I got home at 3:30 and he was cold. I already knew it was too late. Partner said he’d seen a small lump on his leg at noon but no abnormal behavior.
At the vet they shaved his leg to find a vein but he had no blood pressure. He passed in my arms.
My question is, what is the process? What does the venom do? Why were his gums white and his foreleg black from his toes to his face?
In: Biology
It’s really hard to say without knowing what kind of snake bit him. Different species of snake have different venoms.
In the USA, rattlesnakes are the cause of most venomous snake bites, so if you’re American, that’s the most likely snake. Once a venomous bite is received, the venom will spread through the body from the point of the bite. Generally, it only becomes fatal once the venom reaches an essential organ, or enough damage is done that life becomes impossible.
Rattlesnake venom does a few things to the body, but its most devastating effect is what it does to blood. Rattlesnake venom is a **haemorrhagin**, a chemical that destroys capillaries, damages veins/arteries, and destroys red blood cells.
So, the bite happens. The venom begins destroying the capillaries in the area around the bite. This means blood can no longer flow to that flesh, and with no access to fresh blood and oxygen, the flesh dies – this is called *necrosis*. Necrotic flesh turns black.
As it works up through the bloodstream, it continues to destroy blood vessels and red blood cells. The patient becomes anaemic quickly, as they can’t produce new red blood cells fast enough to replace the ones being destroyed.
Exact cause of death will vary a bit – could be extreme anaemia, could be the venom reaches an essential organ and it shuts down. If necrosis spreads fast enough, that could also be a cause of death.
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