Alert! dogs and cats envenomated by Eastern Brown snakes
This is a hot and dry Spring, and the good news is we are not seeing Dogs and Cats affected by ticks yet, as it is just too dry. There has also been a great uptake on the use of tick preventatives such as Simparica, Bravecto and Revolution plus that has kept pets safe.
However, we have seen heaps of dogs and cats envenomated by Eastern Brown snakes.
This area has a large number of Eastern Brown Snakes residing and they are getting active with the warm weather.
It has now been stated that those Brown snakes in Queensland are more venomous than those down South.
The Fox Terriers and Staffordshire terriers are the most common breeds we see due to their tenacity and hunting ability but we see many other breeds as well
What to look out for:
DOGS:
- Barking out in the yard with purpose, on a hot day
- A collapse where the dog appears to be dead but then recovers called a “pre paralytic collapse” Generally this happens within 10 minutes
- Weak in the legs, similar to a tick, and eventually not able to stand, onset of this stage may take minutes or hours
- Drooling, shallow breaths
- Bleeding from minor wounds or from the mouth
- Rarely do we actually find the bite wound
CATS:
- The above signs may be seen but more often they present to us later as they are more resilient to the toxin
- Often present to us paralysed with a twitching tail and anxious eyes in the evening, after being bitten through the day
What to do:
- Call the Hospital and bring your pet in as soon as you can. If a Pre paralytic collapse has been witnessed, the pet will die unless treated
- We can perform a simple blood clotting test suggestive of the Eastern Brown Snake Envenomation
- Rapid treatment can lead to a very high recovery rate