Just killed one the other day!

 

Good information, do not worry about your spelling, I am in the same boat, if you can make it out it is good enough!! I do not know if cooperheads are in the rattlesnake family, thats what we have here. I live on a mountain, and on the rocky side drop off a long way down, thats were they live and most stay in that area. From Oct to May, we do not have to worry about them. I would think some of your dogs may have built up some immunity. I keep the grass cut short around my property so that the snakes do not like. One last thing, and I feel you know this, rattlesnakes can even with there head cut off can still bite and inject venom. Take care!

 

I love snakes!!!!

Dogs have a pretty good chance of surviving snake bites, just depends on the dogs. Our dog lost her tail but survived, our friends have had a few dogs bitten without death one old female nailed right in the face but she survived too. These snakes were western diamondbacks. The Diamondback does not have a particularly toxic venom either but they are very likely to bite and give a good dose of venom. Still many dogs survive.

I know the feeling of snakes getting bad. This year we are doing ok, last year was crazy with bullsnakes. The dogs were killing them frequently, I was spying them often, had a few calls of freaked people to have them removed (of course they thought they were rattlesnakes) and there was 1 in the house at least every other month. This year doesn't seem to be too bad so far.

Good luck to you and your dogs.

 

We have Mojave Rattlesnake-Crotalus scutulatus. The often mis-named "Mojave Green" has the most potent venom of any rattlesnake in North America. Its poison is about 16 times more powerful than that of the Sidewinder. I don't think my dogs would live. Or me for that matter. We are to far from medical help. I noticed our feed store had a dog trainning class on teaching your dogs to avoid snakes. I think that is a good idea.

 

I'd have to agree there, a dog is not likely to survive Mojave bite, they are one of the more venomous snakes out there. In TX the Mojave is top but it is not as widespread as other snake species so less people/dogs to come in contact with,
copperhead or diamodback is less fatal but more common.

 

Thank you for posting this. I usually don't read a post all the way through if it's really long cause I have the attention span of a flea, but I read yours.

I take my dogs into the woods every morning 7/24 and snakes have always been a concern for me. I've seen them out there, a huge one striked at one of my dogs and it was either a warning strike or missed cause there was no reaction to a bite from my dog. Too me a snake is a snake and they all creep me out and I avoid them, course I can't tell poisonous ones from non, but doesn't matter.

 

Thank you for posting this. I usually don't read a post all the way through if it's really long cause I have the attention span of a flea, but I read yours.

Me too Aero...the attention span I mean. I love snakes and luckily all I get here in the 'burbs of Houston are "garter snakes" which I usually find dead in the house because Mort (probably) got a hold of them. Don't know what I would do if I found a big snake..

Couldn't a snake die if it didn't find food...?

 

If your dog is bite try to kill the snake so your vet can treat your dog corectly. I was just reading a story where it says "It ended up being a very expensive adventure, with a bill totaling more than $10,000. Doctors used four bottles of antivenin, borrowing some from neighboring clinics, at $767 per bottle." Wow that alot of money for a snake bite. This was the Mojave Green. This is my local paper.

Miniature dachshund survives bite from Mojave Green

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/green_7689___article.html/miniature_mojave.html

 

This is just a really good year (for them, anyway ;P) for copperheads, apparently. We've had a lot down at the farm (Falls County, an hour and a bit south of the OP), and my friend Beth (Txcollies) killed one last night at her place out in Weatherford.

 

Yep, we killed it. Copperheads and Chicken Snakes give us the most trouble. But they are usually shot before they can cause any trouble.

I've had a goat, cat and two dogs bit by snakes. What kind I'm not sure, although I'm willing to bet copperhead. They swelled up and that was it.

I've heard from other breeders that rattlesnakes do more damage, copperheads do very little if any to dogs.

 

Hi,

My wife and I started a site that is open to all to add stories others can benefit from. It stems from a cancer scare we had with our retriever. So we tell our story so if someone else is in a simlar situation, our info may be of some help. We wish we would have known more as we went through it.

Like your copperhead story, we feel every dog (and dog owner) has a story. We call them "Dog Tails." We hope to build a library of helpful information from every-day dog lovers, like us. We are just getting started. Please feel free to visit and add your "Tail". Thanks.

http://www.doggedlydetermined.com/communityStories.cfm

 

We get snakes in our yard a few times a year. Some of them are copperheads...but they are usually already dead when we find them. I have no idea what kills them...they don't have any sign of injuries like they had a run in with an animal or something, so that is a bit of a mystery. We don't use rat poison or anything in our house for mice for fear the dogs and cat would get into it so its unlikely that they ate a mouse that had come in contact with poison.

Anyway, I live in a rural area. Most of our property are hay fields that surrounding farmers come and cut down for us twice a year and they get to keep the hay for their cattle. It does help if you keep the brush cut back a fair distance from the house and don't leave out piles of wood or other objects that they can get into. My boyfriend swears that common black snakes keep copperheads away (not sure if that is true or not) but we don't generally kill a snake as long as its a fair distance from the house. If it does come too close to the house, my boyfriend will try to relocate it to the surrounding woods instead of outright killing it. However, there have been at least 2 occasions where the snakes wouldn't "cooperate" and he did end up killing the snake. Personally, I won't step a foot out of the house if I know a snake is in the yard. I am terrified of snakes to the point of it being a phobia.

I've heard that copperhead bites aren't generally deadly unless to the very young, elderly and those who are already sick. I would assume that the same would be generally true for animals. However, if I knew that any of my dogs or cats had be bitten by one, I'd immediately be on the phone to the vet and/or bringing them in. It's better to be safe than sorry. None of my current animals have been bitten by any sort of snake that I'm aware of.

However, two of my previous dogs did "gang" up on a black snake several years ago and they ripped it to shreds. Also, one of my cats have killed a snake. This same cat has come in other contact with other snakes that I've witnessed and the cat was just too agile for the snake and easily dodged and jumped away from the strikes.

 

just wondering if they did any aerial spraying in your location, thats not too healthy for humans. If the snakes are just dieing, thats a bad sign.

 

Even where I live in So CA high desert you will find dead snakes with no sign of anything wrong. I don't think there has been any spraying here. This is a picture I took of one that I found earlier this year. To me it looks like it just died. I did not see any marks on it. Last year there was not many snakes due to our drought. There was not as many rodents, and quail either. This year we had a tiny bit more snow so the weeds grew and the whole food chain started back up.

 

Its just the Copperheads that we find dead. I don't think that I specified that previously. One of the them was coiled up in the side yard and just looked like it was sunning itself. After closer inspection, my boyfriend saw it was dead. It looked to be a young snake too. Also, last summer we found one on the side of our driveway...also dead. It's a little weird but I honestly never thought much of it. We don't have any other kind of animals that that have died without apparent reason...just the Copperheads.

 

Dear everyone who read my post. I Need to write and update on some new information. I went to my vet the other day and talked to him about these copperheads and he said that he doesn't like to give dogs Benadryl because it can cause permanent psychological effects so he gives them a shot - I can't remember what it's called but I think it starts with a D. I'll ask him again and get the name. He gave me two syringes with it for my two dogs just in case they do get bitten and told me to give it to them in the meat of their thigh. He also told me that antibiotics do not get the swelling down. I read and talked to other vets online and they all say to take them but I TRUST my vet he is very good.

So I guess if it's an emergency then you can give them benadryl. I can attest to the fact that it did help my dogs alot but I don't want to chance causing them problems.

Also, there is a Rattlesnake Vaccine that you can give your dogs once a year. Go talk to your vet about it. He said that people say it really helps with Copperheads too. And since rattlesnakes are much more deadlier to our little babies then I'm going to get them vaccinated. The venom is the only thing to worry about - infections and other problems can be as deadly if not more so it's a good idea to always have them looked at.

He said he had a pit bull in a while back that got bitten on the tongue and his tongue swelled up so huge. He gave it those shots and the owner just kept dousing the tongue with water and it went down in a few hours. Poor baby but he's doing okay now.

Like I said in my first post - always talk to your vet and take their advice over anyone elses. We all learn as we go and I hope my OP didn't cause any problems in anyone's pets. Take care everyone. As soon as I get the name of that shot I will post it. I'll also create a new post with this info to make sure everyone sees it. Take care.

 

Killing the snakes in your yard is not the answer. It will not stop them from coming back. There are snake proof fences that you can build around your property if you are that concerned about it. It is not hard to do.

Also if you have had such an issue i suggest strong avoidance training instilled into your dogs. There are trainers that will do this for $75 or so.

Also, of course there is the vacine.

Rather than killing these animals it is just as easy to remove them from your property. If you can swing a shovel then you can shovel the snake into a bucket and dump it in the woods.


There are reptile people who would more than happly do this for you as well, for free.


I repeat that killing them will not make them go away at all. I urge you to simply move them. These are animals too, just like your dogs. The cute animals are not the only ones that deserve to live. Just my two cents. thanks

 

I feel so lucky to live in Maine.(most of the time!) I know we have a reputation for having cold weather and snowstorms, but we don't have poisonous snakes, thank goodness. We also don't have earthquakes, tornadoes (usually) very few hurricanes, floods, or mudslides, no volcanoes, scorpions, tarantulas, wildfires, etc. I am so glad I don't have to worry about Ruby getting bitten by a snake. I think I will trade having to dress her in fleece in the winter for snake bites any day.

 

we put out moth balls and it keeps the snakes away

 

ewww I HATE snakes, I would kill them too If I had one in my yard, I agree with the lady from maine, I will take the cr@ppy winter over snakes anyday!

 

A crappy winter would just make your house more apealing to a snake. Its warm inside.

Like i said before, killing them doesn't make them go away. Your house is built in their habitat, they aren't going anywhere.

 

thankfully, I live in NJ & have never seen a snake here (knocks on wood)

now at my dads house in Fla., there are lots of snakes, not to many but I do see them around, mostly run over by cars.

To me saying dont kill them is is like saying dont kill mice if your house/yard was infested with them.

 

Mice are vermin...pests.... Snakes are a natural part of the enviroment... a wild animal.... they do not "infest" areas.

They move constantly and while they have ranges there is no particular teritory for one animal.

If there is no reason to stay in your yard the snake will move on. If there is a reason to stay, Say a mouse infestation. It will stay.

This is the reason killing them doesn't do any good. More will just mosey through.... a snake released into the woods will most likely never return to your yard. Unless you are a food source.

People always worry about snakes in their yard. You either are

1. in a rural area and need to quit complaining because wildlife is normal.

2. in an urban area and you are a food source. This means there is a rodent/ bird population in your yard/neighbors yard. Kill your mice and gophers and the snakes will leave you alone.

Im not asking anyone to do anything. Im just promoting education on the subject because i think alot of killing is done out of irrational fear and ignorance. (kinda like dogs turned into shelters eh?)

 

I dont really think I need to be educated on snakes, I remember learning all about them, so thanks anyway.
IMO a snake is a pest, thankfully there are no snake shelters. & I have not seen any around my way, so it really does not matter to me.

 

I dont really think I need to be educated on snakes, I remember learning all about them, so thanks anyway.
IMO a snake is a pest, thankfully there are no snake shelters. & I have not seen any around my way, so it really does not matter to me.

I think you are mistaken. You've proved this already.

That comment on education was meant at the world in general. Not you.


Just for your uneducation.....

New jersey is home to 71 species of snakes

Florida is home to 45 species.


Florida is warmer so they obviously move around more. Doesn't mean there are more of them, just more visible.

As far as the comment on snake shelters, there are maaany clubs, societies and rescues. Not everyone likes only the cute and fluffy animals.

 

keep your uneducation, I have lived in Jersey for 25 years & I have never seen one, & If I do I will make sure I kill it just for you

 

keep your uneducation, I have lived in Jersey for 25 years & I have never seen one, & If I do I will make sure I kill it just for you

if people said som'thing incorrect or wrong about pitbulls you would say som'thing im sure. its the same with snakes for me.

I've already explained why you've never seen one.

You can ignorantly murder all the innocent wildlife you want. If thats your perogative.

Way to show people who you really are. That you would kill an innocent animal to get back at som'one you don't even know who is trying to politely educate people.


What a lovely addition to our forum...yay.

im done talking to you. Peace.

 

I hate snakes too

 

Ouch. Sorry to hear about your dog.

Like I said earlier in this thread, I have had a goat, cat and two dogs get bit (one dog got bit twice during a few months time.) The swelling was bad, but they quickly got over it, even the one that got bit in the face.

 

If you're in snake territory, especially rattlers, may I suggest that you consider having your dog vaccinated with the rattlesnake vaccine? This is probably NOT a stock vaccine at most vets' offices, but I'm willing to bet that if you gave enough heads' up, your vet might be able to get it for you. If you live in snake country in a place where there are a lot of hunting dogs or farm dogs, you may have better luck finding a vet who has this vaccine in stock.

To my knowledge, there is one manufacturer-- Red Rock Biologics.

From the site:

What types of snakes does this vaccine protect against?



Should my dog be vaccinated?
If your dog lives, works or plays where rattlesnakes live, you should consider vaccination with a rattlesnake vaccine. Approximately 300,000 dogs and cats are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States. Rattlesnake venom can cause serious injury and even death.

What types of snakes does this vaccine protect against?
This rattlesnake vaccine was developed to protect against Western Diamondback Rattlesnake venom. It is most effective against this snake's venom.

Venom from many other snakes found throughout the United States is similar to the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Because of these similarities, this vaccine also provides protection against the venoms of the Western Rattlesnake (including the Prairie, Great Basin, Northern and Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes), Sidewinder, Timber Rattlesnake, Massasauga and the Copperhead. This vaccine provides partial protection against the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.

This vaccine does not provide protection against the Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth), Mojave Rattlesnake or Coral Snakes. Red Rock Biologics is developing a variety of vaccines to provide the best protection against poisonous snakes for dogs in each part of the country.

http://www.redrockbiologics.com/FAQ.html

More info:

http://rattlesnakevaccinefordogs.com/segD_trans.html

Important note-- this vaccine should be considered as a means to buy time to get to the vet, and to MINIMIZE (not ELIMINATE) the effect of a snakebite, and to help your dog recover better under a vet's care should he or she be bitten. If your dog has the vaccine and is bitten by a covered species of snake, veterinary care is still critical.

Hope that helps.

 

I would be careful about giving the the rattlesnake vaccine. Dogs have had seizures and died after getting it.

http://www.doggienews.com/2005/02/rattlesnake-venom-vaccinations.htm

http://www.pantanoac.com/rattlesnake vaccine.htm

http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/vmth/clientinfo/info/genmed/vaccinproto.html



We have a huge copperhead problem out here. And I will shoot, and shoot to kill. It only takes one bite...

 

We have a huge copperhead problem out here. And I will shoot, and shoot to kill. It only takes one bite...

Let's say there is a vicious dog in your yard, teeth bared and getting ready to attack. Would you;

a) Shoot it

b) Try and get inside to call AC to try and remove the dog from your property

The point I'm making is there are many better alternatives other than shooting a Snake who was there likely long before you. You can explore different routes where these animals get relocated into an environment with little human interaction.

 

Considering that I live so far out that AC will NOT come and help no matter what. We are very rural, country folk out here.

If it came down it it, I'd A) Shoot it.

And considering that I live so far out that it's no use relocating snakes, since we have so many. That ain't gonna happen. If a snake was threatening me, the dogs, another family member, the stock, etc. It will get removed from the picture. End of story.