VENOMOUS SNAKE BITES
Do you know what to do?
Our Venomous Snake Encounter
Noelle, my 9-year-old Havanese, and I were out for a walk the other day. it was after a full week of Florida torrential downpour thunderstorm afternoons, so quite a few homeowners in our neighborhood had not cut their grass.
As many of you know, long grass = hiding places for snakes. And with all the wet weather and higher water levels, snakes were coming out areas they might not normally be found.
A Quiet ZZZZZZZ! Was Our ONLY Warning
If you are familiar with venomous snakes in Florida, a rather pretty one is our Pigmy Rattlesnake. It is small -- a full-size pigmy is 12" to 24". They are camouflaged well, and their warning rattle is so soft -- it sounds like an insect's wings -- that if they are hidden in long grass, you may not hear the warning rattle.
Fortunately, when Noelle took one step into the grass alongside the sidewalk, it was a very quiet morning -- and may have been a large pigmy -- because we heard the insect-like ZZZZZZ and Noelle jumped back onto the sidewalk.
CRISIS AVERTED
But What Would I Have Done If Noelle Had Been Bitten?
Fortunately for us, it was a weekday and our veterinary hospital, Hidden Hills Animal Hospital, is five minutes from our home and they have both kinds of antivenin needed for the two different types of venomous snake bites possible in our area -- pit vipers (rattlesnakes, water moccasins and copperheads) and coral snake antivenin.
If it had been afterhours, we could have gone to BluePearl Pet Hospital - Jacksonville or First Coast Veterinary Emergency in Jax Beach.
*Update 11/2023 -- coral snake antivenon is in exceptionally limited supply and may currently only be available at University of Florida. If this location is too far, according to the National Snakebite Support, a pet may require mechanical ventilation. Asking ERs if they have a critical care ventilator is the best question to ask for anyone not near UF.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE A VENOMOUS ENTANGLEMENT
Know where you need to go for antivenin before a snake bite occurs. Experts recommend if there isn't any veterinary hospital locally that carries it, drive immediately to the nearest regional hospital with antivenin, even if it is up to three hours away.
Note: the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Small Animal Hospital has some of the top experts in treating snake envenomations.
Also, know what care should be given to your dog. For example, a common misconception is that Benedryl can be given for snake bite swelling. THIS IS INCORRECT. Benefryl works with histimines, which ARE NOT the cause of swelling for venomous snake bits.
The charts below by Jacquelyn Burns, DVM, provide excellent guidelines for pet owners.
ON-LINE SNAKE BITE EXPERTS
JOIN THIS FB GROUP NOW
National Snakebite Support
https://www.facebook.com/groups/national.snakebite.support
The sole purpose of this FB group is to connect snakebite victims with experts who practice the proper management of snake envenomings.
HOW IT WORKS
Once a member of this group, if your dog is bitten by a venomous snake, you can post cell phone photos of the bite. The experts are the only ones allowed to comment and will help guide you through treatment, so you can be your dog's advocate.
KNOW YOUR VENOMOUS FLORIDA SNAKES
Copperhead -- Limited Range in the Panhandle of Florida
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake , Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and Cottonmouth
Timber Rattlesnake
Coral Snake
A FINAL WORD ON SNAKES...
Most of our snakes in Florida are not venomous -- and the ones that are would really rather not be tangled with and try to escape or give a clear BACK OFF warning.
However, we all know THOSE dogs who will go after anything that moves and will continue to attack a striking snake even after being struck multiple times.
To help PREVENT snake bites, there are several things you can do.
- Keep your grass clipped very short.
- Do not store loose boards, scrap or other great hiding places for snakes on your property.
- Keep your perimeter lights OFF during the night. Light attracts bugs, which attracts frogs, which attracts snakes.
- Trim under shrubs where possible to prevent safe places for snakes to hide or to hunt.