Snake
Bite & First Aid Tips In Livestock
Snake
bites might be an occupational hazard for farmers, but peoples give very less
attention to snake bites in livestock. However, even if the animals are particularly
sensitive to venom, an
injury or death in livestock is dependent on various of reasons such as number
of bites given, quantity of venom injected, type
of animal, the size of both (animal & snake),
the age and the health of the animal. Thus, their healing
procedures also depend on the type of animal bitten by the snake and their
sensitivity to that particular variety of snake’s venom. As reported horses are
at the top place in the list of sensitivity which are followed by animals such
as: sheep’s, cows, goats, followed by dogs (and by humans), by pigs and cats (www.iamcountryside.com).
When a sheep is bitten
by a venomous snake, the animal will experience symptoms like difficulty in
swallowing; the tongue will overhang of the mouth and dribble saliva; followed
by the ejection of the abdomen contents through their nostrils. During this
stage the animals are unable to move & death may occur due respiratory
failure, especially if bitten by a species of cobra.
Where in case of goats
the symptoms are almost are similar to those of sheep’s, despite the fact that
goats show less sensitivity to snake venom. However, this group can die from
bites of Viper species. Not much information is in record due to lack of research
has been carried out on snake bites in case of cattle’s. A healthy animal shows
more resistance to the effects of venom than an older one who is in poor state
of health. Where it was bitten is also important.
How to Differentiate
& Identify Snake Bites In Livestock
On average, snake
bites in livestock occur at areas such as head, face, neck & legs while the
animal graze. Bites on the areas like head face and neck are comparatively more
severe than bites delivered on the legs. While, an animal that have been bitten
on leg region show signs of a “goose stepping” sort of leg action.
Bite Types
All venomous snakes
fall under two categories: elapids, & vipers. Elapids include snakes such
as cobras and mambas, whereas vipers such as Puff adders, Russell viper,
Saw-scaled viper etc. Species that fall under elapids category have small fangs
and have a tendency to “chew” their venom (neurotoxic) into their victim. Their
venom affects the nervous system and kills by paralyzing the respiratory
system. While in case of viper species they have long, hinged hypodermic
needle-like fangs that pierce the flesh to deliver the venom (haemotoxic) deep
into the tissue which causes huge damage to the blood vessels & tissue of
animal. Bleeding occurs which is confined to a small area and tissue necrosis
may also occurs even in animals which have been fully recovered from the bite.
In several cases, unrelenting lameness may also occur (www.beefmagazine.com/).
Nevertheless, it has
also been seen in many cases that snake bites in livestock are delivered to be
dry bite which means there is no venom is injected. It is assumed that snakes are able conclude
the size of an animal and as its venom is a valuable resource for them they do
not waste it erratically. Therefore it is believed that a dry bite may be delivered
as a warning (www.farmersweekly.co.za).
Other than this it is
very important to know that not all snakes are venomous, unless the
identification of snake positively, we must assume that the bite delivered is a
dry bite if any case no symptoms arise. Due to the poor identification, every
year thousands of venom-less snakes gets killed where, in reality, they are the
best rodent predators a farmer might have (www.msdvetmanual.com).
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| Necrosis symptoms in Cow (Source: iamcountryside.com) |
Pre & Post Treatments
Before calling the
doctor (vet or other) for help, first try to find out if the animal is actually
been bitten by a venomous snake besides try to click the snake species if it’s
around which might be helpful in its identification before proceeding further. Even
though it might be hard to locate the area of bite in case of livestock due to
the hairs on their body, but bleeding or swelling in the biting area is a good
signs to find out the affected area.
Usually a bite from
the venomous species of snake will leave two quite distinctive stab wound on
the victim’s body, which bleeds in the case of viper bites. Whereas a bite from
the non-venomous species of snake will leave complete teeth marks on the
victim’s body resulting in multiple number of puncture wounds which may bleed
copiously while in some cases probably no teeth marks can be seen if the snake
species is smaller as compare to the victims.
Do’s & Don’ts
Steps That Need To Be
Remembered:
Ø If in any case the animal has been bitten near the nostrils or
muzzle, these areas will show swelling, making animal difficulty in breathing.
What to Do
ü Put a clean section of tubing inside the nostrils just to keep an airway open & in case where the victims show symptoms of paralysis, putting down the tube little bit more can give the victim more time until the help arrives.
What to Do
ü Put a clean section of tubing inside the nostrils just to keep an airway open & in case where the victims show symptoms of paralysis, putting down the tube little bit more can give the victim more time until the help arrives.
Ø Keeping the victim calm & relax can increase the time span of
animal until the help arrive as an increased heart rate can extend venom in the
body more rapidly.
What to Do
Ø Let the doctor come to the victims rather than trying to take it by walking to a more available spot, as it will increase its heart rate only.
Ø Never try to cut the area bitten and suck out the venom by any means. As venom once injected can’t be separated out of blood or if you possess a cut inside the mouth it may poison you as well.
Ø In the case of bites delivered by cobra, just apply a pressure bandage near the bite and drape at to some extant of the limb. It’s done just to slow down the blood flow as venom is transport through it, as it will give some time to the victim to get more time until help arrives. This cannot be done in case of viper bites where swellings develop; this will do more harm to the victim than good. For bites delivered by viper and spitting cobras, only try to keep the animal calm only, and try to find veterinary treatment as quick as possible.
Ø Do not try to apply any hot or cold pressure, as this might damage the tissue even more.
Ø Do not try any other form of alternative treatment of your own; the only confirmed treatment is anti-venom for snake bites.
Ø For veterinary, they must able to find out whether the animal was bitten by a snake or not, whether venom was injected or its dry bite, what kind of snake species it was or what not and if the victim requires anti-venom or not. While in most of the cases animals possibly will recover only with helpful care.
What to Do
Ø Let the doctor come to the victims rather than trying to take it by walking to a more available spot, as it will increase its heart rate only.
Ø Never try to cut the area bitten and suck out the venom by any means. As venom once injected can’t be separated out of blood or if you possess a cut inside the mouth it may poison you as well.
Ø In the case of bites delivered by cobra, just apply a pressure bandage near the bite and drape at to some extant of the limb. It’s done just to slow down the blood flow as venom is transport through it, as it will give some time to the victim to get more time until help arrives. This cannot be done in case of viper bites where swellings develop; this will do more harm to the victim than good. For bites delivered by viper and spitting cobras, only try to keep the animal calm only, and try to find veterinary treatment as quick as possible.
Ø Do not try to apply any hot or cold pressure, as this might damage the tissue even more.
Ø Do not try any other form of alternative treatment of your own; the only confirmed treatment is anti-venom for snake bites.
Ø For veterinary, they must able to find out whether the animal was bitten by a snake or not, whether venom was injected or its dry bite, what kind of snake species it was or what not and if the victim requires anti-venom or not. While in most of the cases animals possibly will recover only with helpful care.
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