Reptile Discovery Center<\/a> and Medtoxin Laboratory is home to some of the most dangerous snakes on the planet, where venom is carefully extracted, studied, and transformed into life-saving treatments around the world.<\/p>\nWhen you visit this laboratory, it\u2019s a good idea to keep a safe distance.<\/p>\n
Here, some of the world\u2019s most deadly snakes are laid out, and venom is methodically extracted from one dangerous snake at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cVenoms are produced here from about 25 or 30 different species, and they are processed and shipped all around the world,\u201d said Carl Barden, director of Medtoxin Laboratories at the Reptile Discovery Center.<\/p>\n
Barden and his wife, Mara\u00a0Barden, work as a team, safely guiding the reptiles to naturally bite down so venom can be collected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re passionate about the work that we do here. It has a real-world impact\u2014antivenom and a lifesaving drug,\u201d Carl Barden said.<\/p>\n
That venom is used for antivenoms, pharmaceuticals, and research, with refrigerators full of compounds ready to be shipped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the antivenom refrigerator,\u201d Carl Barden said. \u201cAnd this is where we store snakebite serums \u2014 antivenom from all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of that serum is kept solely in case Barden himself is bitten, and antivenom he would take with him to a nearby hospital to save his life, and it\u2019s happened before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had 11 snakebites in the last 35 years of collecting snake venom,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of those was a cobra bite. That particular bite almost killed me, put me on a ventilator for 14 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the danger, Carl Barden believes the risk is no different from other professions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the deaths from snake bites and snake handlers, the numbers are actually fairly low,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Medtoxin is more than just a snake lab.<\/p>\n
Visitors are welcome to learn about reptiles and their role around the world, watch venom extractions from a front-row seat, and explore an outdoor walking trail home to various creatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, things like king cobras and black mambas, kaboom vipers, puff adders,\u201d Carl Barden said. \u201cAll of those snakes are on display at the Discovery Center, so people can come and see animals that are responsible for snake bite problems around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snakebites are a fascinating paradox: Snake venom, while deadly, holds the key to its own lifesaving treatments.<\/p>\n
The Reptile Discovery Center<\/a> is open to the public Thursday through Sunday.<\/p>\nAdmission is $13.50 for adults, $12.50 for children ages 4 to 17, and free for children 3 and under.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DELAND, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A DeLand operation is quietly doing life-saving work one venomous bite at a time. What You…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[124948,60876,124947,124949,124950,632,85,46,8467,124945,141,867,124946,24277],"class_list":{"0":"post-229135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-app-florida-on-a-tankful","9":"tag-app-human-interest","10":"tag-app-latest-human-interest-stories","11":"tag-app-things-to-do","12":"tag-florida-on-a-tankful","13":"tag-human-interest","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-orlando","17":"tag-randy-rauch","18":"tag-science","19":"tag-things-to-do","20":"tag-trip-on-a-tankful","21":"tag-volusia-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}