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
Depends on the kind of snake and venom but judging by the gums ( pink gums healthy blood flow, pale gums anemia) it was a hemotoxin, a toxin that acts on the cardiovascular system and its cells.
Many toxins breakdown the vascular system/arteries that carries the cells or rupture the cells themselves or stop oxygen from binding to the red blood cells.
All these things stop the transportation of oxygen, a necessary ingredient for energy production.
The hard part is unlike neurotoxins, hemotoxins can take much longer to show symptoms.
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