What Aussie doctors discovered when a teen filmed her snake bite

She is only the second confirmed case of envenomation by the ‘shy’ small-eyed snake

Australian doctors are reporting the unusual case of a teen who filmed herself being willingly bitten by an unfamiliar but venomous snake.

Before the 18-year-old presented to the ED, there had only been one other confirmed case of envenomation by the small-eyed snake (Cryptophis nigrescens), the Cairns Hospital doctors say.

For reasons not detailed in their report, Dr Ruth Young and Dr Mark Little say their patient decided to capture a 30cm long black snake on Australia Day 2021.

She then allowed the reptile to repeatedly bite her right hand, videotaping the entire incident.