Post by hawkingchic on Oct 18, 2008 10:22:31 GMT -5
I went hawking yesterday, it was a nice day in Colorado about 58 degrees at the time. Perfect sunning conditions for a rattle snake. This year I have run into more rattle snakes than I have in the 9 years I have been hawking. So of course my hawk catches a very small rattle snake. I didn't have a clue if she was bit, so I called my friend and asked him to call the vet and get info. When he called me back he informed me that there is no anti venom for birds, but there is supportive care, he also said she would have swelling at the site of the bite and would go into shock quite quickly because of their metabolism. So I decided to get her in right away and if she was fine we could go back out. When I got to the vets about 20 minutes later she still looked fine. They got us into a room right away and we noticed swelling in her feet, we also found a bite mark on the bottom of her left foot. I was absolutely terrified! This is the best bird I have ever had (she is once inter mewed frt). The vet had never dealt with a bird being bitten by a rattle snake so I asked if he had thought about calling the Raptor Center, and he did he also googled the internet. In the mean time I was calling all of my falconry friends and asking if they ever knew of anyone whose bird had been bitten. My friend informed me she knew someone whose bird had been bitten and died. Of course that did not make me feel good, so I asked if she could contact this person and get info and she did. Seems his bird was bit in the chest not a good thing, he told her my bird had a good chance because it was bitten on the foot. When my vet was finally able to contact the Raptor Center, they told him they had never dealt with a bird being bitten by a rattle snake either, but gave him the name of a vet in New Mexico. By this time he had given her an injection of an anti inflammatory (this is about 1 hour after bite). After contacting the vet in New Mexico he said Benedril is how he treats the birds he has seen. By this time we are about 2 hours into it. She is now drooping her wings, eyes are dilating and contracting, nictitating membrane going back and forth, looking like she wants to go to sleep and she urinated all over me. I'm not talking normal bird poop, I'm talking urine. About 10 minutes after the urination he gave her Benedril and another drug (I can't remember what because I was too stressed) to help fight infection so she won't get bumble foot. After he gave her the two medications within 10 minutes she regurgitated the snake (yes I let her eat it because she was working on it when I got there). Once the Benedril was in her she started coming around real quickly. After another 10-15 minutes he tubed her with some fluids and once we knew she was keeping that down I gave her some rabbit meat without casting material. Finally left the vets office about 3 hours later. She is now on Baytril for one week just in case the snake bite could cause an infection he also has her on an anti inflammatory which she threw up this morning. Other than her foot and leg being really sore, you wouldn't know that she was bit by a rattle snake. I am so lucky to have such wonderful falconry friends..two of which came to sit with me while I was at the vets and others who offered support and wishing us well. Also my friend who called her friend to get more information for me. I sure can't say enough about falconers, they are always there for you.
