxious???? Any last minute tips???????

Okay-please someone calm my nerves...I read a post about some sea eels (?) that look like snakes....I am a little nervous and am petrified of snakes. Has anyone had any experiences with these creatures? Are they very common? I heard some can be up to 4 feet long. Even though I think I read they are basically harmless, I'm not a big reptile fan...I can only imagine how I am going to react if I'm snorkeling and one of these puppies comes shooting out from nowhere!

Mcinbrass · #2 09-12-2002, 02:33 PM

You catch a few and bring them to the kitchen at your hotel. Ask the chef to prepare them "breaded and fried" (empanizado). They're delicious that way!

Hlywud · #3 09-12-2002, 02:59 PM

The sea snakes are the one to watch out for but you have to be in southeast Asia in the Pacific or Indian Ocean.
these sea (snake eels) are usually harmless with exception of the moray. But just being on the beach and in the shallows you are not likely to encouter any, but if you do get them cooked as McInbrass suggests.

Andy B · #4 09-12-2002, 05:34 PM

Although it is generally thought that air-breathing sea snakes (as opposed to regular water-breathing ells) are only confined to the SE Asian part of the Pacific Ocean, I have seen them both in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. I too had thought they were only supposed to be elsewhere (half a world away in the Pacific), but there they were, sticking out of the holes in the sand. And after close observation, I saw them swim up to the surface and get a breath of air. I got away from the area quickly as although they are very passive, they are also the most deadly snakes in the world, far more venomous than land snakes. I should also note that I've been a diver for more than 50 years and have only seen them 3 times, twice in the Bahamas and once here. The odds of you encountering one are somewhere between remote and none.

Also, I would suggest that if you see any moray eels (green with a mottled pattern), you also give them a wide berth as they are prone to a nasty disposition and have a bad bite that will give you a serious infection. You can swim near them and observe them, but don't poke or prod them, they'll bite the hell out of you. I've had them come right up a spear after me and the same in a boat,...slithering around on deck snapping at everything, my feet included.

Contrary to what Mcinbrass says, leave them to the fishermen to take to the hotel cook.

andy a · #5 09-12-2002, 08:24 PM

Shame on you!

Everyone note that it was Andy the Original, not I, who posted that.

If you really think that you saw sea snakes, post it at
http://forum.kingsnake.com/venom/. You WILL be heard.

It is somewhat surprising that sea snakes haven't (confirmed at least) yet made it through the Pananma Canal.

By the way, they're NOT more deadly than all land snakes.

Hlywud · #6 09-12-2002, 09:12 PM

The other tubular citizens on the reef are gill bearing fish, but the sea snake is a true air breathing reptile. The sea snake can hold his breath for long periods while hunting and even sleeping on the reef, but must eventually come to the surface for a quick breath of air. This behavior can scare the devil out of curious divers as the snake will often swim directly at a hovering diver on the way to the surface. They mate and birth their young on the shore, but spend the rest of their lives hunting fish, crustaceans and eels amongst the nooks and crannies of the reef. I have often followed snakes as they made their rounds along a reef and their persistence (not to mention breath holding ability) is truly amazing.

Sea snakes are one of the most poisonous creatures on the reef with a venom similar to that of the cobra. Fortunately, these fellows are not at all aggressive and I have never heard of a fatal encounter with a diver. In addition to their mellow nature, they have short fangs unlikely to penetrate even a tropical wet suit and seldom envenomate even with biting. There have been deaths reported, but these were usually fishermen encountering the snakes in their nets. They have poor eyesight, but excellent chemical sensation and have the same forked tongue as their land based cousins for sensing vibration. http://www.cybereef.com/longfellows/...nake_image.htm

A sea snake's venom is two to ten times as toxic as a cobra's, less of it is transferred to the victim and only one-fourth of those bitten show signs of poisoning. The venom is a paralyzing agent to the nervous system and the victim becomes unable to breath, thus suffocating to death. They may have small mouths, but sea snakes can bite people. The best way to escape being bitten is to avoid provoking the snake. http://scuba.about.com/library/weekly/aa121500.htm

Hlywud · #7 09-12-2002, 09:17 PM

Here is the best description I have found in an extensive search
http://aqwa.com.au/seasnakes.html
Please also note that most sites indicate that sea snakes are not found in the Atlantic or Mediterranean.http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Fiel...dAboutSea.html

andy a · #8 09-12-2002, 09:54 PM

Hlywud,

Are you saying that you have swum with sea snakes in the Atlantic?

Again, if so, post it at http://forum.kingsnake.com/venom/.

Brian Greg Fry, Wolfgang, and the gang will be most interested. Fry maintains a venom database comparing the toxicity of various snakes. He also assists tv herpetologists such as Steve Irwin on their expeditions.

Andy B · #9 09-12-2002, 10:19 PM

Andy a,
In all my years of diving, I've never seen a gill-bearing eel swim to the surface and take a breath and return to the bottom with a train of bubbles following him. I too was under the impression that sea snakes were only found in the south Pacific but I know what I saw with my own eyes. I guess they made it through the canal after all.

The snakes I saw were similar in coloration to the pictures I've seen of their Pacific cousins. In the Bahamas, I saw them at Great Guana Cay in the Abacos several times. I was within spitting distance of the Guana Cay Club. Here in the DR, I saw one right around the corner from me in Las Galeras at Playita beach. In the three instances that I saw them, they were in about 2 feet of water on a white sandy bottom so viewing conditions were ideal.

And as 'wud ponted out, your dead wrong about the extreme level of toxcity these little snakes have. The only snake on land that compares in toxicity is a Coral snake, who's venom also attacks the nervous system and you suffocate.

And for our tourist friends, I've only seen these snakes 3 times in over 50 years of diving so the chance that a tourist would see one is pretty rare.

And make no mistake about it, this post is made by Andy B, the original. Original what I don't know, but the original none the less.

andy a · #10 09-12-2002, 11:08 PM

Where they only have fer-de-lances, bushmasters, cascavels, coral snakes, etc.

In fact, since I enjoy the countryside, a big attraction of the DR for me is the fact that I don't have to worry about poisonous snakes, especially at night when the fun begins.

I'm well aware of how toxic, at least drop for drop, that sea snakes are. But as Steve Irwin tells us, the fierce snake (actually, inland taipan) is the world's most toxic, either drop for drop or in total lethal dose. Bryan Greg Fry, also an Aussie, maintains a database of relative snake venom toxicities.