Dog possibly bitten by snake??

[Lori P]

Hey guys-- my dog Jewel came up very sick yesterday morning-- lethargic, depressed, lame, swollen leg from the toes to the hip and a little in the abdomen. Rushed her to the vet, who diagnosed a possible snake bite (how ironic!!!). He found a very tiny puncture wound on the back of her thigh, determined she had an abcess, inserted a drain into her leg. Sent her home on abt.

She is feeling miserable, and with the leg shaved you can see a large bit of bruising. My questions are-- to those of you in my neck of the woods-- aren't most snakes hibernating now, or, have our temps been too mild (which is what the vet said)? And, any idea what kind of snake in my area could cause this?

Here's a pic-- you can see where the drain is, the puncture was above it. And of course, it may not have been a snake at all. I even wondered about a spider. Her thigh and hip area are three times their normal size, and her leg is swollen as well.

Poor girl is just feeling terrible. I'm taking her back tomorrow if she hasn't perked up; I'm wondering why he didn't give her pain meds, so I've got a call in to them.



Thanks guys! Send healing thoughts to poor Jewel!!!

[Stefan-A]

Northern copperhead, maybe? Or isn't it venomous enough to cause that kind of reaction?

It's one of three venomous snakes I could find, that live in VA. The other two are the eastern cottonmouth and the timber rattlesnake.

[enigma200316]

well I hope Jewel is feeling better soon, as for poisonous snakes your looking at Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and Timber Rattler that I know of off
hand, but I'm not sure it was a snake bite.......of course thats just my opinion............ I'd lean more towards a Spider or something of that nature.......possibly a thorn too........

[adamanteus]

After 24 hours I would expect much greater damage if it were a bite from a Cottonmouth or Rattler, it does look quite like a crotalid bite to me though, so maybe a Copperhead.

Of course it could just be a scratch or puncture wound that's gone septic, but the bruising makes me think not.

[Lori P]

That's what I was thinking... it came on so suddenly. Friday morning, she was out playing with us and acting normal. Friday night, I remember thinking she was a little quiet (she went and got on the bed early and wouldn't come back out of the bedroom) and then Saturday morning, bam, huge swelling and pain. I was feeling so guilty for not noticing sooner, but thinking back, she showed no signs.

They do run the woods behind us and we've got a creek back there, plus there is a huge swamp a mile or so back. So she could have come into contact with a cranky snake. Poor girl.

And omg, the odor... I've got every candle in the house burning... lol!!!!

[enigma200316]

That's what I was thinking... it came on so suddenly. Friday morning, she was out playing with us and acting normal. Friday night, I remember thinking she was a little quiet (she went and got on the bed early and wouldn't come back out of the bedroom) and then Saturday morning, bam, huge swelling and pain. I was feeling so guilty for not noticing sooner, but thinking back, she showed no signs.

They do run the woods behind us and we've got a creek back there, plus there is a huge swamp a mile or so back. So she could have come into contact with a cranky snake. Poor girl.

And omg, the odor... I've got every candle in the house burning... lol!!!!

with that said then I would, say most likly a Copperhead..................
you said the vet only saw one puncture wound though right???
so maybe the snake if it was didn't get a full hit on her............

[Lori P]

Justin, yes, the vet could only find one puncture. He said the same thing; if it was a snake, it only got one fang into her.

I know we also have some huge brown spiders here.. not sure what they are. Oh, let me go look, I took some pics a while back.

[Sid]

HI Lori,

Sorry to here about your dog. With the unseasonably warm days we have had here in the south east it is very possible She could have run across a Copperhead. They are the least toxic of the venomus snakes in your area.
Here's a link to the Virginia snake page
Snakes of Virginia

[Lori P]

Here's one we found early in the fall when we were cleaning up some old wood. It's on a 2 x 4 board. UGH!!!!!

[Lori P]

Hey Sid, thanks. I did look on that page earlier, and you answered my question about them hibernating; we've had so few really cold days so far. I hate the cold, but since we still have flies and ticks out in December this year, I could go for some freezing temps!!