[Jacob-list] Snake bite

[Linda]

In mid August my Great Dane, Maggie, was bitten on the nose by a copperhead snake.  Of course, I was frantic and rushed her to the vet as fast as I could considering the 10 miles of road construction in our county.  I was surprised that the vet's office took the snake bite rather lightly - no one rushing out with a crash cart or anything.  The receptionist just looked at Maggie and said "yep, snake bite" and dialed one of the vets.  I'm a central Florida native where a 7 ft Diamondback Rattler is not uncommon and a dog has little chance if bitten.  According to the vet here, less than 5% of the dogs bitten by copperheads die.   Within the last month, he had treated two small dogs - 10 and 15 lbs that pulled through fine.  The treatment for Maggie at the clinic was a antibiotic shot and a shot similar to benadryl.  Her prescription drugs were an antibiotic, pain pills and otc benadryl.  Within two days she was feeling fine, although the swelling took about a week to go away completely.

Well, last week, one of the ram lambs turned up with one side of his face badly swollen.  One puncture wound was obvious.  This was the one ram lamb that is not slated for breeding, thank goodness.  I treated him with antibiotics and benadryl.  The next day, the swelling had moved to under his jaw and you would have sworn he had bottlejaw.  The vet told me that the swelling from a copperhead bite gravitates. Within two days, there was no sign of the swelling and he never did quit eating or show any sign of discomfort.  

Linda


www.patchworkfibers.com
Registered Jacob Sheep, Angora Rabbits, Handspun Yarn
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