"If you keep horses, you're gonna get kicked; if you keep snakes you're gonna get bit," claims Mount Ousley man Mick Mather, who is recovering from a venomous snake bite.
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The 50-year-old licensed reptile keeper is just starting to get feeling back in his left index finger after his curl snake literally bit the hand that fed it three weeks ago.
The Australian native snake is dark reddish brown with a distinctively darker head, and its venom - for which there is no antivenom - is neurotoxic.
Mr Mather was rushed to Wollongong hospital after the bite on January 9 and then spent seven days having antibiotics administered intravenously.
"I was attempting to take a photo of the curl snake - a captive-bred snake - when it leapt at me from its enclosure and latched onto my finger; I'd never seen one leap like that one did," he said.
"There was no pain at first, then as the venom moved through my finger and up my arm I started to feel excruciating pain.
"If you keep venomous snakes you have a protocol you follow, so I quickly wound my arm in a bandage and got to hospital where I got blood tests.
"There's no antivenom for a curl snake bite, so I was put on intravenous antibiotics for the next seven days to stop blood poisoning."
Mr Mather - who teaches others how to avoid snake bites - has been nursing his red and swollen finger, and his pride, ever since.
He runs a course which shows young tradespeople how to identify snakes on construction sites.
"Sometimes when you pick up a pallet of bricks or other building materials you'll find a snake underneath, so I show them photos to help them identify snakes that are harmless, and those that are venomous," Mr Mather said.
"It's best to leave them alone - you're more likely to get bit trying to move them or touch them - and call in the authorities if you suspect they might be venomous."
As for the prized curl snake, Mr Mather's wife has given it its marching orders. Although the experience hasn't dinted his passion for reptiles.
"I've been hospitalised twice before from bites from other venomous snakes - and you often get bitten by your non-venomous snakes," he said.
"I got my first snake, a diamond python, when I was seven and I've had hundreds of them over the last four decades.
"I used to do a lot of breeding of tiger and taipan snakes for zoos, but now it's just a hobby, a passion of mine."
