DOG owners have been put on high alert after two fatal encounters between canines and snakes in the strip of bush behind the off-leash area at Kingston Beach.
And there have also been reports of high snake numbers in the Peter Murrell Reserve that borders Kingston, Blackmans Bay and Howden, as well as reports of snake encounters in the Burnie hinterland.
Burnie vet Donald MacKenzie said owners needed to act quickly if they knew, or suspected, their dogs had been bitten by snakes.
He said snake venom varied and the impact of a bite on a dog also varied from season to season.
In a delayed response, it can take 24 to 36 hours for the venom to affect a dog but in other cases a dog can be dead before it gets to a vet.
“The dog can be dead in 15 to 20 minutes,” Dr MacKenzie said.
“Last summer, I treated a lot fewer dogs for snake bites, not because there were fewer incidents but because they were dying so quickly.
“If you can get to a dog while it is still sitting or standing and not lying on its side paralysed, and administer the anti-venom, it has a high chance of survival, about 90 per cent.”
Treating a dog with anti-venom does not come cheap and owners should be prepared for a bill of between $1500 and $2000.
Dr MacKenzie said the high danger time in the seasonal standoff between reptiles and canines was between 3pm and 6pm.
To protect pets, residents living on outskirts of urban areas and on rural properties should ensure the grass around their homes is short.
Snakes are also attracted to wood piles and water sources.
Dr MacKenzie said Tasmania’s snake danger season was arriving earlier each year and now stretched from October through to Easter