Quote:
Originally Posted by VT2TV
Our dogs are always on flea/tick protection. We had a terrible time when we first moved here with ticks from the pine straw/mulch. Every day I found very small ticks on 1 of our dogs. Our other dog very seldom had any on her. Don't know why the difference. I'll bet at times I would pull 10-15 ticks off the 1 dog each week. We got rid of the pine straw, and like magic, the ticks went away. I have heard stories of dogs getting to close to coral snakes and pigmy rattlers in Florida, and getting very sick if bitten, but haven't personally seen any of that in the Villages
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I agree with the pine straw problem. Don't agree that a snake bite will make the dog "very sick". A coral snake can kill a human, so a 20 lb. dog is a goner without treatment. A Pygmy rattlesnake is not so bad but the venom causes tissue loss so I would get the dog to the vet in a hurry for any snake bite. We also have eastern diamondbacks (deadliest snake in North America) and cottonmouths. The diamondbacks are rare here but the cottonmouth isn't. I saw 2 last week within 3 feet of the cart path near the swamp by Brownwood. I would never walk my dogs near a swamp and I'm very careful where I let them sniff around the greenery. I've spoken to a lot of landscapers and they say the venomous snakes are rare here but they have all seen them, and they all have at least one scary story to tell of a close encounter. just be careful and keep your eyes open.