Albino Cobra Loose In Thousand Oaks After Biting Dog

CBSLA.com) ^ | September 3, 2014 12:38 PM

[Blood of Tyrants]

An AR-15 doesn’t bite for no reason.

[Salamander]

That was not my point.

We either support nanny statism or we do not.

:)

[BenLurkin]

True that.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Sometimes laws are in place to protect the public from the few, and sometimes the laws protect the foolish from themselves.

[Bailee]

Here in central Georgia. I have 3 animals bit by diamond back Rattler that survived due to anti venom shot. Lost quite a few that I did not get to in time. Cats just dont seem to stand a chance

Last two were hit by one snake. Positive on Diamond back. Two doses of antivenom. Emergency vet care. Steriod shots and two days stay at Vet.

Not quite 1200$. We are fortunate to have a wonderful vet.

Can you explain the deal with Whole milk and Cream. Lot of people around here swear by it. Give them all they will drink and keep pushing it. Even saw a dog survive being hit by a large cottonmouth. Recovered as quick as my treated dogs.

Thanks

[BenLurkin]

Thousand Oaks (aka T.O.)?

Oh there are firearms there — and Moorpark is just down the road.

[Salamander]

It a fine line and a slippery slope.

I’d rather err on the side of freedom.

[vetvetdoug]

There must be a good manufacturer/producer and source of Eastern Diamondback antivenin to make it that economical to treat. Pigmy rattlesnake, Eastern Diamondback, and Cane Break Rattlesnake bites result in unfavourable outcomes due to the scarcity of antivenin in this area. Water moccasins bite numerous times and rarely dry bite. Copperheads bite and run. The Copperhead and Water moccasin antivenin requires two to three vials and cost alone is >$200 per vial and there are no specials. Most dogs have a serum reaction and that has to be monitored along with the antivenin.

I wish it were as simple to just administer one vial of antivenin to treat a snake bite. The shock, the serum reaction, the hemolysis of RBC's, the swelling of the site, the infection and kidney failure all make many snake bites nightmares.

I did save one cat that was bitten on the head above the eyes by a rather large Copperhead. The venom was subcutaneous when presented between the skull and skin. I anesthetized the cat, made a bold incision from fang mark to fang mark extending the cut to around one inch and then vigorously flushed the area with sterile saline. I had little tissue damage and actually sutured the incision back and the cat healed quickly. Lucky to have had the cat presented within minutes after envenomation along with the dead snake for identification.

[Salamander]

Perspective and logic are useful things.

[Salamander]

The current pETA/HSUS driven histrionic push to outlaw the ownership of many species of reptiles is going to grievously impact the antivenin *and* medical research industries.

“Unintended consequences” for all of us.

Imagine what antivenin will cost if they succeed.

[envisio]

Impress yall...

You see, If you bite something, then you die, its poisonous.
If something bites you, then you die, its venomous.

(I have been waiting a long I’ve been waiting to use that one.)

[Mase]

Spent a lot of time in Thailand back in the late 80's. This particular cobra is highly aggressive and kills a hell of a lot of people every year. It is not uncommon to find them slithering along a street, hiding in your garage, in your yard, under your home and so on. I know they are just looking for food, but this cobra is not afraid of people. Fortunately, and to your point, a lot of these bites end up being dry, otherwise, there would be a lot more deaths each year.

Living in SE Asia will dispel any myths that killer snakes don't exist. Anyone keeping or breeding these creatures is a menace to society and should be dealt as such. These kinds of reptiles should not even be allowed into the country other than for legitimate research.

[Salamander]

ironically, the very thing that makes the snake valuable may have saved the dog’s life.

Cobras have excellent vision and aim.

*Albinos* are functionally blind as their pupils contract uselessly, due to not filtering out excess light.

I have two Kahl Albino boas and feeding them takes more care than the others.

Veronica does okay, mostly but I have to feed Jake dark colored dead rats or he will, almost without fail, bite *himself* rather than the offered white rat.

The other boas’ homes are situated with good lighting so that they can enjoy watching the goings on.

The albinos live in an area with subdued lighting, lest they be in constant pain from bright lights or become stressed by all the unfocused movement happening around them.

Generally, I wait until Jake is distracted and place his food where he is *not* looking so that he will not be over-excited when he finally stumbles upon it.

*All* albino animals have degrees of light sensitivity issues.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

IMO, it’s bordering on cruel to intentionally create them unless you also make sure they live in a suitably humane low light environment.

Being nearly ‘blind’, it may have struck at the dog from fear..but odds are the dog harassed it.

[Figment]

“It may not be known, but we can pretty much guess that it didn’t end well for the dog. How many vets keep antivenin for cobras?”

Cobras aren’t as effecient at injecting venom as a rattlesnake or copperhead. They have fixed fangs and have to chew a while to pump it