HELP ME copperhead/rattlesnakek bite on dog

jcribbs

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I need help. It is 2:29 am in the morning. My 4.5 month olf bull mastiff mix is snake bit. Can't get the vet to call back on his page.

What can I do? She weighs approx 50 lbs and was bit on the lip. She is swollen LARGE on her muzzle and under her neck has a knot the size of at least a softball. Her sweet little head is huge...

We have given her 25 mg of benedral for swelling/allergic reaction and washed it with peroxide. I read to do that online. WE HAVE HER CRATED IN THE HOUSE.

What else can I do till I can get her to the vet in order to save her life?????? I GAVE HER THE benedryl 10 minutes ago and she is sound asleep right now. My husband went to bed at 9 and so it happened sometime between 9-1:30.. I hope she lives to see the morning. She is foaming at the mouth.

IT WILL BE EITHER RATTLESNAKE, COPPERHEAD OR COTTONMOUTH...... But I feel it is more likely to be a rattlesnake. I have copperheads around here in abundance but have never seen one. I have killed several rattlers. I searched the yard by flashlight to try and find the damn thing to string it up but no snake was to be seen. I hope the other dogs injured it enough that it went off to die.
 

strange_wings

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Keep calling or better yet - get the dog packed up and to the nearest emergency animal hospital, ASAP.
There's a chance that your regular vet, if a smaller clinic, may not have antivenin at hand - so you may be making a trip to a larger animal hospital anyways.

You really need to know what bit her so they can treat it, did you see the snake at all?

Good luck. I'm hoping she didn't get too bad of a bite, but regardless it's going to hurt a lot.
 
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jcribbs

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I have paged the vet three times.......... I am going to keep paging him. I saw no snake. I was at work. I just know the varities we have here where I live.

Like I said, I have killed several rattlers, say one cottonmouth and have not seen a copperhead but I know they are there. We have lots of rock behind their dog yard and I suspect it was a rattler. Hopefully a pigmy.

she is asleep so I can't get a pic of the fang marks. The are about two inches apart. My husband said it was a big snake. One fang mark is on her upper lip and her lip is so swollen it is separated and oozing.
 

strange_wings

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Are there other vets? Even if you have to drive 50 miles?

Waiting is not a good idea, the longer you wait the more time the venom has to do tissue damage - most pit vipers have necrotic venom.

I'm surprised your dog is able to sleep, the poor baby must be completely worn out.
 

stormy

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Oh no! Your poor baby!
I agree about emergency vet. He needs anti venom ASAP.
 

lsulover

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Please get him to a vet as soon as possible.

Our dog Opie had gotten bit by a snake or something one time, but I don't think Opie's was as bad as your dogs.

Our vet ended up lancing it and getting it to drain,

Please keep us updated on how he is doing.

Sending hugs and prayers from Mississippi for you and for the sweet dog.

 

calico2222

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Honey, you need to get that puppy to a vet ASAP! I just called my husband when I read the post, because his mom's dog got bit by a copperhead a few years back, and I thought maybe there would be something you could do before the vet. He said the main thing to do is keep him calm. The more excited or aggitated he gets, the faster the poison is going to go through him. Don't try to cut the bites and suck it out....apparently that doesn't work.

I hope everything turns out ok. I'm praying for your baby.
 

diego

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Originally Posted by calico2222

Don't try to cut the bites and suck it out....apparently that doesn't work.
This is accurate. It is said nowadays that when you attempt to suck venom from a snake bite victim, you end up poisoning yourself. The mouth is one of the fastest places for any poison or medication to take effect.

Please do take him to a 24hr emergency vet. If you can't check your yellow pages to see if the is one that does house calls. It may be expensive but it is worth it.


sending you lots of healing vibes
 

sharky

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I pray you drove to the nearest ER vet ..
 

pami

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Jenn I know that you are way out and away from animal emergency but I know you will do exactly what is needed for your baby girl.......... I hope you were able to contact someone ..........Im sending you many prayers and vibes and big hugs to you.
 
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jcribbs

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I sat up with Blossom all night watching her with periodic naps in front of her crate. Early this morning at around 5:30am the vet called back very apologetic. He told me his beeper is on the blink. Before you slam me, let me say, I absolutely trust this vet. He is a genuine life saver as far as animals. I will do what he says.

He told me he does not use anti-venom because of the severe side effects also associated with it... He told me his normal treatment for snakebites is a steroid for the associated swelling and benedryl. He said "time" is what tells the story. He told me with all his snake bite patients, using this treatment, he has never had a single patient die. He said dogs handle venom differently than human bodies and a larger dog has a much greater chance of survival.

He said to keep her quiet.

I also kept giving her water to drink last night and also this morning. She is no long frothing at the mouth.

so........what did I learn from this.
ABSOLUTLY NOTHING EXCEPT TO KEEP KILLING THE DAMN THINGS.

My own observations and thoughts:
Evidently, the fangs did not totally inject the venom. There is a fang scrap on her bottom lip and then on her top lip is a fang mark that probably got her. Her lip swelling has gone down some this morning. The swelling under her neck is the same.

The vet said the big ball under her neck is edema and is normal if bitten by a snake.

I am going to keep watching her. She is playing and acts normal.

We also uped her benedryl last night before talking to the vet. She weighs 50 so we gave her 50 mg.

I also feel this morning that she probalby got bit by a pigmy rattlesnake. Why? Because they don't inject a lot of venom. If this had been a big copperhead, she would not be acting the way she is acting right now. Also she is not displaying the symptoms of a cottonmouth bite. If this had been a timber rattlesnake, she would also be sicker than she is now.

She is also running a temp which I treated with 3/4 of an adult aspirin.

I put her outside to tinkle and poop a few mintues ago. She instantly went to one side of the fence and started sniffing around looking. THAT IS WHERE IT HAPPENED. I am convinced of that. I am fixing to go snake hunting. I hope I have a dead snake in a few hrs.

This would have killed my dauchaund. Thank god Blossom is a big strong dog with a healthy immune system.

Steroids, benedryl, peroxide, aspirin for fever and water and prayers...
 
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jcribbs

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I have her back in the house. I don't want her to get overheated ... she is napping. No snakes so far. I'm going to do a little housework and then keep watching her.

I have not seen any snakes so far. I only did a mild search around the yard area. On my days off, tuesday and wednesday, I am going to burn some of the yard. That will drive anythign back as well. They just need to stay away from the yard. I am goint to burn approx 4'out from my fence aroudn the edges. They do not like crawling in ash.....just like any other animal.
 
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jcribbs

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Here's her muzzle today. You can see in a couple of them the upper fang mark. The swelling is down an extreme amt. She is still swollen and feels a little bad but she is eating, walking, playing and talking to me.

She is going to be ok... I know that becasue she is better today. The snake evidently didn't get a chance to inject much venom........ thank god. The swelling was 3x this last night. That's how much it has come down.
 

lsulover

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I am so glad to hear that she is doing better
. I think that they make something that you can put around your yard to keep the snakes away. I can't remember what it is called, but I can find out if you want me too.
 

jcat

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I was afraid to come and look at this thread again, Jenn. I'm so glad she's going to be okay. Thank goodness she's already such a big girl. that she continues to improve.
 
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