#adders

[bonefall]

(Snake related ask!)

If a cat died of an adder bite then how would it take for them to die?

My Autistic brain is trying puzzle out The Mystery That Is Snakes lol.

5 - 7 days! Frecklewish's death was actually, I have to give it credit, very accurate!

...........if they'd correctly described A FUCKING ADDER

BECAUSE THE SNAKE THAT BITES HER IS GREEN, they call it an adder but they said its color is "dark green". So, you know, there just happens to be a wild Boomslang in England, Australian fans stay winnin'

But the symptoms she's displaying are perfectly accurate to an untreated adder bite

She is bitten on the face, which would cause painful swelling

That describes how she's "blinded" very well, with Bloomheart being mistaken that they could "wash the venom out."

Her "foaming at the mouth" is not actually in the book, from what I remember

Because she was bitten in the face, that wasn't direct envenomation to a major artery. She would have died over several days or had a good chance of survival

She leaped at Mapleshade and landed in a snakehole, which is exactly the kind of situation where an adder would lunge to bite

When trying to understand snakes, it helps to remember that the venom of every snake is unique, with different potency and way of killing. This is because snake venom's purpose is to kill its prey as quickly as possible so it doesn't hurt the hunter. Venom is a perfect concoction to quickly neutralize specific animals.

So you get some quirks with snakes of various species where "1 drop of venom can kill 10000 elephants immediately no miss," because the animal they're hunting is evolving resistance to THAT SPECIFIC TYPE of venom, forcing them to use deadlier and deadlier strains! Most venomous snakes aren't in a Tom and Jerry ass evolutionary arms race with one particular animal that Won't Fucking Die.

And Vipera Berus is a good example of that. It's the only venomous snake that can live in the arctic circle, and it eats all sorts of small animals that die fast when bitten. That venom wasn't meant to kill cats or dogs, just be painful enough that they would leave the Adder alone.

[feather-bone]

European adder 🐍 ! Remember, if you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous; if it bites you and you die, it’s venomous.

[ID: an illustration of a light brown snake with darker stripes coiled with its head facing down. It is surrounded by bones, on a red background. End.

[thefriendlyfour]

Snake in the Grass

When a pair of agents from Domino's past go M.I.A., he and Steelbeak are called on to track down the missing men. Will this assignment be as easy as it seems or will there be more to the situation than meets the eye?

An amazing gift fic by @psychosistr and the latest in the SteelDomino fic series! Some first encounters with OCs and a perilous encounter overall! Enjoy the suspense! Tumblr Link

AO3 Link

[psychosistr]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steelbeak (Disney)/Original Character(s), Steelbeak/Dominic Domino, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s) Characters: Steelbeak (Disney), Dominic Domino - Character, Shoots - Character, Adders, Kadin, Original Characters, Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Mission Fic, Rescue Missions, Illusions, Hurt, steeldomino, birthday fic, Snakes, Canon-Typical Violence, Gun Violence, (But it's nothing gratuitous or bloody) Series: Part 8 of Falling Like SteelDominos Summary:

When a pair of agents from Domino's past go M.I.A., he and Steelbeak are called on to track down the missing men. Will this assignment be as easy as it seems or will there be more to the situation than meets the eye?

[benvironment]

Probably stuff of nightmares for some of you but hey 😉 Best adder encounter to date (other than the swimming one last month of course!). Spotted just a short walk from the house. 🙂

Not one....not two....🐍

[concerningwolves]

the letter A

I'm going to do adders for this one.

Folk belief holds that adders are deaf. This is quite fun because something that crops up a lot in English folk medicine (and possibly elsewhere) is the idea that like cures like, so melted-down adder fat was prized as a cure for deafness. I don't know how the adder fat was used, but I do wonder if it's similar to using olive oil drops in the ears to break up earwax....? Adder skin was also said to cure many other ailments, ranging from headaches and stomach aches to cuts and thorn pricks. Its uses varied from county to county. Despite this, adders themselves are seen as death omens or bringers of bad luck, so I can't help but feel bad for the little guys.

[Send me the first letter of your name and I'll tell you some fun folklore facts about a creature or critter whose name also begins with that letter]

[rob76photography]

Two adders I found in the summer. The only venomous snake of the UK.

[theop1]

my 4bitadder design

opinionion?

[maypoleman1]

4th April

Dick Whittington

Source: alchetron.com

On this day in 1406, Richard Whittington became Lord Mayor of London for the third time, fulfilling the contemporaneous rhyme ‘Turn again Whittington, thou worthy citizen, Lord Mayor of London’. The timeless rags-to-riches tale of the kitchen lad being persuaded by London’s bells to turn back to the city Dick had almost given up on, and then making his fortune thanks to his cat’s rat-catching abilities aboard a wealthy merchantman, is sadly completely made up. Whittington was the son of a Gloucestershire landowner, and therefore elevation to the London Lord Mayoralty was perhaps not so remarkable - although achieving the office three times was quite impressive. Even his famous cat may have been a play on words: Richard made his fortune by trading in coal which was carried up and down the waterways in cargo boats known as “ketches”. It is a wonderful story though.

Early April is also the time you are most likely to encounter Britain’s only venomous snake, the adder, as they emerge from their winter sleep and go in search of a mate. In Britain, adders were often depicted as well-guardians, probably reflecting an ancient belief in serpent-deities who protected wells before they became progressively dedicated to Christian saints. Adders also have a reputation for divination and a carving of Verbeira, a Romano-British river goddess, has been discovered in West Yorkshire, clutching two snakes. The carving now rests, perhaps a little incongruously, in the church at Ilkley.

[westywallowing]

my favorite scene redraw from S5E13: "Migration"

[bonniecupcake]

DAY 2 - SPECIES SWAP AU

Using @alt-zadr-b1tch3z event to draw more of my swap AU boys 😗

[bonefall]

If you do end up postponing Honeyfern's death 'til Battle of the True Eclipse (personally not a fan of this idea, gotta maintain the "anyone can die" vibe I was hooked on in middle school), what long-term effects after surviving a snake bite could Honeyfern expect? Alternatively, how feasable would her canon death be as the impetus for proper Berrynose Development instead of just making him sad for a while? Or is there not enough wiggle room for that?

I mostly don't want Proper Berrynose Development because I love the snotball. How can you not love the guy? He is SUCH a jerk and I love this about him. Never change, Berrynose, never change.

But the long-term effects of Honeyfern surviving the bite of an adder? It depends, but if it was a "survivable" bite, very little! Maybe some permanent nerve pain in the area. If it traveled, organ damage. The bite of an adder causes damage done to the cells it comes in contact with. "Venom-induced necrosis" is the fancy word for it.

In layman's terms, it burns the area it's exposed to like an acid. That's why it's not as serious if it doesn't get injected into a major artery-- it stays in that part of the body and damages it. If it gets into the bloodstream, it's carried to major organs and causes organ damage.

It HURTS though, it hurts and swells and it's VERY painful. Frecklewish being bitten between the eyes would blind her from the swelling. Honeyfern would have a fever and rapid heartbeat for several days.

Don't get me wrong though, an adder bite is a very serious injury, and they're treating this with stinging nettle, not actual antivenom.

[feyspeaker]

cover I recently did for Naomi Lucas for her upcoming omnibus for her Naga Brides series!! link to her site

[psychosistr]

Snake in the Grass- Chapter 5

Summary: Dominic and his team have found a way to the roof but, before they have a chance to climb up, the enemy agents appear for one last confrontation; who will come out on top?

Notes: Time for the thrilling conclusion- enjoy!

-First Chapter-

It took some time, cautious exploration, and more than a few dead ends, but eventually Dominic and his team found an old hatch to the roof on the fourth floor in one of the maintenance rooms. Unlike the other doors in the building, the maintenance hatch was considerably older and was only fitted with a basic padlock instead of the electronic ones on the ground floor & throughout the building. With one quick shot from the loon’s pistol, the lock fell apart and Adders was able to use his full height to reach the hatch & open it. The ladder inside dropped down instantly and the trio could see traces of sunlight through the cover at the top.

“I’ll go up firsssst and get the top off.” Adders offered before winding himself up the ladder towards the roof.

Dominic and Shoots waited below, keeping an eye out for their enemies. Their task seemed to be going well and, if the loon’s experiences so far today were anything to go by, that meant that something had to come along to ruin it.

Just as the thought crossed the sharp shooter’s mind, the door to the maintenance room suddenly swung open. The feathered pair heard their serpentine companion’s call about the enemies returning and already had their guns drawn. Before they could take the first shot, however, there was a sudden explosion of black powder  around the two that partially blinded the gunmen while forcing them into coughing fits.

Staggering back, the loon’s foot made contact with something plastic and he looked down to find an industrial-sized toner cartridge had been left open and tossed into the room. How had he not seen or heard that coming-?

“Get offa me!!” Through the haze of blackness and muted colors, Dominic caught a glimpse of Shoots wrestling with the lizard they’d seen earlier. The reptile was using its extremely long tail to wrap the smaller bird up with surprising strength for something so thin.

Dominic aimed his pistol- the one loaded with standard lead bullets- right at the grass lizard’s head. It was hard to get a clear shot with the way the two were fighting, but he followed their movements closely and was just about to pull the trigger when the lizard’s partner intervened and rushed at him. The wolf grabbed Dominic’s arm, the sleeve of his coat to be more exact, and yanked it at the last second to throw off his aim- causing him to miss his shot.

Too restrained now to help his teammate, Dominic turned his focus to the wolf currently restraining his arm (without touching him, thankfully) and trying to pry his pistol out of his hand. The canine was strong, he’d give him credit for that, but Dominic was no pushover and kept a tight grip on his weapon.

In the midst of their struggle, the gun was turned around until its muzzle pointed straight upwards. Taking the opportunity, Dominic put all of his strength into shoving the pistol beneath the wolf’s snout and pulled the trigger- sending a bullet straight up through his lower jaw.

To his surprise, though, there was no blood. How could there be no blood at all? How could the enemy agent not wince or howl in pain with a hole shot through his mouth? Nothing about this was making any sense. 

The wolf used the surprise to finally yank the pistol out of his hand. Instead of turning it on its owner, however, he turned the safety on and dropped it to the ground. With the loon’s hand empty, the larger man used the firm grip he had on the waterfowl’s sleeve to force his hand closer to the wolf’s snout.

Dark fingers flinched away, Dominic’s first thought being that the canine would try to bite him, but that didn’t happen. Instead, he just pressed the loon’s hand against the side of his mouth and……and it felt cool?

The initial shock from both the feeling and the fact that the contact hadn’t set off his usual touch-based aggression wore off and Dominic confirmed that, yes, it felt cool and hard instead of warm and soft. Considering his last partner and boyfriend was also a canine (albeit a different species), he was very familiar with how a dog’s mouth was supposed to feel and it didn’t feel like-

Like metal.

Allowing his fingers to uncurl from their previous tight-fisted state, Dominic let his fingertips touch the cool surface carefully- feeling the smooth planes of hard metal between small ridges and seams. The more he touched, the more the sensation felt so familiar; every subtle ridge, every sharp seam, the way it fit so perfectly into the palm of his hand were all something he seemed to know by heart. He also found that the shape of it didn’t match what he was seeing. It felt more like a beak than a-

The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

A beak. A beak made of METAL.

“Steelbeak..?” The name left his mouth in a shocked whisper. The world around Dominic flickered in and out of focus, colors becoming more vivid instead of the dull and desaturated tones he’d attributed to the building’s faulty lighting.

As everything around him settled, the first thing he saw was the face of the emotionless, unknown SHUSH agent morphing into the familiar visage of his boyfriend. Steelbeak had a strained smile on his face, but there was clear relief in his dark gray eyes when they met the loon’s red ones. “Welcome back, Deedee.”

Dominic’s eyes were wide as they darted from his partner, to the rest of the room, to where he’d seen Shoots wrestling with the green lizard earlier but now saw the cardinal in a similar state of shock wrapped in Adders’ coils with the snake’s metal arm wrapped around him in a light headlock, then back to his partner. Then, he saw it- the bullet-sized hole and warped, still hot metal on both halves of his beak. His blood ran cold with the dawning realization that HE did that.

He’d actually SHOT his boyfriend.

“Oh god…” Dominic felt his hands shaking but ignored it in favor of carefully touching the rooster’s face. He didn’t touch his beak, far too worried about causing the other man any more pain than he was probably in already, but he still needed the assurance that he was actually there. “Pauly, I’m..I didn’t mean..I’m-”

“It’s alright, Dom. N-Not your fault.” Steelbeak’s smile didn’t falter, but it was still strained and the wince he gave when he spoke hadn’t gone unnoticed.

He would’ve argued that it didn’t matter- that he was still at fault for pulling the trigger and injuring his partner- but the blade slap of a helicopter’s rotor above them stopped the admission of guilt before it started. Dominic looked at the maintenance hatch and realized that he could now see the light of day coming down unfiltered. The cover at the top must have been removed.

A burning, fierce fury bubbled within the loon’s chest and he ran for the ladder. The guilt he felt over hurting his partner had been eclipsed by the need to make someone pay for the physical & mental anguish every one of them had endured that day. “He’s NOT getting away with this!!” Dominic climbed up the rungs fast enough that the frame rattled.

When he reached the top, he spotted a dark helicopter with SHUSH’s logo printed on the side in gray (leave it to Hooter and Gryzlikoff to pick the blandest color pallet). The side of it was open and, instead of a traditional rope ladder, a cable with a trail of metal platforms cut & tilted to form a spiral path up towards the helicopter’s opening was dangling down towards the roof. Near the top of the cable was a large black snake in its version of a suit- the one who’d manipulated Dominic & Shoots, the loon’s mind knew instantly- winding himself up the metal spiral to get into the copter.

Once he had his feet firmly planted on the flat rooftop, Dominic drew his remaining pistol and followed the shadowy serpent’s movements. It was a tricky shot with the intense downfall from the helicopter’s blades and swaying motion of the cable, but he was a very good shot. After only a second, Dominic pulled the trigger and managed to nail the snake right in the chest twice just as he was about to enter the cabin.

His pistol was still loaded with the ice rounds, so the hit wouldn’t have been fatal to anyone who was warm blooded. To a cold blooded serpent, however, the rapidly spreading ice would be a death sentence if it weren’t treated right away. That fact coupled with the shout of pure agony when the manipulative snake nearly fell off of the cable brought the loon some satisfaction. The small moment of victory was tainted by other SHUSH agents reaching out of the open cabin to save their coworker from falling to his death. Working together, they managed to pull the quickly freezing snake into the helicopter before it flew away.

Dominic took a few more shots at the retreating chopper (just because he technically couldn’t bring down a nearly military-grade vehicle with a handgun didn’t mean he wasn’t angry enough to at least try), but ultimately had to stew in his own anger and frustration once it faded into the horizon. If he’d known that the ice he shot at the shadowy serpent���s chest had completely ruined a harddrive full of classified FOWL documents and data, making the enemy agent’s mission a complete failure, then Dominic would have felt some vindication; as it stood, however, he had no way to know that and was left with nothing but anger and the clawing guilt working its way back into his mind now that he had nothing to take his frustrations out on.

With nothing left for him to do on the roof, the loon climbed back down into the maintenance room to join the rest of his team. He found his partner waiting for him at the base of the ladder. One look at the darker fowl’s face told him all he needed to know and he had the decency not to ask unnecessary questions that would irritate him further. “We’ll get ‘em next time, Dom.”

“Yeah..” Those words were little comfort now that he was face to face with the taller man and had to look at the hole shot straight through his beak- the hole that he’d shot through it. “Pauly, I-”

“Don’t.” Steelbeak interrupted him, though he kept his voice calm. “It wasn’t your fault, ya didn’t know.” The chief officer’s words still did little to comfort his partner. He seemed to read the loon’s mood so, instead, he turned his focus on the other pair in the room. “Ya good over there, stretch?”

Dominic saw his former teammates in the corner. Adders tried to smile at them while (ironically, given he was the more injured one) comforting his partner- the cardinal clinging to him and sobbing apologies again & again. “I’m okay, nothing broken.” He patted Shoots’ back with his damaged mechanical arm, looking at the burnt and broken metal with a slight frown. “Well…exccccept thesssse. Guessss I’ll have to tossss them..”

Shoots lifted his head from the snake’s red shirt and rubbed his sleeve across his eyes before looking at the reptile. “Bro, what’re we gonna do? You already went through all your replacements for the year- the guys up top won’t give you any more ‘til January.”

“I wouldn’t sweat it too much.” The chief officer waved off their concerns. “I know a gu-” Steelbeak cut himself off, apparently looking for the right words before continuing. “I know a person that can get us patched up. Nothin’ on the books, no one gets in trouble, no harm no foul. I’ll give hi- them a call an’ see if we can book a flight tomorrow.” He looked at his partner. “Oh, an’ Dee?”

Dominic met his boyfriend’s gaze hesitantly. “Yes?”

The corner of the metal-mouthed fowl’s beak lifted in a small smile. “Looks like we’re gettin’ takeout tonight.”

The comment actually got a surprised laugh out of the loon and he returned the look with a small smile of his own. “I guess we are.” Dominic still felt a heavy weight in his chest whenever his eyes lingered too long on the taller man’s injured beak, but his partner seemed intent on keeping things positive so he’d try to do the same.

Things would be okay now, he told himself. They would be okay.

End Notes: Well, this was a fun gift to write and it feels good to push myself like this again. Happy belated birthday again, @eleanorose123 ! ^.^

<-Previous Chapter

[herpsandbirds]

Many-horned Adder (Bitis cornuta), family Viperidae, northern Cape of South Africa

Venomous.

photograph by Robin James Backhouse