Snake bites, your dog or you | Page 2 | Squat the Planet

Snake bites, your dog or you

D

Deleted member 26656

Guest
@Travelisinvigorating you need to calm down. just because someone has one offhand remark to your thread doesn't mean you get to go off on a tirade of flaming the other person. you can have disagreements here without insulting others. consider this a verbal warning.
Sorry, my bad. My appologies. Can you at least ban him or something?
I bet if I got bitten by a snake he would just stand there.
 

WyldLyfe

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
Banned
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
228
Reaction score
303
Location
tasmania
Ay, going to add a bit more here.

Most snakes don't look to encounter humans. The problems humans face with snakes usually arise due to accidental encounters or human actions towards the snake so both of these problems can be managed from the human side.

What snakes are in your area? Are they venomous or non-venomous, or a mix of the two? Have you spent some time looking at images of the snakes in your area to enable you know the type of snake should you encounter one? What are the specific habits of the snakes in your local area? All this knowledge can help you to avoid them or keep safe should you encounter one.

Snakes hear differently from humans, they lack external ears. However, they can hear through their inner ear via their jawbone, and what they hear are vibrations. Thus, having a heavy footfall as you walk will help to alert a snake you're coming, allowing it to slither off in the opposite direction. This inability to hear in the same way that we do can be used to your advantage, as you can alert your fellow humans that you have come across a snake without any concern that your talking will aggravate it.

For the most part, snakes like places like under rocks, on ledges, in trees, inside hollow logs, under wood piles and in shrubs. They can also be found in water both land and water based snakes can swim. They can easily be overlooked for leaf litter, sticks and plant materials. This is why you are at greater risk of encountering a snake when going off-path and into thick vegetation. The human defensive skill when walking amid potentially dangerous wildlife is vision and whenever human sight is reduced, the risk increases. One example of a snake that relies on its camouflage over moving out of the way is the Australian death adder. It will often remain coiled up, relying on the leaf litter as camouflage. This is why you must not rely on vibration alone, but also use sight (look for coiled, round shapes in this instance), while you could also gently prod through vegetation with a large stick before heading across it. This is yet another reason why you need to be aware of what type of snakes are in the area and their typical habits.

Things to watch for can include. The snake curls itself up, in some snake species, this can be a sign it is getting ready to strike. The snake raises its head, When done in reaction to an encounter, it is a fairly good indicator that the snake is getting ready to strike. Striking distance of a snake is generally about half the snake's body length but you should give the snake at least double that length of space between you and it. Moreover, this is dependent on the snake type, hence the need for learning more about the snakes in your area.

Wear the appropriate clothing, especially for your feet and legs. Ninety percent of snake bites are focused on the ankle area, so it makes sense to cover up these parts of your body. This means wearing long pants and boots. Since a snake's bite instinctively clamps on, if it gets nothing more than pants, you may avoid a bite on your skin. Looser pants also allow for better airflow that cools you in warmer weather (the weather you're more likely to encounter snakes in). Thick socks are an extra layer of protection, provided you can stand them if it's hot. Don't rely on clothing alone, as it is just one part of your whole line of defensive actions. There is no guarantee a snake won't bite through clothing.

Also snakes will naturally gravitate towards warm roads and pathways when these have residual heat as darkness falls because this helps them to keep warm.
 
  • Useful
Reactions: Juan Derlust

Matt Derrick

Retired Wanderer
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
10,542
Reaction score
13,815
Location
Portland, OR
Website
youtube.com
  • Love It
Reactions: Juan Derlust

Coywolf

Make America Freight Again
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 12, 2014
Messages
2,528
Reaction score
4,993
Location
Mormon Country
Website
www.youtube.com
If you or your dog get bitten by a snake, you need antivenom. There's no substitute treatment, you cannot cut, bleed, or suck out the venom. If you have a dog, and you're in the desert, I highly recommend you get a bottle of rattlesnake vaccine. It's cheap ($10-$20), and you give it to the dog before they get bit, so you don't need to rush off to the vet. I personally generally keep my dog on the leash in the desert; there's too much trouble they can get into out there.

Call me HIGHLY suspicious. But I am very, very skeptical of something called a 'rattlesnake toxin vaccine"

Venom from rattlesnakes is a poison, not bacteria or a virus. I do not see the medical science behind giving this medication to develop a "tolerance" to venom.

This may do more harm than good. Yes there are cases of humans that handle snakes developing a sort of tolerance after getting bit multiple times, but an animal the size of a dog VS. Diamondback or Green Mohave venom is always a losing battle.

I doubt this would help much, if it even works. Antivenom is the only thing I would reccommend. That and keeping to animal calm to reduce the spread through the bloodstream.
 
  • Useful
Reactions: Juan Derlust
D

Deleted member 26656

Guest
Call me HIGHLY suspicious. But I am very, very skeptical of something called a 'rattlesnake toxin vaccine"

Venom from rattlesnakes is a poison, not bacteria or a virus. I do not see the medical science behind giving this medication to develop a "tolerance" to venom.

This may do more harm than good. Yes there are cases of humans that handle snakes developing a sort of tolerance after getting bit multiple times, but an animal the size of a dog VS. Diamondback or Green Mohave venom is always a losing battle.

I doubt this would help much, if it even works. Antivenom is the only thing I would reccommend. That and keeping to animal calm to reduce the spread through the bloodstream.
Sounds like snake oil (big pun intended), but it probably works.
 
Joined
Sep 27, 2018
Messages
23
Reaction score
3
Location
Atlantic City
Wahhhh you dog abuser
 

Attachments

  • 8E493A6B-A962-4210-9F5A-D51D5E45FE1D.png
    8E493A6B-A962-4210-9F5A-D51D5E45FE1D.png
    3.4 MB · Views: 270
  • Angry
Reactions: Matt Derrick

Matt Derrick

Retired Wanderer
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
10,542
Reaction score
13,815
Location
Portland, OR
Website
youtube.com
  • Agree
Reactions: Juan Derlust

Matt Derrick

Retired Wanderer
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
10,542
Reaction score
13,815
Location
Portland, OR
Website
youtube.com

mylon

Lawn Care Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Messages
152
Reaction score
136
Location
PA
Not sure where else this is available but in AZ it's common for people to take their dogs to rattlesnake avoidance training. It's supposed to be very effective.
 
  • Useful
Reactions: Juan Derlust

Dameon

Well-known member
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
928
Reaction score
1,589
Location
Northern California
Call me HIGHLY suspicious. But I am very, very skeptical of something called a 'rattlesnake toxin vaccine"

Venom from rattlesnakes is a poison, not bacteria or a virus. I do not see the medical science behind giving this medication to develop a "tolerance" to venom.

This may do more harm than good. Yes there are cases of humans that handle snakes developing a sort of tolerance after getting bit multiple times, but an animal the size of a dog VS. Diamondback or Green Mohave venom is always a losing battle.

I doubt this would help much, if it even works. Antivenom is the only thing I would reccommend. That and keeping to animal calm to reduce the spread through the bloodstream.
Exactly how much it helps is debatable, that much is true. It's difficult to find support for injecting a bunch of dogs with rattlesnake venom to objectively determine its effectiveness. It's even possible it doesn't actually help at all. There's no evidence I'm aware of that it hurts.

To clarify, even if your dog has vaccine, you should 100% get your dog to a vet as quickly as humanly possible (I'm aware I fucked up by saying you don't need to rush off to the vet earlier, do rush off to the vet). The vaccine is to buy time, not to replace antivenom. Considering how cheap it is, I think it's worth it if you're going to spend time in the south, and I have relatives in Arizona that swear by it.
 
D

Deleted member 26656

Guest
Exactly how much it helps is debatable, that much is true. It's difficult to find support for injecting a bunch of dogs with rattlesnake venom to objectively determine its effectiveness. It's even possible it doesn't actually help at all. There's no evidence I'm aware of that it hurts.

To clarify, even if your dog has vaccine, you should 100% get your dog to a vet as quickly as humanly possible (I'm aware I fucked up by saying you don't need to rush off to the vet earlier, do rush off to the vet). The vaccine is to buy time, not to replace antivenom. Considering how cheap it is, I think it's worth it if you're going to spend time in the south, and I have relatives in Arizona that swear by it.
isn't it simply possible to carry the antivenom in like a match case or something?
 

Dameon

Well-known member
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
928
Reaction score
1,589
Location
Northern California

About us

  • Squat the Planet is the world's largest social network for misfit travelers. Join our community of do-it-yourself nomads and learn how to explore the world by any means necessary.

    More Info

Help us pay the bills!

Total amount
$10.00
Goal
$100.00

Latest Library Uploads