My Buddy 'Chester'

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hellihooks
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My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by hellihooks »

So... i was working as a snake wrangler, for a HBO production out in the desert, and while patroling the perimeter, I was attacked by a bat... :shock:

It flew up, landed on my chest, and proceeded to bite my shirt, camera strap and then attacked my camera while I was attempting to film it... :shock:

At least this time I have a good excuse for crappy pics/video... :crazyeyes:
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attacking my camera...
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A few pics I managed to take...
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A cold front had moved in overnight, so no snakes... but saw some cool desert lizards... :thumb:
Mojave Fringe toed
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big Chuck...
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iggies...
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Awwww... little feller... :)
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Desert HL...
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GB Whips (everywhere)...
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And of course, the obligitory Side Blotch...
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An inquisitive bird...
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Shiney Cuts n Shallow Ruts jim
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ThamnElegans24
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Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 6:44 pm
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by ThamnElegans24 »

Wow, I don't think I'd remain calm enough to take photos while being attacked by a rabid bat. You sir are a better man than I am. I would have freaking LOST IT.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

That bat was probably rabid. Looks like a big brown.
hellihooks
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by hellihooks »

I've heard that while carriers, bat don't exhibit 'batshit' behavior when they have it. my theory is I may have spooked him from his roost (by disloging a rock) and as I WAS wearing a black shirt... he flew to that thinking it was a 'cave' and perhaps was attacking and biting stuff because of the noise the camera makes (soft whirring & clicks).

It was kinda like Mel Brooks's 'Young Frankenstein'... too funny to be scary... after prying him (literally) off my camera, I set him down into a little crevice, and it was only when he started biting the rocks, that rabies even occured to me.

I'm glad he didn't bite me... cause then I would have realized I need to kill him to have him tested for rabies... :shock: But... all's well that ends well... and while very strange... it was one of the 'cutest' things I've ever seen... :crazyeyes:
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

hellihooks wrote:I've heard that while carriers, bat don't exhibit 'batshit' behavior when they have it.
I don't think that is accurate. Rabid bats show atypical behavior, such as diurnal activity, biting and attacking people. You kind of have a "textbook" case there. Bats acting like yours test positive for rabies at a high rate.
hellihooks
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by hellihooks »

thank you... good to know. I don't know much about bats... :? dodged a bullitt then... i guess.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

I had a bat land on my face once and chomp down on my nose. Now I do have a big nose but this was ridiculous. I had a rabies booster even though I had been vaccinated before.

Rabies is nothing to play with.
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Antonsrkn
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by Antonsrkn »

If its saliva had anyway of coming in contact with small cuts, a hangnail, etc... on your hands when you took it off. Then you should be getting shots for rabies as well. I can't envision a scenario where this particularly likely but I wasn't there and don't know how you removed the bat from your person etc... My girlfriend was feeding a orphaned bat a while back and even though it never bit her the entire process of caring for it put her at risk and she had to go get the shots. Remember once you get symptoms its too late, after appearance of symptoms the mortality rate is something like 99.9%. And the anti-rabies shots are 100% effective if administered correctly (before the onset of symptoms).
I had a bat land on my face once and chomp down on my nose. Now I do have a big nose but this was ridiculous. I had a rabies booster even though I had been vaccinated before.
I'm sorry to laugh at your misfortune but I couldn't help it, that is absolutely ridiculous. I have never heard of something like that happening before. Yeah my understanding of the rabies booster is a little hazy, as I understand whether or not you have the rabies booster the procedure following a bite is exactly the same, you still have to go in and get a series of shots. So what benefit does the booster give?
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

Antonsrkn wrote:I'm sorry to laugh at your misfortune but I couldn't help it, that is absolutely ridiculous.
It is pretty funny in hindsight.
Antonsrkn wrote:Yeah my understanding of the rabies booster is a little hazy, as I understand whether or not you have the rabies booster the procedure following a bite is exactly the same, you still have to go in and get a series of shots. So what benefit does the booster give?
Even if you have a current rabies vaccine and high titer, a bite from a bat should initiate a series of boosters. Having said that, I don't know anyone that actually follows that advice. If you're bitten by a presumed healthy bat, captured while mist netting, most people with a current vaccine, just wash the bite and never go for a booster. In my situation, I felt like the bat had a high probability of being rabid so I got the booster. I wish I would have collected the bat for testing but I wasn't really on my best game after the bite. Bats collected during the day, acting strange, test positive for rabies at a pretty high rate. In fact in Nevada, I believe bats are the only wild rabies vectors.
hellihooks
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by hellihooks »

i used my thumbnail to pry the bat off my camera strap (rabies having never occured to me, at that time) he quit biting at everything while i was holding him, which made me think it the the soft clicking and whirring of my camera that was upsetting him... but when i put him down in the rocks... and he started biting the rocks, rabies finally occured to me. but... i was filming again... so again... maybe it was the sound of the camera that was setting him off.

I never got bit, nor had any open cuts on my hands or fingers... so will hopefully be fine. :thumb:
MCHerper
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Re: My Buddy 'Chester'

Post by MCHerper »

Bryan Hamilton wrote:
hellihooks wrote:I've heard that while carriers, bat don't exhibit 'batshit' behavior when they have it.
I don't think that is accurate. Rabid bats show atypical behavior, such as diurnal activity, biting and attacking people. You kind of have a "textbook" case there. Bats acting like yours test positive for rabies at a high rate.
I agree with Bryan. I think that you're rolling the dice if you don't get checked out.
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