Sea Snakes!!!!!!!

[itchy]

I have a great story...when we were snorkling in Maui at Ka'anapauli beach my husband got bit by a stars and stripes puffer on the thumb. We were feeding the fish as this is a big thing along the shore line there. The puffer was about 18 inches long and almost as big around...anyway he was huge. All I could see was my husband swimming to shore as fast as he could and this HUGE 18 inch puffer right behind him..lol to hear him tell the story the puffer was the size of jaws. However the bite was thru his thumb nail almost to the bone. People here in Kentucky love that story but the only stars and stripes puffer you see here might be 8 inches so of course they laugh.
A little off topic here but yeah I am sure there will be stories for days about this capture...you will have to keep us posted. Just be sure to give us a deadline incase we don't hear from you and we can contact animal control.....

 

[mudplayerx]

Dragonfli, the reason I am concerned is because of the potency of this creature's venom. There is a zero percent chance of survival if bitten.

 

[dragonfli]

i caught one of those while (pole) fishing and we use steel leaders to keep the fish from biting through the line. well this guy bit through the whole freaking lure. this was a big ocean lure. those guys got some big old grinders. hundreds of little sand paper teeth.
did his thumb get through it ok?
that might be better than actually having coral growing in your hand. i guess i am doing something illegal. i do have "hard" coral that's from the ocean that i took out of the ocean......but it is under the skin...and growing!
and by the way all fish that chase you ARE the size of jaws!

 

[dragonfli]

really................zero! wow i need to do more reading. let me know where youare reading and ill search there. i need all the info i can get

 

[itchy]

Yeah all the reading I am doing says that they don't bite humans unless they are in a threating situation....I think your situation would be considered a threating one....but it does say they most bites are lethal...

 

[dragonfli]

i am reading that when they are small that their teeth arnt big enough to get past the thickness of neoprene. now im not saying that a pair of neoprene gloves will get me the confidence that i need to battle this serpent from hell. but i am saying that i do have at least one ounce of confidence in getting him out with-out a hitch. but if there is one and im not back on here by monday ..............have a sec. of silence for you former marine aquarist.

 

[itchy]

I still think you might want to rethink this...hell can you just bait a hook with some cut bait and hope he comes out. Or better yet...CALL ANIMAL CONTROL!!!!!
And yes you may want to check legalities on removing live coral from the ocean....it is my understanding that all the reef is federally protected. I know it doesn't make since condsidering we have reef tanks but I sware there are laws against removing wild life from the ocean.
yes his thumb came thru it okay....he just won't go into the ocean with me anymore, we have snorkled together 3 times and all 3 times something has happen, the last being the puffer.....he is done with the ocean,

 

[monalisa]

Let us know what happens...I'm really interested . Hope everything goes good. My advice would be, when you catch that little bugger, well never mind...
Lisa (normally not that way, but...) :happyfish

 

[dragonfli]

ITCHY... the way i removed coral from the ocean was while diving scraped some reef. i got outta the water and noticed my friends hand was bleeding really bad. we cleaned it up and went on out way. i didnt notice that i had a cut on my knee until later. fast foreward the story and he had to go in for surgery a month ago because the coral was growing in his hand at a very accelerated rate. i have some growing in my knee but the doc says not to worry because it isnt enough to cause problems.

:notsure:
so that is how we got it out. funny some people cant get the stuff to grow in their thousand dollar tanks, but give the coral a knee cap or a wrist and hey they'll grow fine.

 

[itchy]

That is diffently a great story... I have never heard of anything like that. but yes, you are right there will be a bunch of people on here scratching their head wondering how in the hell can coral grow there if I can't get it to grow in my tank ... mmmmmm :notsure: Well good luck with the Snake charming..

Hope you don't have to work all weekend as it might be a long for you. Keep us posted. :happy: maybe that will keep you awake.....

 

[tizzo]

OK this will sound trivial but I gotta ask... Can't you net him when he comes up for air?? Don't they come up every couple of hours?? I just read (since you posted this) that they don't have many predators so they aren't in any hurry nor are they quick to bite and even slower to release venom!! Not to say that it's safe, but I don't think you need to call in the guard...yet... If you do hafta resort to animal control, try to get all your LR out first, they will prolly just put it on the floor. Consideration for your tank will not be a priority. They will probably be rolling their eyes at the fact that you have it there to begin with and your just a dumb hobbiest anyway... As far as your friend, I wouldn't "defriend" him because he added that thing. He had good intentions... I would defriend him for his, "You get them for nothing" attitude!! He doesn't even seem to care about what you are loosing, from what you described! And what shop on Oahu?? I used to live on that island, I'd be curious to know if I've ever been to your shop. Man, I miss that place. Think I can stay with you for a few days while I vacation??

 

[rubberduck]

Originally Posted by dragonfli
ITCHY... the way i removed coral from the ocean was while diving scraped some reef. i got outta the water and noticed my friends hand was bleeding really bad. we cleaned it up and went on out way. i didnt notice that i had a cut on my knee until later. fast foreward the story and he had to go in for surgery a month ago because the coral was growing in his hand at a very accelerated rate. i have some growing in my knee but the doc says not to worry because it isnt enough to cause problems.

:notsure:
so that is how we got it out. funny some people cant get the stuff to grow in their thousand dollar tanks, but give the coral a knee cap or a wrist and hey they'll grow fine.
how does it grow without water???

 

[dragonfli]

I waited for a while(as long as i had free time) and the little bugger never came up for air. im at my shop almost 12 hours a day.(hence me being on here so much)
i havent been able to sit in front of the tank for the full amount of time. but i read that they can actually absorb the oxygen while they sleep, and last hours and hours. so im going to use the minnow trap. and then ill use it in the ocean to see what else i can catch. but im not too sure i like the idea of catching something that i dont want in my tank, or on my plate. so i might just keep it to get unwanteds outta my tank.
where did you live and how long ago? tizz

 

[tizzo]

Well first I lived next to the Dole plantation. Part of Scoffield Barracks, but 6 miles away is the signal battalion barracks. Then I lived in Waihiawa. Only place I ever saw that had an ocean view from the bedroom and mountains from the living room!! (Yeah, so the ocean was quite a ways away, but I saw it none the less)! Where do you catch your fish? Oh I lived there...ummm...10 years ago. But it doesn't seem that long I swear! Wow...10 years. I was 22 when I moved away.

 

[hermitkrab]

Wow that sucks! :yes: But anyway... since there aren't any fish in your tank couldn't you just up the salt level? :thinking: Well I guess you could use the minnow trap but this ain't no minnow so make sure it can take the serpent abuse or he might just bust out and bite you and your kids! :scared: But if the minnow trap doesn't work or you decide against it you could either call Animal Control or you could use chemicals to kill the snake in the tank. Good luck though!

And I thought my killer hermit crab was bad!

 

[fishieness]

not sure what type of fish you have, but you can use the minnow trap to catch some live food if you have any agressives?

 

[dragonfli]

WOW MY WIFE IS FROM WAHIAWA.(id love to know how readers are pronouncing that right now) yeah weve had our store open for 2 years.
man has wahiawa changed in the past few years.
i dive kaneohe bay lately...we kayak out about an hour to the outer reef. i live in laie.

 

[tizzo]

Did I mention I miss that place?? I'd like to see how people pronounce Like Like!! hahahaha

 

[dragonfli]

rubber duck- i have no idea how the coral grows but im trying to find a pic of the piece that they took outta my friends wrist. i asked if i could use it in my tank. because it is legal because it came outta him not outta the ocean.

he wasnt amused.
fishieness-i dont have anymore fish besides a hawaiian puffer. he likes pellets.
hermit-the snake doesnt breath the water like fish, so he wouldnt care what the water peramiters were.
so i am still at work and want to go home and play withmy lethal pet. i dont get to go home for another 4 hours. i want the bugger out. ill take a pic too. then youll see that all this fuss is about a common"garden snake," that happened into my tank.

 

[dragonfli]

oh you mean the like like (pronounced like mike mike) ha i love driving first timers by the sign and waiting for them to say it. i have to admit i said it wrong the first time. and i was all cocky about it too. how would you spell the pronunciation leaky leaky?