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PLEASE HELP ASAP

DanaP
05-09-2011, 04:07 PM
I took Valkyrie out to a lake today and took some photos of her on a tree. I only put her down once and then replaced her in the plastic container (with air holes). While leaving the area I noticed that she was not moving and her eyes were not contracting/dialating and she has an odd crook in her neck right below her head. I came home and put her in some room temperature water (thinking she might have over-heated or something, but I don't know if she actually drank any. Her body is pretty stiff but she isn't dead. Her tongue is still flicking and she's breathing. Does anyone have any ideas? I called a local vet and explained what happened but all they did was tell me to bring her in as well as a credit card. Please help, I'm trying to stay calm and failing and close to tears!

Dreamsnake
05-09-2011, 04:20 PM
How was she behaving before you took her out? What was the temp that day?

DanaP
05-09-2011, 04:22 PM
It's 80-82 outside and she was just fine this morning. She was patrolling her viv and was very active. I put her back in her tank and she's curled up on the warm side in her hide.

Could she need to regurge? Could she have broken her spine?

She ate 2 pinks on Saturday and has been fine since then until now

Nanci
05-09-2011, 04:24 PM
Could she have gotten hot in the car?

DanaP
05-09-2011, 04:26 PM
I guess she might have but we had the windows down so it wouldn't get to hot. She was in a clear plastic tub while we were outside, maybe that got too hot for her. I don't know what to do :crying:

crackerhead
05-09-2011, 04:31 PM
My thought is over heating. I see it all the time with people who buy at the shows and then cook their new pet on the ride home by leaving it in the car to grab lunch. Or put it on the dashboard to get some sun. It happens very quickly and is an easy thing to do. This is especially common in hatchlings. She may recover on her own if it was not too long of an exposure. You'll know if she was too hot for too long if she survives but has neurological issues. Not much you can do at this point but wait and see.
Good Luck,
Terri

crotalis40741
05-09-2011, 04:31 PM
I am so sorry this has happened to you. It does sound like she may have gotten too hot. I wish you the best and her a speedy recovery.

DanaP
05-09-2011, 04:32 PM
Oh god this is all my fault I never should have taken her out there!

Nanci
05-09-2011, 04:32 PM
What do you mean her body is stiff? As in it shouldn't be that stiff, or it just isn't limp? I don't think a vet is going to be able to help if she has brain/nerve damage from being hot.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 04:34 PM
Well, breathing and tongue flicking is a good sign...

DanaP
05-09-2011, 04:37 PM
She isn't limp, kind of like all her muscles are contracted. Should I keep her in room temperature water?

Solarian_13
05-09-2011, 04:56 PM
I sure hope that she will be ok! This weather we've been having has definitely been tempting me to take Toki outside, but stories like this and of snakes climbing to the tops of trees sure make me nervous.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 04:58 PM
I guess I would place her in shallow water, room temp, to offer her a drink and then remove her and leave her alone.

DanaP
05-09-2011, 05:02 PM
I put her back in some room temperature water and held her head right above the water until she drank. She drank for a good 2 minutes straight is super active now and the crick/crook in her neck is gone. Her eyes are better as well and her muscles are more relaxed. She is much more alert as well and curled up in her cool hide.

I am SO relieved. I was in tears and freaking out. Now I know to never take a reptile outside when it is that hot, especially without water. I really did not think she could get dehydrated that fast, but now I know better.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 05:07 PM
It's probably best to not take any car trips with her in the summer. It's okay to go out in your yard for a limited time if the temp is 80-85, but remember the ground temp can be 20-30 degrees hotter, or even more.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 05:07 PM
I'm glad to hear she looks better. I would hold off feeding her for a couple days, just to make sure she returns fully to normal.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 05:09 PM
But I _would_ soak her tonight and maybe tomorrow morning in something like 1:3 Pedialyte/water, or Gatorade/water. If you have that around.

chris68
05-09-2011, 05:22 PM
Dana just keep an eye on her and let her rest; sounds like she had a close call.

DanaP
05-09-2011, 05:27 PM
But I _would_ soak her tonight and maybe tomorrow morning in something like 1:3 Pedialyte/water, or Gatorade/water. If you have that around.

Gatorade/water? May I ask what that does? I'm not being combative, I'm just really surprised lol.

Nanci
05-09-2011, 05:28 PM
Rehydrates her! She can absorb it through her cloaca even if she doesn't drink.

dan803
05-09-2011, 05:40 PM
Just make sure it's her favorite flavor!

I'm glad this had a happy ending. Mango's a troublemaker inside too. If I get distracted for one second while I'm holding him he's getting into the couch cushion or wrapping around something. He's just so long. Almost 6 feet. I might let him crawl in the grass or something. No more trees though.

DanaP
05-09-2011, 10:13 PM
Thank you everyone, and I will do the 1/3 gatorade/water soaking with her in the morning. She seems much better and is more active. I'm really hoping she pulls through and gets back to herself.

jessicalb
05-09-2011, 11:41 PM
I am so gad she is ok!!!

And I appreciate the warning. It's very hot where we live and it would be easy to make a serious mistake here.

Nanci
05-10-2011, 01:42 PM
Update? Is she still okay this morning?

Karoni
05-10-2011, 03:58 PM
It's okay to go out in your yard for a limited time if the temp is 80-85, but remember the ground temp can be 20-30 degrees hotter, or even more.

WOW. I did not know that. I've never heard that before. I'm so glad you mentioned that!

DanaP
05-10-2011, 05:30 PM
I'd say she's about 90% better this morning. I'm thrilled! Thank you everyone :bowdown:

I soaked her again this morning and she was NOT happy about it. She fought me back hard and tried everything to get out of the water and climb up my arms. Which I was happy about because she was strong and spunky. When I held her above the water she drank greedily. I held her for just about 5 minutes and she never sat still, twining between my fingers and exploring my bed. She seems back to normal almost. Ever since I've had her she's had a balance problem though lol. Always falling off of her vines and into her water bowl.

She was rubbing and pushing hard against my fingers sometimes and she did it to her hide when I put her back. Is this pre-shed behavior? I didn't think it would happen again this soon.

Naagas
05-10-2011, 05:39 PM
Dana, I'm glad that it turned out ok!
Also, thank you for posting this. Hopefully it will serve to prevent other people from the same mistake.

DanaP
05-10-2011, 05:44 PM
I hope this thread does help others. It was something that had not even occurred to me and could have ended with a horrible result. I am just glad that I am a part of this forum and that so many people are willing to help.

dan803
05-10-2011, 05:57 PM
You aren't in Illinois right now right? Because you said you went to the Wheaton show.

Nanci
05-10-2011, 06:05 PM
WOW. I did not know that. I've never heard that before. I'm so glad you mentioned that!

I did a lot of temp measuring when I first put my tortoises outside. The ground temp, on grass, in the sun, can be 120F or even hotter. Of course you could never put the snake down on bricks or a deck or anything like that! Even at 80F in the sun a patio is too hot for a snake.

Nanci
05-10-2011, 06:05 PM
How old is she?

DanaP
05-10-2011, 06:33 PM
You aren't in Illinois right now right? Because you said you went to the Wheaton show.

I am from Illinois, but I have been in Colorado for over a year for college.

DanaP
05-10-2011, 06:34 PM
How old is she?

Valkyrie is 10 months old.