
Arizona’s hot environment makes it a perfect breeding ground for rattlesnakes and other venomous snakes. These creatures like to hang out in places where they can easily hide, like grass, carpets of leaves, and behind or under rocks. They will even use junk as a hiding and nesting place. Since a dog will like to sniff around in such areas, they can easily be bitten. Your cat isn’t safe either; cats like to hide in small dark places like snakes do, and can easily find that their intended location has already been occupied by a serpent.
What to Do if Your Pet is Bitten by a Snake
Keep your pet as calm, quiet, and inactive as possible. This helps slow the spread of venom throughout its body. Be sure to keep yourself calm as well – pets pick up on your emotional state, so if you freak out, they will too.
Try to identify the snake, but only from a safe distance.
Rush your pet to the nearest open veterinarian in Tucson. Do this even if your pet seems to be acting normally; it can take a while for symptoms to show. Speed of treatment is essential for successful outcomes.
What to Avoid Doing
Do not do the old, discredited method of cutting across the bite marks and trying to suck out the venom.
Do not apply a tourniquet. Cutting off the blood flow can cause the loss of the limb.
Do not apply ice.
DO NOT WAIT to seek veterinary snake bite treatment!
How to Tell if Your Pet Has Been Bitten
Sometimes, you can see the telltale fang marks on your animal. Thanks to fur, however, it’s more likely to spot symptoms first. Look out for extremely painful swelling, bruising, or bleeding; sudden weakness; vomiting; unsteady gait; tremors; and collapse.
Contact our Tucson Veterinarian Today
If your pet has been bitten by a snake, come see our emergency veterinarian immediately. We’re Twin Peaks Veterinary Center, and we serve the areas of Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, and the surrounding locales. Give us a call at 520-572-8300.