Question about my rattlesnake victim

[Marsha Cassada]

[SIZE=10pt]I thought Dusty was out of the woods. Yesterday he was galloping and frolicking. This morning he did not come up readily when called. I brushed him and decided to resume work on our hand shaking trick, and he could not eat the little alfalfa I held for him as a treat. He tried, but his mouth wouldn't work right. The swelling hasnt' gone down totally but he has been eating fine. So I looked in his mouth, and there was fermented/rotten grass under the top and bottom lip, against the teeth. I got the hose and washed it out and saw sores. Also rinsed out the insides of the mouth on both sides, in case chewed grass was caught in cheek pockets. [/SIZE]

My husband has an automotive tool sort of like the vet uses to drench the mouth after floating teeth, so we made up a saline solution and I rinsed his mouth with that. The vet told me he had expected sores in the mouth, I think because of dying tissue from the venom.

So now I am scared again that he won't be all right. I hosed out his mouth this evening and plan to saline again in the morning.

My questions:

should I put him in the dry lot away from grazing? I feel as though the grazing is good for him, but will rinsing his mouth out be enough? Why is the chewed grass collecting? I think he is still swollen around his mouth--can he not manipulate his mouth well enough yet? Would soaked grass pellets be best right now?

The fang punctures and skin splits are healing well. Still hydroing every day, though. Friday will be 2 weeks since the bite.

 

[Charlotte]

I don't know anything about snake bites, but just wanted to say that your little guy will be in my prayers for a quick and complete recovery. That must be so scary and it sounds like his horsey mommy is staying on top of things.

Charlotte

 

[REO]

Poor guy

My thought is, what does his poop look like? If it looks like he is chewing and prossessing his grass well, I'd let him graze and just keep his mouth cleaned out. If his poop is full of unchewed grass then that's different.

It hurts to try to eat with cheeks and lips full of hay/grass etc. Was he able (willing) to eat the alfalfa after you cleaned him out?

I'd want him to eat grass or anything else he wants. Keep him going strong. That has been quite an ordeal!

I'm scared to death one of mine might get bitten.

You're doing a great job Marsha!

 

[cretahillsgal]

Yes, let him eat whatever he wants to Marsha.

I don't know if you remember, but I had a horse earlier this spring that had injured gums and had a hard time eating. I think because it was sore he would constantly have stuff stuck in his upper and lower lips around his teeth.

My vet had me rinsing his mouth twice a day with a half and half solution of Nolvasan. And she told me not to do it too aggresively because you could knock off any scabs that may be helping the wounds heal. It took a while , but it did heal and you couldn't tell anything was wrong with him now.

Hope he gets on the straight and narrow path soon! Good luck!

 

[Marty]

Marsha I would consult with the vet on this. I am concerned that possibly you could aspirate him by the rinsing and also the possibility of choke. Maybe he needs his anti-inflamatories increased to reduce this swelling faster. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Thanks everyone.

He had soaked pellets, alfalfa, his grain ration, and hay last night. None of those seem to be a problem, only grass. Poop is fine, though maybe a little drier than usual, but there's plenty of it

. I was concerned about aspiration, but I try to hold his head down while rinsing and keep it out of his nostrils. I've decided it's worth it to let him roam and browse with his buddy, then rinse, rather than cooping him up in the corral.

I am not familiar with Novalsan, but will check into that. My vet is rather a minimalist, preferring the least treatment. He thinks rinsing is adequate. Since nothing could have been more vigilant than his care of Dusty after the bite, I must trust him. He did not recommend any more Banamine, as he felt Dusty has already had so much of it. I might try one dose today, though, since it's been a week since he had any.

 

[HGFarm]

Salt water is very healing and if you have sea salt, that is even better. But I agree, if you have a turkey baster or large syringe to gently clean out his mouth, that would even be better.

My mare did not develope mouth sores when she was bitten- and she got it right on the side by her nostril. Also, she swelled up like a toad all the way to her eyeballs, but in a week, that was gone, so I am a bit concerned that your guy still has swelling. Could it be possible there is a secondary infection that antibiotics may be required?

If he is eating his normal food ok, I would keep him off the grass for a couple of days and let his mouth heal up more- keep using the warm salt water to heal it. It may aggrivate it too, if he is using it to pull grass all day.

Keep us posted and hope your little guy will be all well soon!!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I went out this afternoon to check his mouth, and he just doesn't seem right. So I called the vet again. I feel like such a pest, but my stomach has been in nervous knots over this. Dusty is going on another round of antibiotic--Tucoprim. I chose that instead of injecting penicillin. I am going to keep him in the the corral, off grass, until I can see his mouth is healing. I used the turkey baster and salt water this afternoon, then a weak peroxide. There are several sores I can see in the bottom lip area. Can't tell about the top. I'm using canning salt, not table salt. I didn't have any sea salt. Also gave a dose of banamine. The vet said his eye is weepy because of decaying tissue in the nasal passage.

He is eating well. I gave him some soaked timothy pellets after the salt water torture, and he gobbled them up.

Monday I thought for sure he was on the mend.

 

[mizbeth]

Hi

I agree with the others you should phone your Vet. I suspect his mouth is still sore and perhaps some swelling in his mouth and throat that does not allow the saliva to form for him to swallow. My filly that was snake bitten did not want to eat much either after wards and her swelling went down fairly quickly with the DEX I was giving her. In her case she did not sluff(SP) off but I understand that they can and do. Even my Vet said she probably would, but she did not.

Good luck and hope your little fella starts improving for you.