# After a cottonmouth bite



## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)




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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)




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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Gamble caught het first snake. Cottonmouth was in the dog pen dead when I got home from work this morning. Luckily, the swelling is really the only problem they have from it.
She is still running and playing, I've already treated her for the swelling and will watch for an abcess.


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## patricia powers (Nov 14, 2010)

wow. i am surprised with this post and the other one about dogs killing snakes. i figured cottonmouth bites would be fatal to dogs. where i currently live, we have no poisonous snakes, but i will be in the ozarks in a couple of years & i know there are copperheads in that area. might be interesting to hear if folks have any tried & true methods for deterring snakes----keeping them off the property or at least away from dog kennels. pjp


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

I have tried everything from home remedies to store bought crap. Best thing is to avoid areas where they are, which unfortunately my farm is a crossing point for them from swamp to hibernation area.


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Keeping areas mowed and not having brush piles help to let natural predators keep them down somewhat.


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## David Baker (Aug 31, 2013)

julie allen said:


> Keeping areas mowed and not having brush piles help to let natural predators keep them down somewhat.



This and sulfur. Surround your yard with sulfur and it should help. Also concentrate on flower beds and places they may like to hang out.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

patricia powers said:


> wow. i am surprised with this post and the other one about dogs killing snakes. i figured cottonmouth bites would be fatal to dogs. where i currently live, we have no poisonous snakes, but i will be in the ozarks in a couple of years & i know there are copperheads in that area. might be interesting to hear if folks have any tried & true methods for deterring snakes----keeping them off the property or at least away from dog kennels. pjp



I've seen a number of working terriers that have been bitten by copperheads. One of my hunting partners lived in the middle of them and she was a vet. All she ever did was give them antibiotics and tetanaus shots. 
Their heads would swell up like a foot ball for a few days then all would be well. Seems to always be in the head with the little bassids because they go straight in on a snake.
Lots of rattlesnakes in the Ozarks also. Not so easy on a dog when they get bit. 

Fact
A snake bite can have a 33% chance of being a dry bite (no venom)
33% chance of a "normal" bite. (normal venom injected)
33% of an overload bite. (more then normal venom)

This is due to the stress of the situation. When hunting they have great control and oly inject what's necessary to kill the intended quarry.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Bob, are those differing strengths of venom injection something that all snakes do, or were you referring to just the rattlesnakes? 
On a different recent thread, someone had posted about a preventative vaccine (?) for rattler bites. Would anyone with further information on that preventative treatment for rattlers, please share more specifics, e.g. name of the vaccine/drug, efficacy, pros/cons, etc.,? 

We have rattlers in my area, mostly in the dryer regions, but they also spend time in forested elevations where you wouldn't expect them.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

not trying to answer for Bob, but all snakes can control the amount of venom they will inject, or if they will inject any at all
- the potency is high even when they are young and not necessarily related to size and age

there have been a lot of studies on venomous snakes and what causes them to bite defensively or not inject venom, and it also has a lot to do with fang length and placement in their mouth, etc

but i would also assume snakes have some "personalities" of their own that they learn from experience and that might also have an influence on their biting styles, and i don't think that has been studied
- so i would always treat a venomous snake bite as a worst case scenario and hope to get lucky
- i really don't understand the adrenaline junkies who self inject snake venom .... THEY are strange birds indeed !
- but imo the best snake is one BBQ'd over an open fire


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## Jon Harris (Nov 23, 2011)

all three of my shepherds at home have had over the last couple of years copperhead bites. Benadryl and a couple days rest and topical antiseptic neosporine normally.

last year while I was in afghanistan my wife killed 17 copperheads in our yard over a period of a couple months We must have had a nest under the house or something.

We ringed the house and yard with SnakeAway it worked. This year only 3 so far


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)




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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

So how does the rattlesnake vaccine work? My dogs have been exposed to many bites, and the severity never lessens (Cottonmouth, not rattlesnake)


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

I looked up the post in the recent Yearly Vaccination thread. It was from Mel in Texas, who wrote:

"Since we are out in the woods a lot I give my dog rattlesnake vacc yearly." 

So I hope maybe he will read this and share some information on what the rattlesnake vacc is, and how it works.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

At one point, when I was doing a fair amount of hiking in So Calif, I had my dog rattlesnake vaccinated. It's made by Red Rock Biologics. Here's a link to their FAQ page which will give you info on the types of snakes, etc..:

http://www.redrockbiologics.com/rattlesnake_vaccine_faq.php

My reasoning behind having my dog vaccinated was that I thought it would buy me extra time to get him to a vet, if he was tagged by a rattler.

It's also important to note that UC Davis doesn't recommend this vaccination, nor do they carry it.

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/...edicine/newsletters/vaccination_protocols.cfm


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

susan tuck said:


>


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

susan tuck said:


> At one point, when I was doing a fair amount of hiking in So Calif, I had my dog rattlesnake vaccinated. It's made by Red Rock Biologics. Here's a link to their FAQ page which will give you info on the types of snakes, etc..:
> 
> http://www.redrockbiologics.com/rattlesnake_vaccine_faq.php
> 
> ...



Thanks for that. We have a different type of Rattler up here (_Crotalus oreganus oreganus or Northern Pacific Rattlesnake). _So it is likely that vaccine wouldn't be a good bet.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Meg O'Donovan said:


> Thanks for that. We have a different type of Rattler up here (_Crotalus oreganus oreganus or Northern Pacific Rattlesnake). _So it is likely that vaccine wouldn't be a good bet.



All the snake venom is snake specific. You may vaccinate fora particular rattle snake and get bitten by another. The vaccine will have little to no effect.


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

It doesn't sound like the vaccine does much. Since it all depends on amount of envenomation, location of bite, etc who can tell if it helps?

I personally have not seen a decrease in symptoms in dogs with multiple bites, which seems would be the case if vaccines work?


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