Snake Bite

[knightrider]

I turned horses back out for a few hours today because it was so cool and rainy…went back out just a few min ago and found a big black snake in front of the barn. I went in to set up to bring horses in and they heard me.

I opened the door to find my pony sticking his nose at the snake out of curiosity and it lunged at him. I think he got bit based on the way he was reacting. I can’t find any evidence though…

Do I need to worry about the bite? What do I look out for? Since its just a black snake I think I’m ok?

I hosed everyone to keep them away and then hosed the snake hoping he’d go in the opposite direction… but he’s under my hay pile now…and going to totally freak me out every time i go get hay now… ugh.

Should I do anything about this?

[cutter99]

Call your vet!

[knightrider]

i did… they said not to worry… of course i worried so i posted! phew

[cloudyandcallie]

You need to catch the snake and hold it (for the snake fans, but I’d kill the snake myself) just in case. Copperheads can cause swelling and not kill. Rattlesnakes kill.

In summer 2013, Hattie came in from pasture with a small mark on her heel. Didn’t look like a snake bite. (And yes, I’ve seen snake bites IRL including on my siamese cat’s nose when I was a kid. Cat lived, with lots of vet bills.) So I put medicine on what I thought was a cut. By the next day, her leg had blown up. And her chest. And her stomach. I called vet and he came out and said snake bite. She was in a cast for 6 weeks, stall bound, and had to take lots of antibiotics stronger than the SMZs I’d given her for what I thought was a scraped heel. She had gotten cellulitis from the snake bite. And $1500 in vet bills later she was fine, with just a scar where the bite was. When she was owned by her previous owner, she’d gotten snake bitten on her chest and had a lot of swelling but had gotten OK. (I boarded at the barn which her owner owned.)

I never found the ******* snake.

So watch your horse for swelling. I’d never seen a snake bite that did not swell up right away. But this one took a while to swell.

[knightrider]

Didn’t catch it… but did get a picture. def a black snake. I just went to check on him and no swelling yet. Will def keep an eye on it though. Thankfully he had his muzzle on but i’m slightly concerned because his eye is watery so watching closely to the soft area around the eye.

Vet thought we’d be fine…but will def check before i leave…thank you!!

[poltroon]

A black snake is not venomous, but of course there is the risk of infection if there was an actual bite. They have little needle teeth that are not likely to do a lot of damage, especially not to a nice sturdy horse.

A long long time ago, I was holding a small boa for a veterinarian who was removing sutures, and let my face get too close, (I know you guys are laughing already) and was bitten on the forehead. No treatment was needed, not even ointment. So just watch it, but most likely there’s no issue.

[cloudyandcallie]

Black snake is not poisonous, but they carry nasty bacteria in the mouth and on fangs. Which can cause swelling and infection. And as I learned, cellulitis.

So if you have some SMZs, start with them. And if you have any topical with colloidal silver, put it on the bite. Vet prescribed the topical with colloidal silver, I forget the name, and put it on before the cast. And I put it on after the cast was cut off. And Hattie got a nice big tub of Enrofloxin to take orally. (vet said SMZs were not strong enough.)

I hope your horse does not have the trouble that Hattie had!

[goodhors]

Tetanus shot should be up to date. As mentioned, snakes can have lots of dirty things in their mouths, tetanus among them.

[cloudyandcallie]

So right goodhors. Mine get a tetanus and rabies along with everything else each year, and sometimes 2x a year when they get their EEE and west nile shots.