Last month, Shania was out in the backyard playing with Sephy. All of a sudden, there were piercing Shiba warning cries. When Sephy alerts in this fashion, something is usually up, so we quickly went to investigate.
We found a rattlesnake under one of the bushes!
I quickly got Shania inside, and my partner killed the snake with a shovel because Shiba Sephy was still in bite proximity.
It was too late though, because Shania had already gotten bitten by the snake.
Signs of a snake bite –
- She rubbed her muzzle in the grass a few times, which is usually an indication that there is discomfort on her face.
- She occasionally tried to paw at her face.
- She came inside, and went to hide in the corner. She does this when she is really not feeling well.
- There was some slight swelling on her face. At this point, the bite site was not visible.
We put the dead rattler in a bag and rushed Shania to the emergency room.
When our dog gets bitten by a rattlesnake –
- Do not panic. Stay calm and keep our dog calm. Stress and activity will cause the venom to move through her system more quickly.
- Even if we just suspect that it is a rattlesnake bite, take our dog to the vet or emergency room as soon as possible. I made the mistake of calling the emergency room first, and the silly receptionist said, “It can’t be a rattlesnake. Dogs that get bitten by a rattlesnake immediately keel over and die.” This was of course nonsense (more later on the different poisons and what can cause death). Only listen to the vet.
- If possible, snap a picture of the snake for the vet because then, they will know exactly what type of bite they are dealing with. The vet tech at the reception desk refused to believe that Shania was bitten by a rattlesnake until she saw the snake. Then they admitted us in right away.
Dog Rattlesnake Bites
Some things I learned from the vet about rattlesnake bites-
- The severity of the bite depends on how much venom the snake released, and on the size of the dog. Smaller dogs are at greater risk.
- There are generally two types of rattlesnake venom. The vet said that the snakes in our area have the more wimpy venom. According to Wikipedia the wimpy venom is classified as Venom B, and the bad-ass venom is classified as Venom A.
- Mojave toxin is a powerful neurotoxin. As such, it can cause severe neurological degradation which can lead to …
“vision abnormalities and difficulty swallowing and speaking.”
~~[Wikipedia]“Death, when it does occur, is the result of respiratory failure. … the highly dangerous venom containing Mojave toxin is present in C.s. scutulatus populations inhabiting southern California, southwestern Utah, southeastern Nevada, parts of western and southern Arizona, and the Big Ben region of Texas.”
~~[Texas Snakes:Identification,Distribution,and Natural History]
Their potent venom is the result of a presynapticneurotoxin composed of two distinct peptide subunits. The basic subunit (a phospholipase A2) is mildly toxic and apparently rather common in North American rattlesnake venoms. The less common acidic subunit is not toxic by itself but, in combination with the basic subunit, produces the potent neurotoxin called “Mojave toxin.”. … Venom A bite from Mojave rattlesnakes is more than ten times as toxic as Venom B, which lacks Mojave toxin.[15]
~~[Wikipedia]
- Heavy concentration of Venom B (wimpy venom) may inhibit blood from coagulating, which can cause an animal to bleed to death. The vet measured the percentage of blood cells affected by the venom to make sure that this was not a danger for Shania. She did this several times as the venom progressed through Shania’s system.
Venom B causes pronounced proteolytic and hemorrhagic effects.
~~[Wikipedia]
Treatment and Recovery
The vet at the emergency hospital decided not to give Shania anti-venom because she said that the anti-venom can sometimes cause complications and Shania, luckily, did not receive a large dose of venom.
Initially, they tested Shania’s blood to make sure that it was not overly affected by the venom. They also gave Shania a shot to dull the pain and discomfort.
Then, we stayed on for a couple of hours because the vet wanted to see if the bite site would show. She wanted to clean it properly so that there was no risk of infection. However, after two hours we still could not see the bite site, so the vet sent us home with some pain tablets. Our hope was that Shania could rest more comfortably at home.
At this time it was already close to midnight, so I stayed up with Shania to make sure things did not get worse. Sadly, her face continued to swell during the night, she could not sleep because of the pain, and she would not eat or drink. I called the vet several times during the night to check if we should bring Shania in again.
At around 2 in the morning, we brought Shania back. At the hospital, they can continue to monitor her blood cells, give her an IV drip, as well as morphine for the pain. She stayed at the hospital for over 2 days.
After about 1 day the bite site finally showed up, so they were able to shave the area and properly clean it.
After about 2 days, the swelling on her face started to recede and Shania was more alert and interested in food. We were so happy to hear this, and even happier to hear that we could bring her home!
Useful Links
- There is a canine rattlesnake vaccine produced by Red Rock Biologics. Here is a very useful article on the vaccine from UC Davis.
- Another informative article from UC Davis on prevention measures, what to do after a bite, what *not* to do, and treatment options at the vet.
My beloved girl Prescott was bitten in the face and eye by a 6 foot Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. We rinsed the wounds as best we could and rushed her to UF Shands Vet Hospital whre we had to haggle over payment for at least one hour befor ethey would see her. She got at least 2-3 vials of antivenom but I was told she went into cardiac arrest. We brought her home to bury her but they promptly sent an $8000 bill.
My heart is broken and I could care less about the bill
Prescott’s mom
I am so very sorry for your loss. I lost all three of my dogs the last few years so I know the deep pain and grief involved. I still miss all three of them.
My beloved girl a 5 year old german shepherd died within an hour of an eastern diamondback rattlesnake bite x 2 to face. I rushed her to UF Shands emergency where it took another 30 minutes for them to haggle over who was going to pay for antivenom.. She died and I feel due to their money grubbing malfeasance. Instead of treating her immediately they wasted her precious time left haggling over money and it is a public university clinic.
I have a $950 bill that I could care less about and pay anyway but my girl is DEAD OVER THEIR MONEY GRUBBING STUPIDITY.
Northeast Florida here. Today my 75 pound Husky/GSD bitten by 7+ foot Diamondback Rattlesnake — on my back patio. There is about 20 acres of woods on one side of us, and all the rest around us is subdivisions and plenty of traffic.
We got him to the pet emergency within 45 minutes of the bite to the face (cheek). By then his face was swollen twice its size. They gave him 2 units of anti-venom within an hour after we got there (they had to thaw it out first). Each unit costs $500. You have to pay first. After an hour, they tested (2 tests); he was worse on one test, a tad better on the other test. Then they gave him 2 more units. Tests again in another hour. Basically same results. They gave him a 5th unit (their last on hand). Called another emergency vet on the other side of town for another unit, and sent a runner to get it. It is now 3 AM and I am awaiting results from the next round of tests. They tell me my dogs eyes are swollen shut and his face is now horridly swollen. He has about a 50/50 chance to survive. We have a lot of people praying for him and the vet said they are all also praying for him. They said that if he has to have any more units, he will have to be transferred to the other emergency vet.
I am so sorry to hear this Betty. Our prayers are with you and your brave boy.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We had a bunch of people praying for Achak (pronounced ah-chahk), even the vet staff prayed for him. It took 6 units of serum @ $560 per unit for the first 5, and the 6th unit came from a vet across town who uses a different brand of serum which costs $805.19 per unit. So, I paid a total of $3,605.19 for the Antivenin. The 5 blood tests “PT/aPTT” totaled $498.75. The grand total for the billing was $5,056.73.
He was admitted on Saturday, 5/18/19 at 6:45 PM.
He was released to come home on Sunday, 5/19/19 at 7:30 PM.
On Monday, 5/20/19 he saw his regular vet, who told me “Achak is still not out of the woods yet, he could still die. He still has a lot of venom in his body and it is still having the anticoagulating effects.” His left eyeball was not visible, his inner eyelid could not move because there was so much swelling. All I can see is the bloodshot white of the eye.
His vet gave me a tube of antibiotic for his eye (administer 4 X per day). That antibiotic was “Vetropolycin” which is bacitracin-neomycin-polymyxin and cost $25.06 for 1/8 oz tube. I have sticker shock over these medications. Today (Tuesday 5/21/19) both vets have called to check on Achak. Tomorrow I will be taking him back to see his regular vet. I am hoping and praying the best for his eye.
Thank you for letting us know what happened. Glad to hear that Achak is home. Give him a big hug from me.
Yeah, I know all about crazy vet bills. Even though we didn’t do the antivenom, our bill was also really high because Shania stayed over for several days for observation. She didn’t want to eat the first couple of days, so they wanted to keep her until she started eating again. I am currently doing the rattlesnake vaccine with my other Sibe. It is supposed to reduce the effects of the poison some (not fully, so emergency visit is still necessary). But the hope is that it will increase chances of recovery.
Update on Achak: He is now completely blind in his left eye (cannot even see shadows), because of the snake bite. And he is still showing signs of pain. Our vet wants him to wait until August before removing a couple of skin tags on his snout, because I suppose he deems Achak to not be over the snake bite before then. Because he said, “Let’s see if he lives first.” We are giving him Rymadil for the pain, at this point.
I enjoyed your pictures of your 3 babies. They are all beautiful.
Our dog, a Vizsla (Pointer) was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake on Nov 12/19 in Central Florida. We immediately drove 45 minutes to a Tampa Emergency vet where he received painkillers through IV, fluids through IV and 6 vials of antivenin. It took 6 vials to get his blood coagulating properly. They kept him in the hospital 24 hrs and we took him home to Ft Lauderdale afterwards. We took him to local vet every two days to check his blood. First 5 days were rough… swelling started coming down but he was lethargic, not eating much, vomiting, unable to hold his urine and then not being able to urinate. He got antibiotics for a urinary infection and started feeling better after 5 days. Every day his strength came back, his appetite was excellent and no vomiting. He did have some inflammation on the pancreas and liver from the venom and maybe the antivenin in his body. Blood work wasn’t terrible but not ok until 4 weeks later when everything went back to normal. At first vets thought he was bitten on the face (muzzle) because he had a cut there but when swelling came down from his neck the bites were clearly visible there. We got very lucky…. he’s a young dog (not quite 2 yrs old), was very healthy prior to the bite, larger size (70 lbs) and most importantly we got him to a clinic with antivenin quickly and he received aggressive treatment. Hang in there… it will take some time but you have to be optimistic! You can check out his story, progress and photos at http://www.ArgoTheVizsla.com
Greetings from germany
i do have relatives in california who have dogs and they were often bitten by Snakes but those bites were dry bites. The sneaks did not inject venom
Has anyone had a reaction to the anti-venom. My lab got bit this morning. She got the anti-venom within 45 minutes and had anaphylactic shock to the anti-venom. They had to stop the iv after only half a dose.
Our Vizsla did not have any side effects from the antivenin but we were told that anaphylactic shock was a possibility. I hope your dog gets better… sorry to hear about your experience
Yesterday was so terrible, my baby was bitten by a Timber rattlesnake. He died in 10 minutes. It was horrible I could hear the rattle, i ran and yelled at the dogs to get back but it was to late. It was the hardest thing to see. The rattle haunts me I heard it I knew exactly what it was. We lost a family member, a friend, a protector, a listen ear that never judged. He will be missed. RIP Psyco
Good information, but a few corrections. Snakes are not poisonous. Their venom is a toxin, not a poison. Yes, there’s a distinction. Second, you don’t need to bring the snake to the vet. In fact, this is flat out bad advice (sorry to be so blunt about it). If you’re close enough to kill the snake, you’re close enough to be bitten. Best advice is to leave the snake alone…or call someone who can capture/relocate it. If you need to ID the snake, take a photo at a distance. We pretty much all have smart phones these days. The antivenin used in rattlesnake bites covers ALL rattlesnakes. So it’s really not as important to know what type of rattlesnake it was.
Again, I mention all of this with safety in mind. The last thing a bitten dog needs is for his/her human to get in harm’s way. Human rattlesnake bites are a lot costlier than dog rattlesnake bites (think six figures instead of four).
I’m due to pick up my dog, Lola, from the vet this afternoon. And she’s there for a rattlesnake bite to her nose. Our little dachshund got hit last year (and made a full recovery).
Thanks! Have updated the article with fixes. Very glad that Lola is feeling better. Big hugs to her.
I had 2 of my dogs bitten on the nose today by a rattle snake. They both had the vaccine for rattlesnake bites. Got bitten around 8am at 1pm we were at the vet. They did not need to have the 800.00$anti venom.they both were home by 6pm same night both are swollen but I think they will be OK. Glad you had no problems with shibashake.i also had a tri-pod dog they get along just fine on 3 legs. Good luck with your kids