If your pet is bitten by a snake...

Your beloved pet is running around the garden, and may be even outside, all the time. It's so playful that it tries to play with every thing it comes across in the garden or outside. What if it comes across a poisonous snake, such as a cobra, and starts playing with the reptile? The snake will surely bite it. Don't panic! Our veterinarian Dr. D. A. U. Samankumara of the Kirindiwela Animal Clinic will this week tell you about snakes and what you should do if your pet is bitten by one.

Of the 96 varieties of snakes recorded in Sri Lanka, only a few have an effective venom injecting system known as the venom apparatus. These are called venomous snakes. Snakes can be grouped according to the degree of local and systemic (in the body) reactions, which they produce in the envenomed or attack victim: They are Highly venomous, Moderately Venomous and Dangerous snakes.

Highly venomous snakes

These snakes have the venom apparatus and produce highly dangerous venom. A bite could cause mild to severe local and systemic reactions, which may even be fatal. In Sri Lanka there are six species of highly venomous snakes on land.

One is the Krait or Karavala in Sinhala. It is highly venomous though its venomous gland is small. It can be identified from its black and white rings; the neck is not prominent The Common krait and Ceylon krait are widespread here. They are common in some seasons, especially from August to November.

They are more active at night when most bites occur. The danger here is that the victim won't feel the bite, but will get an unbearable abdominal pain about an hour later. Post-mortems have revealed blood in the victim's stomach. The victim will have breathing problems and could die of respiratory paralysis.

The Cobra (Najanaja) is also highly venomous. They can be easily recognized, because of the hood and ventral and dorsal markings. Cobra venom contains a neuron toxin, which affects the neuron system. Russell's Viper or Thith Polanga, is also highly venomous and has a triangular head with a 'V' mark on it. There are three rows of spots along its body.

Saw-scaled Viper (weli-polanga) is a venomous small snake with a cross mark on its triangular head. Although it's one of the most dangerous serpents in the world, the Sri Lankan saw-scaled viper is not that venomous. It's because this serpent generates venom when it is hungry and looking for food, but luckily, at its local habitats, it gets enough food.

The Slender Coral Snake or the 'Depath Kaluwa' is another member of this family. It's also venomous. Its head, neck and body are the same width, while its tail and mouth are very small. This snake is about 30cm-50cm in length and light brown in colour.

Moderately venomous snakes These snakes cause mild to severe local and systemic reactions, but only a small percentage of the bitten victims actually die. The Humped-nose Viper, a small snake with a triangular head, a raised snout, pits between the eyes and nostrils and a prominent neck; and the Green Pit Viper, a large snake with a triangular head, prominent neck and pits between the eyes and the nostrils, are examples.

Mildly venomous snakes

These are snakes whose bites do not cause any serious local or systemic reaction, e.g., Cat Snake, Sri Lankan Cat Snake, Gamma Snake, Barne's Cat Snake, Forsten's Cat Snake, Vine Snake and Green Vine Snake.

Treatment

If a snake bites your pet, try to reduce its(your pet's)activities and make it calm. Because, when it's active, the blood circulation is faster and the probability of spreading the poison throughout the blood is high. So, what you can do is, first wash the bite wound with tap (running) water and soap. Give the animal a lot of liquids like water, milk, or if you have the facility, saline.

Rush your pet to a veterinary surgeon, because if he/she could give your pet the anti-venom as soon as possible, your pet's life will be safe. Anti-venoms are available for almost all these snakes, except for the Ceylon Krait. Because anti-venoms are imported to our country from India, they are available only for snakes, which are found in India too.

In case a Ceylon Krait bites your pet, what you can do is, give your pet more liquids to drink. This will induce the creation of more blood cells, thus reducing the concentration of poison in the blood. The danger to your pet's life might thereby be reduced.

Janani Amarasekara