Black snake on our deck Last night I came home to discover a 5 foot black snake on the back lawn. Whilst poisonous they are a slow killer and generally quite timid.
The "Red Belly" hence its name "Red Bellied Black Snake"
Sadly it had been killed by our two terriers. Even more sadly it had bitten one of the dogs which is now at the vets under going anti venom treatment. The needle is $1200.00 plus the vet bill itself.
Small fangs but can be deadly. I am advised that there is no guarantee the dog will live. If my daughter was not with me at the time I would have advised the vet to put the poor little fellow down. But its Christmas, and he is a great little dog.
I am awaiting the news from the vet either way as I type. The fact is- no poisonous snake is ever 100% safe.
Sad to read about the dog simon. We met two young English people who had been walking the Camino in France with two horses. Sadly, just over the border into Spain, one of the horses got bitten by a snake. It was a similar touch and go story about whether the horse would still be alive in the morning. We left the next morning in pouring rain, and never did hear the outcome.
ReplyDeleteI was horrified to learn when I was walking in France that some tiny little green snakes that I had decided were harmless, were actually very venomous! But as you can see, I lived to tell the tale!
yes- he is still at the vet and still alive ( as of last night)
ReplyDeleteSnakes are generally timid, and will only bite as a defense. King Browns are a bit different- they are agressive in the breeding season.
I did not know there were poisonous snakes in Europe!
We learn something new every day.
Yeah... they just don't have them in Ireland..... as St Patrick got rid of them from there ;-)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your big bill. We have one poisonous snake in England, the adder, but more people die from wasp stings than adder bites.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a good weekend mate.
Here are two poisonous ones from the area I was walking in:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_berus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_aspis
I never saw either of these. I just saw some small green ones that I thought were harmless grass snakes, until one day somebody told me they were venomous and dengerous. I believed them at the time, but can't find them on Google, so maybe those ones were not as bad as I was told!
Kiwi, the first of those ois the adder I mentioned, found through most of Europe.
ReplyDeleteSimon, have a good Solstice mate.
Oh poor little dog. Hope he is going to be alright. Poor snakey too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas to my favourite Australian!
Lorenzo. xx
bundos
Now that's the way to impress the ladies Simon!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful Christmas, I bet it will be warmer than ours in the UK.
Simon..... what happened to your dog in the end?
ReplyDelete