Tic Tac’s the Chihuahua Maltese X became very ill after attempting to play with an Eastern brown snake in a Jimboomba backyard one Sunday afternoon. Fur mumma Victoria spotted her three dogs playing with the snake, and quickly ushered them back inside ‚Äì where she perused their bodies for any sign of a snake bite.
Unfortunately, 10 minutes later poor little Tic Tac collapsed. The Chihuahua Maltese X had been bitten by the Eastern brown and had been seizuring on her side. A common symptom of snake bites on dogs is for the animal to collapse shortly after, and then recover – seeming to be fine. However, if Victoria had ignored these important signs, her dog would not be alive today.
Rushing Tic Tac to Animal Emergency Service at Underwood, Victoria spoke to veterinarians Dr Mark Simmonds and Dr Gerardo Poli, who immediately began to test the poorly dog with a snake detection kit. These kits are used to detect which type of snake bite is prevalent within the bloodstream.
After testing the blood’s coagulant properties using an ACT test (activated clotting time), Gerardo confirms that Tic Tac’s clotting time (which should be around 120 seconds), is higher, at almost 300 seconds.
As Tic Tac was transferred to the Pet Intensive Care Unit, within the same building at Underwood, her activated clotting time increased to 700, indicating high probability that she may become paralysed.
The team administered two vials of life-saving anti-venom, and Tic Tac was monitored heavily over the next 24 hours to ensure that her ACT levels returned back to normal. Because her owners had rushed her to the emergency vet, veterinarians were able to treat her quickly, saving her life.
For more information about snake bites, including symptoms and treatment, visit our Guide to Snake Bites on Dogs blog.
If your pet has been bitten by a snake or you suspect they have, visit your closest Animal Emergency Service hospital or your local vet.