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MELBOURNE - A Melbourne teenager is recovering in hospital after twice being bitten by a tiger snake while bushwalking.
The 15-year-old was hiking with a friend in Kinglake National Park north-east of the city on Sunday when "the snake latched onto his ankle then let go before having another go and biting him again", Rural Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.
"When our paramedics arrived, the boy was complaining of stomach cramps and blurred vision, which is common for snake bites. He and his friend had put a couple of tourniquets on his ankle. They knew what they were doing and the boy seemed to know his snakes as he [told] our crew it was a tiger snake."
Paramedics swapped the tourniquets for a pressure bandage and flew him to the Royal Children's Hospital.
Mullen said: "The current advice is not to use a tourniquet but use a pressure bandage, but I doubt he had one to hand, so given the circumstances he knew what he was doing."
- AAP
