Western Green Mamba

DESCRIPTION:

The Western Green Mamba has a long and slender body with a long tapering tail. The average length of an adult is between 1.4 metres and 2.1 metres, with large specimens approaching 2.4 metres long. The snake is bright green fading to yellow or orange towards the tail. Its scales have prominent black margins, giving the species a net-like pattern.

HABITS & HABITAT:

Western Green Mambas live mainly in the coastal tropical rainforest, thicket, and woodland regions of western Africa. The majority of records of the western green mamba are from within the continuous forest, but the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau records are from isolated forests. It has been found in areas where the tree cover has been removed, providing that sufficient hedges and thicket remain. Found in some suitably vegetated suburbs and towns and parklands therein. Mostly diurnal, this is a fairly large and predominantly arboreal species, capable of navigating through trees swiftly and gracefully. It will also descend to ground level to pursue prey such as rodents and other small mammals. It generally retreats if encountered and only likely to bite if grabbed or molested.

DISTRIBUTION:

Gambia, Senegal, Guinea (Conakry), Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo. Reports from Central African Republic and Nigeria are dubious and not verified.

VENOM:

The venom of the Western Green Mamba is potently neurotoxic, quick-acting and is a serious medical emergency.

SYMPTOMS:

The venom causes rapid paralysis, weakness, respiratory distress and death can follow. Mild to no pain but neurological symptoms include: Ptosis; Slurred Speech; Ataxia; Difficulty breathing and swallowing; Tingling in the face and especially the lips, Confusion, Nausea and vomiting; Thirst; Metallic taste in the mouth; Anxiety; General Weakness.

FIRST AID:

Apply a tourniquet above the bite site using a broad belt or an inflated blood-pressure cuff. Arrange for immediate transport to an advanced medical facility that offers antivenom and respiratory support. Medical staff must release the tourniquet very slowly ONLY AFTER the administration of antivenom has begun.

ANTIVENOM:

EchiTab-Plus-ICP – 4 to 10 vials.