Dog Bit By Snake

[Mathieu18]

Making this easy to find for later, I’ll probably forget details next time the dumb beagle sticks her head in a bush.

15lbs bit on the snoot earlier this week, her second time. Copperheads “tend” too dry bite but not guaranteed. This one was much smaller than the last. Seen reports that’s a myth about smaller being more dangerous but snake people I trust say it’s true so whatever. Also said you can get a bit of immunity. I don’t want to test it, but if the dogs been bit before by same species and did okay, favorable outlooks (nothing guaranteed!)

Pain, mild lethargy, minor swelling expected. Watch for dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea or especially petechiea or loss of fur/skin. Also breathing issues from swelling. Anticoagulant property of venom seems to be biggest concern. They can admin anti venom for 48 hours (at least per our ER vet, please don’t hold me to that). So my course of treatment will be to monitor for 24 and see how they do, gabapentin for pain if you can get them to eat. After 24hr, Watch for infections.

Otherwise most of the bad stories I’ve read, the dog won’t make it an hour, so if they’re hanging in now 3-4 hours on they’re hopefully okay, just continue to monitor.

Also, I’d say Benadryl not a bad idea, should take swelling and related potential breathing issue off the table, again if you can get them to eat something.

 

[LeeMajors]

Venom is venom no matter the size. The issue is the small or baby snakes haven't figured out how to control the amount of venom.

That's what I was told by a herpetologist when I was bitten 30 years ago

 

[SpecialK]

This page has the best toxicologists in the world as their admin/moderators. Reading through the posts will give you a ton of information. Post your dog and your questions and receive answers from the best.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/987850051297436/

 

[Mathieu18]

Venom is venom no matter the size. The issue is the small or baby snakes haven't figured out how to control the amount of venom.

That's what I was told by a herpetologist when I was bitten 30 years ago

Agree, and adults defensive bites tend to be dry because they don’t want to waste venom.

 

[Mathieu18]

This page has the best toxicologists in the world as their admin/moderators. Reading through the posts will give you a ton of information. Post your dog and your questions and receive answers from the best.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/987850051297436/

I love my dogs, even thought they’re stinky pains in the tail. But not enough to join Facebook.

 

[barf]

I love my dogs, even thought they’re stinky pains in the tail. But not enough to join Facebook.

Samesies.

 

[Downeast]

Our dogs have been bitten multiple times by copperheads. One, an 18-pound Jack Russell at least six times over the years. The last bite occurred back in April when the snake caught her in the thigh. Her entire rear end swelled like a balloon. We started her on 1mg of Benadryl per pound of body weight 3 times a day. Within 48 hours she was back to being her "normal" Jack. I figure that she has had so many bites that she must have some form of immunity to the venom.. The other dogs are larger at 70-80 pounds and have been bitten a few times and seem to do well on the Benadryl regime too. Rattlesnakes are a different story. A good bite will kill a dog and your best bet is to take the animal to the vet ASAP. Our first Jack Russel was bitten by a rattler and died within 12 hours at the vet. He did not stock antivenom. There is a "vaccination" for rattlesnake bites available and it is not that expensive. But it is not that effective but may give you some time and possibly save your dog's life. If you live in snake country, like we do, it may be wise to check with your local vets to see which one stocks anti-venom. Our new vet informed me that antivenom will set you back about $2K. For some odd reason most of our dogs have been bitten on weekends and the nearest emergency vet is 60 miles away. You need to do your homework before your dog gets bitten.

 

[Dead Eye-NC]

 

[Chuckman]

Our dogs have been bitten multiple times by copperheads. One, an 18-pound Jack Russell at least six times over the years. The last bite occurred back in April when the snake caught her in the thigh. Her entire rear end swelled like a balloon. We started her on 1mg of Benadryl per pound of body weight 3 times a day. Within 48 hours she was back to being her "normal" Jack. I figure that she has had so many bites that she must have some form of immunity to the bites. The other dogs are larger at 70-80 pounds and have been bitten a few times and seem to do well on the Benadryl regime too. Rattlesnakes are a different story. A good bite will kill a dog and your best bet is to take the animal to the vet ASAP. Our first Jack Russel was bitten by a rattler and died within 12 hours at the vet. He did not stock antivenom. There is a "vaccination" for rattlesnake bites available and it is not that expensive. But it is not that effective but may give you some time and possibly save your dog's life. If you live in snake country, like we do, it may be wise to check with your local vets to see which one stocks anti-venom. Our new vet informed me that antivenom will set you back about $2K. For some odd reason most of our dogs have been bitten on weekends and the nearest emergency vet is 60 miles away. You need to do your homework before your dog gets bitten.

The 'antidote' for humans (animals too??) is Cro-Fab, and for people it's often $20,000-$25,000 for multiple doses over 24-30 hours. I see on google that antivenin for dogs is $250-$350/vial.

 

[bondjamesbond]

What does the buttermilk do?

 

[Downeast]

Buttermilk is great in biscuits. Never thought about putting it in a dog? Whole milk is really good for reducing dehydration. Would that be the same with buttermilk?

 

[Etruett]

What does the buttermilk do?

Old Home Remedy taught by an old hunter that was my mentor raising deer hounds. There is no medical reason why it should work, but it does. I’ve personally seen it work 3 different times. Once when a vet was ready to throw in the towel.

 

[Brangus]

Trust me on this....get your dog to drink as much Butter Milk as possible...seriously!!!! @Etruett

What does the buttermilk do?

Old Home Remedy taught by an old hunter that was my mentor raising deer hounds. There is no medical reason why it should work, but it does. I’ve personally seen it work 3 different times. Once when a vet was ready to throw in the towel.

^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dat right up dare is why we're so much more than a firearms forum. And it didn't cost a dime to find it out.

 

[Chdamn]

Most dogs get bit in the face.

My dumbass cocker got bit on the side. Because she decided it would be an awesome idea to roll on a copperhead cuz she liked the stank.

Idiot.

She swoll up and eventually lost a patch of hair and all feeling in the area.

 

[mightymorphine53]

The 'antidote' for humans (animals too??) is Cro-Fab, and for people it's often $20,000-$25,000 for multiple doses over 24-30 hours. I see on google that antivenin for dogs is $250-$350/vial.

Pharmacy cringes anytime anyone orders Crofab. It takes forever to make, it foams like mad if you’re not careful, and no resident/attending can ever decide how many vials they want to order for a patient. And THEN there’s the cost of it.

Side note, I also don’t recommend getting bit by any Black Widow spiders…… I’m pretty sure the Antivenom for Black Widows is still on back order until the end of time (along with the rest of the U.S. drug supply chain of Wegovy, Mounjaro, cisplatin, carboplatin, and amoxicillin suspension).

 

[Chuckman]

Pharmacy cringes anytime anyone orders Crofab. It takes forever to make, it foams like mad if you’re not careful, and no resident/attending can ever decide how many vials they want to order for a patient. And THEN there’s the cost of it.

Side note, I also don’t recommend getting bit by any Black Widow spiders…… I’m pretty sure the Antivenom for Black Widows is still on back order until the end of time (along with the rest of the U.S. drug supply chain of Wegovy, Mounjaro, cisplatin, carboplatin, and amoxicillin suspension).

And for humans, the antidote will make you sicker than the actual bite. It's awful.

 

[MCQUADE]

And for humans, the antidote will make you sicker than the actual bite. It's awful.

My better half had a reptile business for years, specializing in snakes. Her “Hot Room” was huge. Wall to wall venomous snakes. Want a Gaboon Viper, a Black Mamba, anything but King Cobra’s, she could hook you up.
Anyway, talking about antivenin. Most of the folks didn’t like it either and they had another option. One guy in particular is a prime example. Most of the bites handlers get are on fingers (feeding/moving snakes).
This fellow kept a machete and a chop block near his snakes.
He only had a thumb and an index finger on his right hand.....

 

[Chuckman]

My better half had a reptile business for years, specializing in snakes. Her “Hot Room” was huge. Wall to wall venomous snakes. Want a Gaboon Viper, a Black Mamba, anything but King Cobra’s, she could hook you up.
Anyway, talking about antivenin. Most of the folks didn’t like it either and they had another option. One guy in particular is a prime example. Most of the bites handlers get are on fingers (feeding/moving snakes).
This fellow kept a machete and a chop block near his snakes.
He only had a thumb and an index finger on his right hand.....

Almost no hospital stocks antivenin for those non-indigenous snakes. Zoos and museums that have the snakes are required to have it, though, so should a weirdo, er, I mean an aficionado come in with a bite from something other than a North American hemolytic viper we would call the NC zoo. Overseas? Unless you are in a city, fuhgettaboutit.

 

[9outof10mms]

Our old lab/border collie took a bite to the snout one evening. I was grocery shopping and the wife calls saying "there's something wrong with the dog. I think she was stung by a bee." I say don't worry about it, she'll be fine. 10 minutes later, another call: "there's something really wrong with her--she's swelling and just standing in the corner." I try to calm her down again so I can finish shopping (I'm thinking it was a bee/wasp since she was messing with one earlier that day).

Third call: "she's swollen like she has a baseball in her mouth and there's yellow drool coming out of her mouth."

I leave a cart full of groceries in the middle of WalMart (sorry if you worked there and had to deal with it), high tail it home. I find one wet dot of a bloody hole in her jowl and call the emergency vet. The lady asks me to explain the bite: localized severe swelling (literally looked like she had a baseball/softball in her mouth), yellow droool. Lady immediately says "oh yeah, copperhead bite. Bees/wasps will produced general swelling (larger area) and copperhead is local."

I start to worry and throw the dog in the truck and again high tail it to the vet. They take her back and I'm listening to our girl growl and snarl at the vet (she was an excellent dog but did not like pain). The lady at the desk tells me the copperhead venom is "tuned" for small game like rabbits and squirrels. A medium sized dog is not in a real danger of death.

Turns out the fangs stuck through her jowl and squirt the venom into her mouth, although some did make it into the skin, hence the swelling. Several days later I was able to find the two fang marks on her inside lips/jowls--two black dots. They were about two finger widths apart, so I believe a good sized copperhead.

I've killed two copperheads since then (10+ years ago) in her honor.

 

[Mathieu18]

Our old lab/border collie took a bite to the snout one evening. I was grocery shopping and the wife calls saying "there's something wrong with the dog. I think she was stung by a bee." I say don't worry about it, she'll be fine. 10 minutes later, another call: "there's something really wrong with her--she's swelling and just standing in the corner." I try to calm her down again so I can finish shopping (I'm thinking it was a bee/wasp since she was messing with one earlier that day).

Third call: "she's swollen like she has a baseball in her mouth and there's yellow drool coming out of her mouth."

I leave a cart full of groceries in the middle of WalMart (sorry if you worked there and had to deal with it), high tail it home. I find one wet dot of a bloody hole in her jowl and call the emergency vet. The lady asks me to explain the bite: localized severe swelling (literally looked like she had a baseball/softball in her mouth), yellow droool. Lady immediately says "oh yeah, copperhead bite. Bees/wasps will produced general swelling (larger area) and copperhead is local."

I start to worry and throw the dog in the truck and again high tail it to the vet. They take her back and I'm listening to our girl growl and snarl at the vet (she was an excellent dog but did not like pain). The lady at the desk tells me the copperhead venom is "tuned" for small game like rabbits and squirrels. A medium sized dog is not in a real danger of death.

Turns out the fangs stuck through her jowl and squirt the venom into her mouth, although some did make it into the skin, hence the swelling. Several days later I was able to find the two fang marks on her inside lips/jowls--two black dots. They were about two finger widths apart, so I believe a good sized copperhead.

I've killed two copperheads since then (10+ years ago) in her honor.

Yea that’s a good sized one. Unfortunately I’m beyond an Ace now.