Exotic Snakebite

Numerous dangerous exotic venomous snakes exist in Australia, both legally in zoos and other institutions, and illegally in private collections. These snakes pose often quite different threats, through different envenoming profiles, compared to Australian snakes, requiring different management responses.

Exotic venomous snakes known to exist in Australia range from relatively minor species, to some of the potentially most dangerous species. Detail of what to expect following bites by each species is beyond the scope of this document. However, a current list of exotic species kept legally, together with envenoming profiles and management plans, is available at the Zoobase website.

See also www.toxinology.net which provides the following management protocols and other information:

Several species of exotic and potentially dangerous Elapid snakes are kept by participating institutions. For each species listed below, there is a treatment protocol, designed for use within Australia. The protocols are large PDF documents (some exceed 1MB); clicking on the link should download the relevant PDF file. Please note all these PDFs are copyright and are subject to change without notice. See also disclaimer at foot of this page.

Several species of exotic and potentially dangerous Viperid snakes are kept by participating institutions. For each species listed below, there is a treatment protocol, designed for use within Australia. The protocols are large PDF documents (some exceed 1MB); clicking on the link should download the relevant PDF file. Please note all these PDFs are copyright and are subject to change without notice. See also disclaimer at foot of this page.

Further information on these and other venomous snakes may be found on the Clinical Toxinology Resources Website.