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Good Snake Weather


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Hi guys,

This is probably not necessary for everyone to read, but a lot of us are experiencing warm wet weather at the moment, and of course the snakes love it.

My beautiful Murphy is presently in the vets being treated for a (now dead) red belly snake bite. It is too early to tell how things are going to go, but we got her there quickly, with pressure bandage applied to the effected limb, so we are hopeful.

It was just in our home yard where the grass is fairly short, but it is very difficult to keep the grass mown at the moment - too wet for the tractor, and too much grass for a normal mower when it grows so quickily in this weather. Just be careful out there!

(not so cheerful)

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The first report this afternoon is that her red blood cell count has dropped, due to the haemolytic effects of the snake poison. Haemolytic means it damages the red blood cells so they break apart. This is to be expected and at this point in time, it is not too dramatic, but it is early days yet.

The best way to keep snakes away it to remove all cover for them (long grass and piles of garbage) and to take away possible water sources. Well, I do not think water is the issue - that is everywhere. But it is difficult to keep things mown at the moment. We usually have very well mown lawns, but with the amount of rain we have had, we cannot use the tractor because it just chews up the ground, the ride-on would get bogged and chew up the lawn, and we simply cannot keep up with the rate the grass is growing with the normal mower.

The dogs have all been shut in this afternoon, and I guess it will take a few days to get over the paranoia. The dogs will get a bit stir crazy if they do not get exercise!

Of course, all of our dogs are fanatical hunters. They are always after the lizards, Sparkle brought me a tortoise yesterday, and they often catch rabbits. All eight of them were in on the fun with the snake, and it was actually Rabbit (the 15 year old!) that had a good hold on it when we reached them. I have always said it will happen to one of our dogs eventually. I am just disappointed that this is one of the times I was proven correct!

Still not cheerful but hopeful,

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Best wishes for Murphy!

I accidently stood on a Carpet Python the other night letting the pups out to the loo in the dark, got a nice bite for my trouble too :laugh: I felt awful, he didn't seem hurt though, more interested in slithering away.

I am always on the look out for Brown snakes our way, i am paranoid about them.

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Best wishes to Murphy for a speedy and full recovery. Thankfully you were able to administer first aid and get him to the vet quickly - that's a huge head start in helping him get through this.

My boy was bitten (and survived) 2 years ago and ever since I have been completely paranoid about snakes and have gone to extreme measures to keep the dog yard and house yard as clear, clean and snake unfriendly as possible.

As Snake Catcher said, they will be out and about for a while yet so even though we've had a couple of cold nights down here, we still cant afford to become complacent.

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Hi all,

News of Murphy this morning was that there were still signs of red blood cell damage, but looking better this afternoon. She may come home tomorrow. Still not totally out of the woods, still concerned about possible kidney problems, but at this time she is looking on the mend.

Now a little more cheerful, Le

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