Snakes and flooding...

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 14:28

Yesterday morning I thought my dog had been poisoned. Gave her a shot of Atropin and withing 5 mins she was back on her feet...

I now think she may have been bitten by a snake as 2 people I know have seen snakes on the road (in different places) in the last 2 weeks. I thought they were still in hibernation but perhaps some have been flooded out of their nests(?) and could be knocking about and v.grumpy. Has anyone else seen any and isn't it a bit early for them to be about?

MrsSnakes



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 1100

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 14:55

Feeling a bit worried.......what roads were the snakes seen please??



Mrs Snakes

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 14:57

New road out by Bahceli and near Kaplica.

steveww


Joined: 27/05/2009
Posts: 96

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 15:25

my dog has ben ill,she has just had a hair cut and i thought she was cold.her mussel became swollen and she was off her food and sick,she has perked up now but still not 100%.

does any one know what the swollen mussel might suggest?

sienna


Joined: 09/01/2009
Posts: 1627

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 15:30

Has she got any lumps elsewhere ? my dogs suffers from allergies, and when it happens her face and snout (boxer) swells up sometimes she gets lumps all over her body 'Piriton' anti hystamine tablets, were prescribed and do the trick - but she may well have been bitten by something wasp bee etc., this can also cause the smae allergic swelling :0



Hope she gets well soon



Ps are her teeth ok

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 15:30

Plenty of snakes about after the Brisbane monsoons, some even have two legs!



Richard

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 15:39

Sounds like a snake bite on the snout.

begonia


Joined: 19/05/2009
Posts: 229

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 16:52

Has she been eating seafood ?

steveww


Joined: 27/05/2009
Posts: 96

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 18:01

all very good diagnostic possibilities,thank you all, we will probably never know but if it happens again we might be able to shorten the odds.

Maz


Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 1924

Message Posted:
03/02/2010 19:23

Snakes? I heard a totally different story re Vaughan's dog's sickness. Whatever the truth I guess the important thing is that the dog is now O.K. Scary letting one's dogs out these days. Mine is always on a lead even in the heart of country or mountains. Never allowed out alone - I am a neurotic mother, I guess. Also of course, the law says that all dogs on the street should be on a lead.

Being a law abiding dog owner here is fraught with difficulties not encountered in blighty, and Australia was even 'worse' but it is always sad when one hears of dog's who suffer because of unexpected happenings.

I haven't seen any snakes out here, not since last summer, but maybe it is a bit too cold for them.

CJtill


Joined: 02/05/2008
Posts: 836

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 10:30

We found a small snake in our compost bin yesterday so they are definitely around at the moment. It is always worrying as we have 2 dogs and I dread them being bitten by a snake.

Krin52


Joined: 25/08/2008
Posts: 419

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 10:38

My wonderful TC neighbour tells me that a lot of snakes have been washed out of their winter places by all the rain.... she did say they would be quite slow and lethargic because of the cold!



She also says please don't kill the black ones, they're not dangerous (ANY snake scares me!) and they serve a particular place in keeping other vermin down!

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 10:38

Like you Marie I heard a different story, aS long as the dog is fine and a warning given to other owners

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 12:17

In the last coupla few days the lizards are skuttling about, so it's likely that the snakes are, too!



Crikey, don't worry about finding a snake!



When I was working as an underwater photographer on the Great Barrier Reef, the sea snakes (most venomous on the planet) used to swim right up to the faceplate of my mask (cos it makes a mirror-like reflection). They sometimes twirl themselves around your neck, legs or arms.



Every time, I freely admit, I was ready to hide in my own cloud of diarrhoea and told the boss so.



'No worries, boy,' he laughed, 'not every dog in the street'll bite ya!

The Blue Ringed Octopus - well that's another story!'



'What'll I do if one bites me?' I asked.



'Well, I'll tell ya what t'do,' laughed the boss, 'ya'd better put ya head between ya legs an' kiss yer arse goodbye, cos that's all ya'll time for!'



Moral of the story: Don't worry about the odd Cyprus snake, unless you've got a dodgy 'ticker'!

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 12:30

My wife is still convinced the dog was poisoned, but having seen a few dog poisonings, this was different. Either that, or it was a different poison. At the moment I'm in two minds as none of the other dogs in the village were poisoned and I checked the roads around our house and saw no poison on the ground.

Maz


Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 1924

Message Posted:
04/02/2010 23:58

Why is your wife convinced the dog was poisoned? And how could it have got it? And where was it? Of course if there was poison around then the cats could have been affected as well. And any idea where the dog was? At home? In the mountain? Where? i CAN'T IMAGINE the lethargic cold snakes would be in the road - more likely on the way out of the village. Tis a mystery.

As I say, I guess I can pat myself on the back cos I don't let mine out, and I am even dubious walking after the episode the other year when so many dogs, cats and birds were killed by poison.

What did the vet say? Or didn't you go to the vet?

Glad it is O.K now, but it does make us all double wary.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 00:25

marie we all have to be vigalant when taking our friends out, why the hell to you think i worry about these strays. not the two minus one in question the policy. only today the skinnest dog i have ever seen apart from max turned up but was to scared to stay. had the fetching red earing, tried to feed it but it ran away. Then a holly look alike turned up with a very bad leg, but i now haw this imposed no feeding policy

Maz


Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 1924

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 00:45

Oh dear, Lilli, being a dog on Cyprus is not much fun, is it? I mean for those poor strays with no homes, no love and no bright future. It must be really difficult to turn them away. I am sure I would feel guilty as h...., but when you are running a business such as yours, one has to do what is right for the business. Very tough, and I am glad I am not in that position.

Of course, you never know, these dogs (well some of them) may belong to someone, or may be half adopted, but there is no way of telling, is there?

Still, no one person can solve allthe canine problems for if KAR can't with all the help they get, then there is not much chance for the indiv idual.

Several people have expressed their concern over the 'red earing' as you call it, but what other answer is there, other than ot put these dogs down, or have a huge site somewhere as an extension to KAR to house them all, and then who will look after them and where is the money. Shame!

TRNCVaughan


Joined: 27/04/2008
Posts: 4578

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 09:30

My wife is convinced because, like most women, she always sees conspiricy where none exists. It's called the blame game - something is always someones fault (never theirs, of course ) :--)

We did ask the Belediye about it, as did several friends and neighbours, but they said that poisoning was not part of their policy.



The reason I don't think it was poison is there was no evidence of any lying around and no other animals were effected, as far as I know.

I have seen snakes in my garden before so they don't all live outside the village.

The dog didn't need to be taken to the vet as it went from being at deaths door to walking around in the space of 5 minutes. That could have been down to the shot of Atropin (good old NBC training) I gave her.



I imagine that any snake that had been flooded out of hibernation and was suffering in this cold weather would be in a really pissy mood, so keep an eye out for them!

Maz


Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 1924

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 20:11

Thank y ou, neighbour TRNC Vaughan. I think I must have a male mind, cos I don't go in for conspiracy theories. There was one last tinme put out by a female who was convinced that 'The Muhtar Did it'. Innocent until proven guilty, say I.

And I also hope that I am 'man enough' to admit when I am wrong. I do, I do, Ido. Of course if it IS someone else's, I expect them to confess as well. Works well enough in our household,except when I know I am right and shout about it.

But you are right. that no other animals are affected, as far as I know from other sources. Within the village, I know nothing.

I agree about the snakes. If I had been woken from adeep sleep, was made homeless and was frozen solid, I just might bite a bit (if I had the energy). Poor creatures - we are not the only ones who suffer from bad weather.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 21:20

Compost heaps are a favourite hiding place for snakes. This is because the heat generated by the rotting-down process is attractive to cold blooded creatures like snakes.



So be careful when going to your compost heap to dig some out for use in your garden or even just to turn it over ... you might just disturb a sleepy beggar and get a bit (sic) more than you bargained for!

letty


Joined: 04/12/2008
Posts: 360

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 21:34

Has anyone ever actually been killed by a snake here.

BillyB


Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 436

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 22:17

Yes, I was killed by a snake.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
05/02/2010 23:35

WHAT THE HELL

henrik



Joined: 01/10/2009
Posts: 314

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 20:38

no records of snakebite and deaths in trnc so far.. also not from skorpions.. cars are the deathliest animals in cyprus.. they just cant conrol them.. these beast just do with the riders what they want..

letty


Joined: 04/12/2008
Posts: 360

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 20:41

speaking of which I was in coban trading this morning and a BMW came down the street and parked its self right in the bus stop opposit after shidding god knows how far down the road.

Maz


Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 1924

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 20:43

Letty, you had me worried there for a moment - I thought you were talking about me, but then I realised I hadn't released any of my nasty habits on the population this morning, and I didn't skid. Phew.

AeriaBar


Joined: 22/12/2009
Posts: 566

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 21:00

DEAR Marion,

I could be one of the "females " (deary me) you are referring to - it wasn't very difficult to come to that conclusion as he had asked the belediye to come and deal with the stray dogs and moaned to me that no one had come! Furthermore, i was told quietly by a village member that he was involved. ...Be well and Happy.....

AeriaBar


Joined: 22/12/2009
Posts: 566

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 21:01

Last post was from Res.....

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
06/02/2010 22:16

"no records of snakebite and deaths in trnc"



Henrik,



Are you sure? I only ask because I've been told about several and the doctor that was working in the Esentepe Health Centre gave us some information.



If one is bitten by the most poisonous viper you apparently have about 30 mins to get help before you pass out and are unable to seek assistance.



The advice is that the medical centre in the villages have supplies of anti-venom and you must remain as calm as possible whilst going to get help ASAP. Getting agitated makes the venom work faster.



As far as I recall the deaths occurred in remote areas where access to anti-venom was too far away and the individual was on their own. Maybe they had an allergic reaction on top of the normal reaction to the venom.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
07/02/2010 10:03

When we lived in the village outside Paphos, a builder was working on the next door property, building a garage. He had dumped a load of concrete blocks down six months previously - in true Cypriot style!



As he was moving the blocks, a bull nosed pit viper, or 'Feena', as they're known in Greek, launched itself at him and bit him in the thigh. These snakes are known to coil themselves up like a spring and then hurl themselves at their victim - usually the poor, old Cyprus Hare, which is supposedly their favourite 'snack'!



Our neighbour drove the builder to the Paphos General Hospital for a shot of anti-venene. The builder told me a year later that he still had pain down the whole side of the leg he was bitten on.



We had a nest of these snakes in the dry stone wall behind my and my neighbour's house - fortunately, we managed to get rid of them. If you kill one, always cut off its head and bury it well down, as apparently the hornets (carniverous) feasting on the carcass ...

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
07/02/2010 10:11

Msg 31/Cont'd:



will ingest the snakes venom, which is harmless to them, but if they sting a human, the combination of poisons can have very serious consequences for the victim - or so the story goes. One wonders if it's just 'village talk' or genuine?



I always took the advice to cut off and bury the heads, because whichever, I wouldn't care to put it to the test!