Snakebiteî

[Brian Ellis]

Our dog was bitten on the front neck by a Blunt-nosed Viper, Macrovipera lebetina, (fortunately a juvenile) last night. Enormous oedema round the bite site. He is currently caged at the vet on an IV drip, having been dosed with cortisones, antibiotics, vitamin C and pain relief. No antivenin administered.

[Umfriend]

That's a weird looking dog....

[Dr Mordrid]

That's a weird looking dog....

That was bad enough to deserve this

[Umfriend]

I guess

Hope you're dog recovers well and soon Brian.

[Dr Mordrid]

Me too. Bet the pup watches out for snakes from now on.

Reminds me of having to watch for rattlers around our farm & clear any from around the dog houses before tying them out. Yes, we have a small variety (1 meter) in Michigan. Bites are rarely fatal, but very, very painful. Fortunately, they only hang out in rural areas.

Massasauga (Black) rattler

[Brian Ellis]

Family: Viperidae (Vipers)

Macrovipera lebetina lebetina (LINNAEUS, 1758) (Blunt-nosed Viper)bnv

The Blunt-nosed viper is an endemic subspecies.

It is highly venomous and, although the snake is not naturally aggressive towards humans, many bites are inflicted on people each year. The problem is that the snake is very well camouflaged in its natural habitat and is difficult to see, even to a trained eye. It is also an ambush predator and will not normally flee if approached. Most bites occur when the snake is accidentally touched, e.g. when gardening or trodden on. If bitten, medical attention should be obtained as soon as possible, although there is adequate time to get the victim to a hospital since the venom acts slowly. Fortunately, fatalities from Blunt-nosed viper bites are extremely rare.

The above is from my website

Adult snakes can reach 1m50-2m on length. Last night's was an estimated 150-200 mm, probably ~1 month old.

The venom is relatively weak but abundant in adults, so the potency is high. Many domestic animals are killed by it every year as it is found everywhere on the island, even in suburban areas. The last human fatality was an elderly woman about 1985 in Protaras. A healthy adult bitten (average ~14-18/year) is unlikely to die but could have several weeks in hospital as the venom is doubly haemotoxic and neurotoxic. Unless there is a real danger of death (young child, elderly or infirm person), antivenin is rarely administered as it may cause bad problems and it has a short shelf life (4-6 weeks). The health authorities do keep a couple of immunised horses handy and serum can be extracted and processed as needed but vets have to keep small amounts refrigerated as time is of the essence for a small cat or dog. It is therefore costly as most of their stock is thrown away (€120/dose).

[Dr Mordrid]

Our longest snake is the Black Rat, a constrictor that runs up to 2.6 meters/8.5 feet. Rather shy and only interested in small animals like rats and other vermin, farmers love to have a Black Rat take up residence in their barns and outbuildings. Problem: they can be hell on wheels if they get into the rabbit pens or chicken/duck houses (they go after the young.)

[VJ]

Two guys bragging about the snakes that might appear in their back yard... Only on MURC

Hope the dog gets well soon!

[Dr Mordrid]

What if we start sharing snake meat recipes?

I have a bunch

[MultimediaMan]

Most snakes taste like chicken... exceptionally lean chicken.

[Brian Ellis]

Tried rattler once in AZ. OK but a bit over-cooked and tough.

[Dr Mordrid]

Overcooking will kinda turn it into jerky

[MultimediaMan]

It's hard to get right... unless it is deep fried in fat; but then you lose all semblance of the fact that is snake. Roasting works well, but you've got a very fine line between "cooked" and as the doc mentioned, "jerked".

[Brian Ellis]

Took him to the vet's last night. He had a subcutaneous suffusion, antibiotics, vitamin C and a diuretic after it was found he had kidney sensitivity. When we got him home, he just fell asleep, lost appetite, generally not at all as well as before. This was a little scary. His midnight trot was slow, curtailed in distance, but longer than usual in time. He was an aged old boy..

This morning, after sleeping all night, he was very groggy, but he greeted us with a tentative tail-wag. However, within 30 minutes or so, he seemed a lot more lively with bursts of almost normal activity and periods of sleep. His appetite had also returned. At the vet's, he had another litre of IV drip and another vitamin C injection, plus the swelling/bite site treated with antiseptic and cortisone cream. Kidneys still tender.

Now on a special low meat diet to allow the kidneys to handle the toxin better by reducing loading. Back to the vet Monday morning, assuming no emergency.

He is now reasonably active but have been told it will be at least 2-3 weeks before he is 100% his old self. Nasty things, snakebites!

(Not to mention costly in vet's fees!)

[Dr Mordrid]

>
He is now reasonably active but have been told it will be at least 2-3 weeks before he is 100% his old self. Nasty things, snakebites!

Oh, Hell yeah....it'll take him at least that long to recover. My daughter's an RN and helps out at the Humane Society & local vets associated with it a couple times a month. When I told her about this she said they've had 2-3 dogs just this year with black rattler (a pit viper) bites and it took up to 2 months to get them all the way back.