![]() If you suspect a bite, call your veterinarian immediately, and keep your horse out of the sun. It can also reduce the pain associated with rattlesnake bites in horses. A preventive vaccine, Crotalus Atrox Toxoid, is available, with anecdotal reports of less severe clinical signs in bitten vaccinated horses. Examine horses living in snake-infested areas daily for swellings characteristic of bites. If you spot a rattler on the trail, stay at least 8 to 10 feet away, and it will usually leave you alone. Before heading into a grassy area, throw some rocks or sand to scare off any unseen predators. First, stay on trail paths if possible-this goes for your dogs, too. There are ways to help prevent snake bites. In our practice, we have seen a reduction in the amount of swelling and number of days horses remain hospitalized, as well as a lower death rate using antivenom. Reports in veterinary literature show fatality rates in horses decreased from 10% to 0% with antivenom, and fatality rates in dogs decreased 50%. It provides an antidote to the venom, decreasing its toxic effects. We administer IV antivenom, which is a product prepared from the serum of horses exposed to venoms. Some veterinarians also administer corticosteroids and/or antihistamines. This consists of relieving clinical signs as we did with Mac, using pain control, antibiotics, IV fluids, and maintaining the airways. The most important thing to remember about rattlesnake bites is that successful outcomes are more likely when you get veterinary treatment right away. The toxins move through the circulation and cause necrosis of the heart muscle, often resulting in permanent damage. Venom causes profuse bleeding and, therefore, swelling in the tissues, followed by necrosis, or tissue death. Both horses moved off the cleared path into the long grass, where horse and rider couldn’t see the snake.Ī bite’s severity depends on its location, the amount of venom introduced, the horse’s immune response, the size of the snake, and other factors. An average of 3 to 10 eggs are laid in March through July eggs hatch from May through October. They mate from November through March with a peak in mid-November through late December. In my experience, bites are more common in curious, naive, or young horses, although last year we had two client horses bitten during a trail ride. TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : Eastern indigo snakes can grow as long as 125 inches (262 cm). Bites occur most often on the muzzle, but also on the limbs. They hibernate in the winter, are active in the summer, and breed around August. Rattlesnakes live in all but the most upper of the United States. We schedule an exam to assess his heart rhythm and rate six months later, because that’s when snakebite-caused heart damage generally manifests. Mac is one of the lucky ones the reported death rate from rattlesnake bites is 9-25% in horses. Although he still has some minor swelling, he’s no longer likely to die. If this isn’t sufficient, we have a tracheostomy tube (which veterinarians can use to assist breathing during airway surgery) ready stallside.Īfter two hours Mac’s facial swelling stops, and within five hours the nostril swelling subsides to the point that the syringe case tubes fall out. To maintain air flow, we insert open syringe cases into both nares. ![]() Mucoid (mucousy), blood-tinged fluid accumulates in his nostrils, which have swollen to the point that his air passages are dangerously obstructed. The swelling continues, closing Mac’s eyelids partially and limiting his vision. We administer fluids intravenously (IV) along with one vial of antivenom. Often more than 6 ft (1.8 m), but specimens reaching up to 8 ft (2.By the time Mac arrives, the swelling has spread to his eyes. They are non-venomous and have been declared as a threatened species by the US state of Texas. Found in Texas and almost everywhere in Mexico, the Texas Indigo Snake is a large size snake that is a member of the colubrid family.
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