Sick baby! Spider bite???

[celticfarmgal]

She was fine yesterday when I fed and just 2 hrs later when DH got home from work she was down. Cold,wet because of the rain she was laying outside the barn and could/would not stand. She looked barely alive when I got home from work last night.Head turned back and grinding her teeth and baaaing.
she is not running a temp ( body temp was low 98) now is normal
I kept her under a heat lamp last night and got her to take half of a bottle about 3 times in 12 hrs. she can stand now and is pottying normally( the poo is one solid mass though and smells strong) she was a little bloated this AM so I gave her some Baking soda. the only thing I see is a large red mark under her eye where all the hair has gone it looks like a spider bite.
Phone call with the vet says probabally a spider bite(brown recluse) and not much can be done but wait it out.
Gave Vit B and just keeping her warm and as comfortable as possible. trying to get her to eat a little every few hrs.
ANY SUGGESTIONS???

[Alice In TX/MO]

Age? Feeding? Worming schedule?

[celticfarmgal]

she is about 4 months she takes 2 bottles a day plus she eats pasture( mostly clover and grass) she was wormed less than a month ago

[Alice In TX/MO]

Do you have her on coccidiosis prevention? I'm wondering if she has a bad cocci infestation.

[celticfarmgal]

no I havent had her on prevention for coccidosis.
the "bite" mark under her eye is swollen now almost quarter size it was only dime size this am and more of the hair around it is falling off

[fishhead]

I would keep her warm and quiet. You might also give her some probios to make sure her gut stays working well.

Is it possible that it's a snake bite?

Good luck with her!

[Starsmom]

I have had 2 cats get snake and/or spider bitten. The site became swollen about the size of a quarter, the hair fell off and then it ruptured. It was quite messy and it ran for a couple days. The vet told me after it ruptured to keep it cleaned out and squirt antibiotic into the hole. Give plenty of fluid, but once it ruptures, they do start to feel better. Being by the eye, you won't be able to bandage it very well, so you will need to keep it clean. The hair takes a while to grow back. Since it is near the eye, you may want to talk with the vet about lancing it. With rupture, all the mess could get into the eye and I'm not sure if that would be a good thing. I would discuss that with the vet. At least if you lanced it, it is a controlled thing and can be done without getting it into the eye.

[celticfarmgal]

I don't think it is a snake as there is only a single bite mark not 2 . she doesn't seem to have alot of interest in eating but i am coaxing her to take a partial bottle every so often she is standing and does not want to lie down ( I see that as good as she was doing nothing but laying down almost all night. the bite was not visible when I looked her over last night but it is very noticable today. I was thinkin about giving her an injection of antibiotic and since I am out right now what do you all reccommend?

[cathleenc]

the antiobiotic would not treat the bite at all - just the post-secondary infection from the bite site rupturing, I would think.

gl!

[hoofinitnorth]

What about grass tetani??? I don't know anything about it, but it came up in a discussion recently with a friend.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

I would at least try bendryl, just get the kids syrup and give her children size dosages for her wieght. When GE was bit by a snake, we used 3 adult capsules to get him around, then injectable from the vet. So that is a people dose for allergic reaction.

I would try a drawing slave on the bite, just like you would do for a person...I am not one to just do nothing. Vicki