| Name: |
Lakewood
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 1:31:13 AM
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Interested in your knowledge and experiences (I'm a 54-year Lake summertimer.) My 35-lb mutt got snakebit by a copperhead last weekend. We've seen a lot of snakes over the years but this is our first bite. Here's what I learned:
Snakebites are really painful. She had a lot of swelling (bit near mouth/nose) and distress. However, dog mortality from copperhead/moccasin bites is close to nil, and most online vets I checked don't even recommend antivenin shots. However, our vet did: he said his experience was that dogs recover faster and with fewer side effects if they get antivenin. The main side effects are infection and sometimes rather extensive necrosis. Our mutt's taking pills for another few days but basically has completely recovered. (I also learned that antivenin is EXPENSIVE.)
No question she knew something very bad had happened. She followed us around at a distance of about 6 inches for 3-4 days afterwards, and lots of whining when we went away. Her effusive personality seems back to normal now.
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| Name: |
Bob
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 6:03:47 AM
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About 6 years ago I had a 35lb or so 2 year old boy get bitten by a copperhead. It was in our backyard in a neighborhood along a golf course so it really does not matter where you are there are snakes. They did not even give my son antivenom. It tunrns out that you would rather be bitten by a copperhead than most any other venomous snake. Compared to a rattlesnake its not even close im terms of danger I was told. He was struck twice, lots of swelling, but he was fine by day two. The docs said that the antivenom can often times make them sicker than the bite.
BTW...I hate those shoulderless spawns of satan and if they have a Viper head they die round my Lake House :)_
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| Name: |
wix
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 8:37:57 AM
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Round my place, all snakes are guilty until proven innocent, which means you have to remove the head to examine for viper traits. I hate surprises around my feet.
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| Name: |
HARRY
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 9:13:24 AM
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Ditto
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| Name: |
river-rat
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 9:48:51 AM
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Sorry to hear about bits on anyone or any animals. Moth balls deter snakes, have not had one in my basement since I put and open box there.
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| Name: |
Wakesurfer
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 9:57:17 AM
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Our 85lb Black lab got hit by a snake and was limping pretty badly for a couple of days. The women (IE: Bosses) made me take him to the vet who told us just to keep him comfortable and off the leg that was bit.
All snakes around are place are "Judged" with some 410
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| Name: |
DirtDiva
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| Subject: |
Snake Riddance ?
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Date:
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5/11/2009 10:07:48 AM
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What are the gun laws around the lake for shooting the little buggers? I am licensed to carry and will gladly shoot them if it is legal.
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| Name: |
Old Diver
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| Subject: |
Snake Riddance ?
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Date:
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5/11/2009 10:15:18 AM
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Get some of those shot catridges for . 22, 38 etc. One can easily kill a snake at a few feet without endangering anyone at a distance from a ricochet.
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All of you are trying to say that there is no good snake... Well, That could be part of the problem. I am no snake lover myself, however, I do know that some snakes eat other snakes. And most of the time that it is the "bad snake" that is the one being eaten. It is sometimes difficult to tell a "good snake" from a "bad snake". Especially when someone is frightened enough to want to shoot it. Of course, this only my opinion... do what you will.
Crappy : )
(just outside of Nashville)
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I had a dog that was bitten by a rattlesnake in the nose. His face swelled until he could not breath. I rushed him to the emergency vet with my hand in is mouth so that he could breath. They said that animals do not die from the bite itself. It is the swelling that would get them. He have him a shot and the swelling went down. He was fine. It scared me to death though.
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| Name: |
Lakewood
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 2:13:07 PM
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I'm having MAJOR second thoughts about the decision to administer (extremely expensive) antivenom to my dog. As a rule, I don't quibble with doctors, including vets, but next time I likely will. He said they "do better" if antivenom is administered. I did ask what he meant by "do better" and he said less return visits, less necrosis, less chance of infection. I said yes but am more than starting to wish I hadn't. Nothing I can find online, scientific or anecdotal, suggests it's hardly ever a good idea for single copperhead bites, for dogs or people.
I found out one reason copperheads aren't very lethal is they give a lot of "dry bites" in which no or little venom is actually administered. Of course, you don't really know for awhile.
I tell you one side effect of such a bite: for years I've walked carelessly around my yard at the Lake. This weekend (one week post-bite) I was creeping around and my eyes buggin out in ALL directions. Nerve-wracking.
Another thing I don't know: the efficacy and usefulness of antivenom obviously varies depending on how long since the bite. But no source I can find says "After an hour (or 3 hours or 12 hours), no need to bother." Our dog was bit on Sunday and we drove to an emergency vet in Mgm, which was 60-plus minutes away. I wonder if it was totally academic by then.
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| Name: |
FLgirl
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 2:53:08 PM
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A few years ago when I came home my dog greeted me with what I thought was a ball in her mouth. When I went to take the ball out of her mouth she whimpered and there was blood on my hand. What I thought was a ball was swelling. I took her immediately to the vet. Despite giving her anti-venom her whole head and neck swelled tremendously. We almost lost her because she was having such difficulty breathing. It was probably 3 days before the swelling was down significantly. We don't know what kind of snake it was but If we had not taken her to the vet right away I'm sure she would not be here right now. (She is a hound-mix approx 80-90 lbs)
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| Name: |
Lakewood
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 3:52:36 PM
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We never saw the snake, but we know where our dog, a digger, was digging. I've never seen a rattler at Martin though I'm sure there are some, but we have seen a number of copperheads and moccasins over the years. The digging spot was well away from water. The vet made an informed and I am sure correct judgment that it was a copperhead. My wife and daughter were at the Lake and called me at home with periodic reports about huge swelling and a very subdued and slow-breathing dog as they drove back to Mgm and the 24-hour emergency vet. He administered antibiotics and what sounded like antihistamines but they could not decide on antivenom, so they called me and I talked to him (and we had the "Inmy experience they do better" conversation, at the end of which I approved the AV.) First time I saw the dog was when my wife picked her up next day, and at that time she looked normal except for the bite wound which you could see on careful close inspection. As I said, that dog knew darn well she had been in a serious fix, and it took her a week to start acting normal again.
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| Name: |
FLgirl
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| Subject: |
Snakebit
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Date:
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5/11/2009 5:17:48 PM
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Most of the snakes we see down here are harmless blacksnakes. But we do have diamondback rattlers along with coral snakes. I try to stay away from them and treat them all as though they are poisonous. My dogs however will kill them if they can get them. Hopefully this will be our last run-in with a poisonous one.
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| Name: |
cstewa
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| Subject: |
snake on floating dock
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Date:
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5/11/2009 8:45:59 PM
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When we first got our cabin...we had a little snake issue. My 3 little girls had been swimming a good bit off the dock. I got up early one morning for a boat ride...as I stepped over to the floating dock I noticed a rust colored snake sunbathing on the steps to the water.
The snake saw me and plunged into the water...I figured all was well and the snake was gone. I took my boat ride and when I got back the snake was in the same exact place. I knew I had a problem.
I had the snake pinned down for a second on the steps with paddle..but the paddle slipped and the snake slid to its apparent home on the styrofoam floats under the floating dock.
So I proceeded to go on a four hour battle with the thing. I had to peer through the slats of the dock to find it..and then try to stab it. One of us was going to down that day...and I didn't want it to be me! I won.
It was either a brown water snake (apparently common at lake martin)...or a copperhead. I took pictures and emailed them around but no one could tell me for sure. I guess they look alike.
Anyone else ever have a snake under your floating dock?
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| Name: |
TotheLake
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| Subject: |
Now I don't wanna go swimming
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Date:
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5/11/2009 11:00:57 PM
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nor do I want my 5 year old daughter swimming in the lake either! My husband said he saw a snake swimming in the lake at our place the other weekend. Fortunately my daughter and I weren't there.
I can't stand those things!
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| Name: |
Lakewood
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| Subject: |
snake on floating dock
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Date:
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5/12/2009 12:16:33 AM
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Yes, we've had a snake or two under our floating docks over the years. What we do depends on circumstances. I've done everything from leave them alone to whacking their heads off. I guess it depends on how long it's been since I've watched an episode of the late Steve Irwin's show. I loved that guy, and a few snakes near our place owe their lives to Steve Irwin and my sentimentality.
But if a stubborn snake gets between me and my weekend, he's leaving, one way or the other.
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| Name: |
Lakewood
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| Subject: |
Now I don't wanna go swimming
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Date:
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5/12/2009 12:30:15 AM
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My family has been swimming and skiiing and boating in Lake Martin for 54 years. We've seen one or two snakes in the water but never in a threatening relation to any person. They are far more interested in avoiding you than anything else.
I watched a TV show a couple of years ago about black mambas in Africa. Those very big and very poisonous snakes will pursue you to bite. (Dunno why, people are far too big for them to eat.) No American snake has a personality remotely like that. You almost have to poke a copperhead to get it to bite.
But particularly when returning to the Lake in spring after an extended absence, reasonable caution in exploring your environs is a good idea. Keep your yard trimmed back.
I'll tell you what I think about: gators. I think it's only a matter of time before one is encountered somewhere in the Lake. They've been slowly expanding their range northward in Alabama and throughout much of the southeast in recent years. They caught one walking down the road in Elmore County a year or two ago (Or so I read in the paper).
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Now I don't wanna go swimming
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Date:
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5/12/2009 9:17:06 AM
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In my 18 years here, snakes show up in the Spring every year and find all the warm spots to sun, like seawalls, boat docks, rip-rap. As soon as the boat engines, waverunners, lawn mowers and people get active, they will disappear.Don't know where, but generally you don't see many after Spring.
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| Name: |
momo
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| Subject: |
Now I don't wanna go swimming
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Date:
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5/12/2009 1:10:16 PM
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My husband killed a moccasin crossing our slew 2 weekends ago. A couple of years ago when we slid our waverunner off of the port there was a baby snake (about the size of a pencil) in the v-part of the port. Needless to say that snake didn't see it's teenage years! I just worried about where it's mother was but we never saw any more that summer.
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| Name: |
longtimer
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| Subject: |
snake on floating dock
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Date:
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5/12/2009 2:44:47 PM
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I once had a long conversation with an expert about snakes under our dock, and have never forgotten what he said: far and away, the most common snake you see in the water on the lake is a harmless water snake. The particular species that is most common is the one that people sometimes confuse with a Copperhead because of the coloration. This particular species is very territorial, and when they find a place they like, they will fight other snakes so they can keep it for themselves. And one of the species they will fight off is the Cottonmouth.
So I wonder how many people have killed or run off a water snake that had been keeping Cottonmouths away from their floating dock? And I wonder what those Cottonmouths did once their nemesis was out of the picture?
URL: Website with pictures of Lake Martin snakes
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Now that is a good post
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Date:
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5/12/2009 6:37:05 PM
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for lake residents. Especially the pictures. I'm gonna' somehow print them and post them at our place to reduce the panic attacks and grabs for the shotgun. Thanks for truly good info,
Mack
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| Name: |
JJ
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| Subject: |
snake on floating dock
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Date:
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5/12/2009 7:53:03 PM
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Please post a new link or web address.
Thanks.
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| Name: |
HOT ROD
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| Subject: |
I don't get it
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Date:
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5/13/2009 1:31:05 AM
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"Please post a new link or web address." Huh? The one he posted works fine for me, and apparently for Mack too. Or did you mean some completely new website, and if so why?
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| Name: |
JJ
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| Subject: |
I don't get it
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Date:
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5/13/2009 11:53:08 AM
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When I click on the link this what I get.
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Welcome to the U.S. Water Information network. Please select from one of the sites below to find what you are looking for.
Lakes Coast Gulf Rivers Bays Dams Marinas Intracoastal
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| Name: |
JJ
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| Subject: |
I don't get it
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Date:
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5/13/2009 11:58:51 AM
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When I click on the link, this is the message that I get.
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Welcome to the U.S. Water Information network. Please select from one of the sites below to find what you are looking for.
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| Name: |
JJ
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| Subject: |
Thanks, I was using beta
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Date:
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5/13/2009 12:03:32 PM
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Thanks,
I was able to open the link with the orginal version. JJ
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| Name: |
Summer Lover
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| Subject: |
Snakes
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Date:
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5/13/2009 3:05:27 PM
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There are only two kinds of snakes - Rattlesnakes and Chicken Snakes - if it doesn't have a chicken in it's mouth ---- it must be a Rattlesnake.
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| Name: |
H2X
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| Subject: |
Snakes
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Date:
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5/13/2009 4:27:57 PM
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You and I must have gone to the same snake identification class! I see 2 kinds of snakes. the kind that will hurt me, and the kind that will make me hurt myself!
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