Should have put it in a bottle of shochu

Recently while I was weeding the garden, I skewered a snake on my pitchfork... It was a 'mamushi', the most poisonous snake around here (so I'm told), easily recognisable by its pattern and triangular-shaped head. It was still moving, but had a huge metal spike going right through its body, so killing it seemed like the kindest option. I tried to cut it in half with my spade and even a pair of shears, but it was surprisingly stubborn and by the time it finally stopped writhing I felt like an incompetent executioner...I put it in my fridge and the next day peeled its skin and fed it to my wasps, who seemed to like it.

But apparently this wasn't the right thing to do at all! Because of the strong poison it contains, this species is considered medicinal and is used as a cure for all sorts of things. According to several people in the neighbourhood, I should have put it in a bottle of shochu (distilled liquor), preferably while it was still alive.

Fortunately I've also been told that 'where there's one mamushi, there's always another', because they live in pairs (Sweet. Monogamous snakes. According to Wikipedia, though, in many snake species the males are monogamous while the females are polygamous.). So, from now on, when I'm working in the garden, I'll be on the lookout for another snake - and this time, it's going in shochu.