# snake bite



## Marsha Cassada (Aug 16, 2017)

Working in my flower bed this morning and my rat terrier yelps. Lots of wasps right now and they are sort of aggressive, so that is what I figured it was. But there were two little drops of blood--fang length apart--on his nose. It didn't swell much at first, but it got worse so I took him to the vet. Looked all around for a snake, but never saw one. Vet said there was definite venom sign, bruising inside the lip and hemorrhaging. They wanted to keep him; give him a steroid and antibiotic shot. I believe it was a copperhead. They are more likely to hide than a rattlesnake. And there was a very unpleasant odor; internet says that is something copperheads do. Hopefully they will call me later to pick him up, or they may keep him overnight. Poor little guy.


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## chandab (Aug 16, 2017)

Prayers for a speedy recovery for your pup.


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 16, 2017)

Ohhh no , I hope he is back home with you soon. Poor little guy, glad you noticed the bite marks before the venom had a chance to do anything.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 16, 2017)

They kept him overnight. After the steroid shot, the swelling didn't get worse, but it didn't go down either. They want to give him another in the morning and watch him. I keep looking for the snake, but haven't seen it yet. Everything is rather lush due to the recent rains. I don't know whether it would go into my water garden or not.


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## Cayuse (Aug 16, 2017)

Poor fella, he has been on my mind all day, since I read your first post. I was hoping he would be home with you tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed that he will be as good as new ASAP.


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 16, 2017)

Sounds like the best place for him till they can get him back to 100%.

Do you get many snakes Marsha ?


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 16, 2017)

We do have copperheads here occasionally, but rattlesnakes are the most troublesome. We have other snakes, too, but they are harmless. Pink racers, coachwhip, gopher snake, bull snake, garter snake... This is the time of year when rattlesnakes begin to move back to their dens, so we keep watchful. Copperheads are hard to see and shy, so we don't see them much. We have only seen two rattlesnakes so far this year. Haven't seen a copperhead in several years.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 17, 2017)

Swelling had worsened with Buddy in the night so they are going to give him antivenom today. Vet said there should be positive results within a few hours after that. They are keeping him another night. They were not sure whether to give the antivenom yesterday, I suppose, since I could not identify the snake, but they found out it can be used for copperheads also. They are both pit vipers so I guess their venom works the same. Those are the only poisonous snakes here. The antivenom is $250. Poor little guy. He's a house dog, for pete's sake. He only goes outside if I am out there, and I was just a few feet away when he was bitten. We look for the snake every time we go out. Internet says they are ambushers. They don't hunt, they lay in ambush for prey. They bite, then wait for prey to die before devouring. I guess Buddy's little black nose looked like something to eat.


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## Cayuse (Aug 17, 2017)

Oh I am sorry to hear that! How long does it take for the anti venom to start to work? We don't have poisonous snakes around here except for one small region that has rattlers. We do have a plethora of garden snakes!though.

Keeping Buddy in my thoughts and prayers.


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 17, 2017)

Oh poor buddy , i hope the antivenom does the trick and he is back home with you soon.

The snakes we have at home are all poisonous

Red belly Black

Tiger Snake

Copperhead

Brown Snake

King Brown ( which is usually up higher north)

Im very much an "animal" lover but not snakes, I just cant warm to them, so to speak.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 17, 2017)

I didn't talk to the vet, but to the tech. About 5 this evening. I was on the go all day. she said the swelling was going down. Hope to hear he can come home tomorrow. I bought him a new comfy bed today. Went out with DD and it as odd not to have Buddy in his usual place under the sulky.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 18, 2017)

Buddy came home this morning. He looks like a chipmunk, but is perky. He would not eat while he was there, but I made him a little bowl of dogfood with goat kefir and he ate it all up. I will give him some more in a few hours; didn't want to overfeed him after his fast. He has antibiotic to take and I need to watch for lethargy or increased swelling. He has a shaved leg where the iv was. Now he is asleep in one of his favorite places. No long walks for him for a while. I brought a sharp hoe up on the porch to keep handy in case we see the snake.

For those who might be curious: $309. antivenom, antibiotic, care, and 2 nights boarding. We are so fortunate to have good, reasonable vets here.


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## Cayuse (Aug 18, 2017)

I bet he is happy to be home safe and sound. I hope he is not too sore.

The vet bill does sound reasonable for all the care he received.


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## Cayuse (Aug 19, 2017)

How is Buddy today?


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 20, 2017)

Last night his stomach and under his legs was blood red. Gave us a fright. But this morning he is okay again. I think he must have been out in the heat too much yesterday following me around. Today I will make him stay in the house. I didn't let him go for a walk with me this morning, which really hurt his feelings. Swelling on his muzzle is better. He looked cute as a little pit bull, but I'm glad the swelling is better.


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## Cayuse (Aug 20, 2017)

He is having quite an ordeal, that is weird about the redness. I wonder if it was a side effect from the meds.

Good to hear he is improving.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 20, 2017)

I am going to call about it tomorrow.


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 20, 2017)

Glad to hear he is home with you






hope he continues to improve. Your vet is very reasonably priced Marsha.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 21, 2017)

Yesterday he wet in the house twice. Once right in front of us and acted as though he had no clue what he was doing. This is a dog that goes all day left alone without any "accidents". Then he dragged food off the table after supper while I was in the other room. He has never done that before. I put a leash on him and attached it to me so I could keep a better eye on him. Seems like I was cleaning up messes all day. We've been taking him out about ever 2 hours now, and he always goes a little. It must be something to do with the medicene. We put him in his crate last night, as he is not trustworthy. Stomach still red, but not as bad. have a call into the vet, but she is in surgery. Strange behavior.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 21, 2017)

Vet said it is the steroid probably causing the wetting and the food fetish. It should go away in a couple of days. Red stomach was a mystery; I'm to let her know if it doesn't continue to improve. Biggest things I'm supposed to watch for are lethargy and going off food. So far neither of those is a problem!


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## Cayuse (Aug 21, 2017)

I can sympathize with Buddy, steroid shots for my arthritis always make me ravenous. In people the steroids can make them pee a lot too. Ask me how I know, :-(.

Give him a scratch and a pat from me. Hopefully he is over the hump and smooth sailing is ahead.


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## Ryan Johnson (Aug 21, 2017)

Apart from the wetting and the food theft form the table , he sounds like he is making good progress, If he was off his food , id be worried.

Poor little man, I hope he back to his old self soon


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## Cayuse (Aug 22, 2017)

How is the little fella today?


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 22, 2017)

I sent a picture of the red abdomen to the vet and she thinks the venom is causing hemorrhaging. She started him on a long, strong dose of steroids. I am dreading this, as steroids do some tricky things. She said the risk of the steroid is less than not doing it.

Now I am reading more about the copperhead bite online. I am regretting the antivenom. I think he would have done better just recovering from the venom itself.

But how can one know? We just have to trust the professional.


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## Cayuse (Aug 22, 2017)

What would happen if they had not given the antivenom? I am not familiar at all with snake bites and treatments. I will keep Buddy in my thoughts. This whole ordeal sounds miserable for you both.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 29, 2017)

Buddy is doing fine. Winding down on the steroids. I'm not sure the treatment regimen was appropriate. Who could know? But, he's fine so that is what counts. The steroid has its own challenges. He is still wetting in the house. We have to take him out at least once an hour. I keep him on a leash in the house and in the crate if I have to leave home. Caught him lifting his leg on the kitchen island. Husband yelled at him and he tried to stop. When the steroids are over, this behavior better stop. I don't know if he can't control it, or doesn't care if he does. He is rummaging in the compost pile and competing with the chickens over tidbits. I'm trying to feed him small portions throughout the day; hopefully this will help with the raging hunger.

I've started taking him on my walks and drives again. When I leave him behind, he howls.

That snake has a lot to answer for.


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## Marsha Cassada (Aug 30, 2017)

Just read an interesting article on The Horse.com

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/39621/rattlesnake-bite-recourse-in-horses?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=health-news&utm_campaign=08-29-2017


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## Cayuse (Sep 4, 2017)

How is Buddy? Is he off the steroids now? Hope he is back to his old self.


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## Marsha Cassada (Sep 4, 2017)

Cayuse said:


> How is Buddy? Is he off the steroids now? Hope he is back to his old self.


He is on the down side of the steroids. Still must watch him like a hawk to wet in the house. And I still find him scavenging in the compost. He eats lay crumbles with the girls, but I figure that little dab won't hurt him in the short term. Poor little starving beastie! I hope that behavior goes away when he's finished with the steroids.


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## Cayuse (Sep 4, 2017)

Thanks for the update. I hope the appetite slows down soon or he will have to follow you and DD on your drives instead of riding shotgun so he can work off the chub, lol. I am glad he is feeling better. I bet he is a lot of company for you as you go about your day.


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## Marsha Cassada (Sep 4, 2017)

Tonight hubby brought home some bbq. It is sliced onto a waxed paper then put into styrofoam. We always give Buddy the styrofoam/paper thing to polish. I looked around tonight and he had eaten the waxed paper. Good thing I got the styrofoam box away in time. This is getting ridiculous.


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## Miniv (Sep 6, 2017)

Sounds like he's back to his old self? LOL.


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## Ryan Johnson (Sep 6, 2017)

Glad to hear he is home and gradually getting back to his old self. Hopefully the ravishing appetite will disappear soon


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## Marsha Cassada (Sep 26, 2017)

We backed off on the steroid and did not leave him on it as long as prescribed. Health wise I think he is pretty much back to normal, but he is much more "needy" than he used to be. I do think he is drinking a lot more than normal, so we keep alert to let him out often. Darn snake.


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## Cayuse (Sep 27, 2017)

Thanks for the update, I was wondering how he was doing. That was quite an ordeal he went through. Did he go on vacation with you?

Did you ever see the snake again?


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## Ryan Johnson (Sep 27, 2017)

Glad to read he is just about back to normal. Hope he continues to improve.


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