SNAKE BITE in cattle

 

if you aren't seeing this at it's technical best click on         http://lplatefarmer.blogspot.com.au/
or just google 'Apple Gully Farm'
    
Sharks, snakes, spiders, blue ringed octopus, sting rays, cane toads, even the humble platypus. One of the privileges of living in Australia is our ability to boast about our venomous animals. A tourist's visit is complete only after they have visited an animal park full of our dangerous fauna.

Down on the farm we crash about in the bush where the occasionally sighted snake seems as bothered by us as we are of them,  we go our separate ways --  quickly, mutual respect I think it's called.

Our cattle spend all their days foraging around with their noses down in the grass and up until 2 weeks ago they too had managed to avoid our venomous fauna.  Until, that is, at dusk one Friday we noticed a 3 month old calf acting strangely, flicking it's ears and shaking it's head. Over the fence I went, and the normally wary 100 kg animal allowed me to walk right up to it, hold it's head and even check it's drooling mouth, it lent against me in a effort to stay upright.

Within 45 minutes paralysis had set in and it collapsed. These things always seem to happen at night or on a weekend- this was both. Though we had never witnessed the effects of a snake bite, intuitively it seemed the only possibility.

Snake bite  victim in ambulance with worried herd members looking on

Had this been a human, a loved pet or a valuable stud animal the available option is treatment with antivenom - at $600/ vial with 1 - 5 vials required.  So, what do city farmers do with a calf worth no more than $200?


Accepted wisdom is -- work out the economics and leave it to nature.
Early next morning the calf was still alive- just.

Google was no help, all it could offer was

        'Little has been described about the effects of snake bite in cattle. 

        Possibly because of their sheer clumsiness, 

       they may receive multiple bites and thus severe envenomation.'    

So we decided the little bull calf deserved a fighting chance. Google also needed the opportunity to update it's information on snake bite in cattle.


A compromise was made -- no anti venom, but as one half of the farming team is a small animal vet, everything else would be considered.
A rusty trailer in the shed became the intensive care ward.

emergency nurses working with the vet

The bellowing mother had alerted the neighbours, the kids were upset and eager to be nurses, the adults were bemused and interested to watch a city vet out of his comfort zone.  No sterile procedures here - no gloves, no masks, no monitors, just dirt, hay and rust.
The intravenous drip was nailed to a pole and we waited. 


 Within an hour the saline and glucose fluids were enough to rouse the calf. It was winched to it's feet and attempted to stagger out of the trailer. 
It was moving with an awkward high stepping 'goose step' gait and seemed to have an uncontrolled cud chewing action, grinding and drooling incessantly. Disoriented, it staggered around blundering into things -
      it was alive but blind. 

visiting hours in intensive care