Our Chair, Neil Farquhar has been away for 3 weeks and always enjoys the greetings from his animal family on his return.
He was not disappointed!
Pushkin (the cat) alerted Neil and his wife to a different visitor this time… Monty (aren’t all pythons called Monty?) was back to welcome them as well!
Just a reminder to all our members and friends that the warmer weather gets our reptiles on the move.
Whilst Monty is of little danger except to very small animals and poultry, dogs and cats have a habit of annoying them just as they wake up. All snakes are often a bit slower than normal but the venomous species can be cranky and lethal.
September (wake up time) and February (hottest) are the peak times for animals to be presented to vets with snakebite.
Symptoms vary a lot and the altercation is often not witnessed by the owner.
Signs of snake bite in cats and dogs include:
- Sudden weakness followed by collapse
- Bleeding puncture wound
- Swelling in the bitten area
- Pain and discomfort
- Neurological signs such as twitching, drooling and shaking
- Vomiting
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Dilated pupils
- Paralysis.
A trip to the vet as quickly as possible after seeing these signs gives the best chance of recovery. Pressure bandages don’t work so well on animals but I have seen it done!
Don’t be fooled by the sudden collapse and then apparent recovery. The other life threatening symptoms soon set in.
Prevention is best achieved by keeping the house surrounds free from bush, habitats for rats and having the ability to keep reptiles and pets apart (good luck with that sometimes especially if a Jack Russell is involved!)
Neil relocated Monty back to the woodshed area on his property as they don’t survive well if moved too far and enter another snakes territory.
Also remember, Neil is a retired Vet so he knows how to handle snakes. Do not attempt to move if you are unsure of the species or are not familiar with snakes!
