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Snake injury... advice?

Madame
11-05-2006, 11:50 PM
My snake escaped, and of course, a cat found the poor baby before my boyfriend did...

When he picked her up she did a lot of flailing about as if she was regurging, when she finally closed her mouth her jaw seemed out of whack, that's back to normal now though. I noticed he had a blood clot on him but we're unsure if she gagged it up or if it's from the wound on her neck (about an inch down from her head; she's only a few months old, still tiny.) She also may lose the opposite eye (cat probably bit her, the wounds seem far enough apart to be cat teeth), and theres a few missing scales on her side a few inches down, and she'll probably lose the very tip of her tail too. She wasn't bleeding when we found her but a little swollen looking; the swelling has gone down though.

I put some ozonol on the wounds, she's in a deli cup with water and substrate (aspen). I've kept a close eye on her; it seems she drank some water (the substrate isn't wet around it so I hope that's what she did.) She's mostly relaxing but moved around a bit since, and a few minutes ago I watched her doing a lot of jaw stretches and "yawns".

For the record there are NO herp vets in my city, and I'd rather take an animal to a butcher for medical advice than the vets that are here. Never mind my financial situation atm...

Basically what I'd like to know is, of course, will she live? And, if she does, since today was supposed to be feeding day, how long should I wait to feed the poor girl after all this trauma, since most the damage is around her neck?

Thanks for any advice you guys can give!

I'll update in the morning.

Shade
11-06-2006, 12:24 AM
First thing I'd do right now is replace the aspen with paper towels.

Lennycorn
11-06-2006, 12:27 AM
Are the wounds deeps? Because I think neosporin is only good for scraps and such. But keep him warm and don't feed for a week or so.
I hope more help chimes in soon.

sbourget
11-06-2006, 12:36 AM
Use polysporin or something like that on the wounds. Use a papertowel substrate makes it easier to watch for waste, fresh blood or anything like that. I'd say leave her alone for a week or so and feed a smaller then normal food item(less then the biggest body width). Higher then normal temps while maintaing a gradient will help her battle any infection that might happen. (raise the temps by ~5degreesF)

MegF.
11-06-2006, 05:21 AM
Infection or internal injuries are your biggest problems. Cats bites are notoriously bad. If you are unable or unwilling to take it to a vet, the only thing you can do is what you're doing right now and hope for the best.

Madame
11-06-2006, 09:21 AM
Well, she's still breathing, I don't see any blood on the aspen but I'll take the advice and put paper towels in.

It's actually Bactroban (not ozonol, my bad) that I used, its basically the same as polysporin.

I have to go to work now but I'll be home in about 7 hours, hopefully she'll still be OK till then.

Should I keep her in the deli cup for the week, or let her back in the viv? (The cup is in the viv, but you know what I mean.)

UPDATE:

I just changed to papertowel in her little cup, and as I was holding her to do so she seemed as energetic as usual, if a bit jumpy (but wouldn't you be?)

When I put her back into the cup I watched her drink water (spilling some too of course), she drank a lot! Afterwards she did a little "yawn." Is that normal for snakes to do after they drink, or is she having trouble swallowing? (I rarely catch her drinking...)

She's avoiding the wet but she's doing the typical nosing-about-for-an-escape, so I think she's ok. I'm really worried about her eye though, it's dented right in at the top, and also the cut on the opposite side of her neck, seems deep, and her neck is skinny so it wouldn't take much to pierce it... But she's breathing ok and drinking so hopefully it's not THAT deep.

Anyways, I'm late for work now!

Susan
11-06-2006, 09:23 AM
The only thing you can do at this point is keep her clean, keep her warm (slightly warmer than normal...85 - 88 F) and minimize stress. Nature is very good at healing itself if given enough time. Good luck!

MegF.
11-06-2006, 10:39 AM
Snakes are very hardy too. She may have only damaged the eye cap which will shed off and repair itself. You'll need to be certain the eye cap comes off completely when she next sheds. Dry, clean paper towels in the viv will be fine. Resetting the jaw is not unusual so I wouldn't worry too much about that. She may have not gotten it all the way back into place after her attack and she's now out of shock enough to attend to it better.

Madame
11-06-2006, 05:22 PM
Really weird, but she pooped!

I could have sworn she pooped already, like 2 or 3 days ago. She really didn't like going back in the deli cup, but I was cleaning her viv so that was too bad for her, and I guess it perturbed her so much she had to poop! (Is this a good thing?)

Anyways, there is nothing in her viv that was there before other than the water dish; I took out all the aspen and put down paper towels and made a couple small hides. She had a lot of stuff in there (rocks, branches, stuff like that) so the new decor seems to be bumming her out. But I don't think it would be good to have all that stuff in there, because it might irritate the wounds or infect them, I'd think. But at least she can roam a bit rather than being stuck in the cramped deli cup.

Am I doing the right thing?

Also, what should I look for in case it gets infected?

MegF.
11-06-2006, 05:56 PM
Sounds like you're doing what you can. Swelling would probably be the most obvious sign, lethargy and general unwellness. An abscess would be the most likely problem. Serious internal injuries would have already manifested themselves. If she's going to recover, she'll probably do so rather quickly. I've seen some pretty bad injuries resolve themselves rapidly in reptiles. After all, they are out crawling thru stickers, branches and predators in the wild. They are tougher than you think! Keep us updated!

chibitamalove
11-06-2006, 06:17 PM
Good luck and I hope your snake makes it! My snake got out of the cage for two weeks during this summer, but I was lucky enough to find Rose unharmed. It's too bad you weren't as lucky... Good luck once again!

Madame
11-07-2006, 08:57 AM
Well when I was handling her today to put the stuff on her wounds, she seems to be doing much better. She's a bit skiddish but that's understandable.

I think she'll do ok... I'm just so paranoid of infection!

How long should I be putting the polysporin on for? I do it every morning but I mean, for a week, two weeks?

Thanks everyone for your advice!

Also, I heard that I should feed her more often while she tries to heal. I think I'll feed her Friday rather than waiting a whole week but only half a pinky. Then what? I'm so confused...

nhaislip
11-07-2006, 11:39 AM
If I were you, and this is only my advise, others may disagree, but I would give her a vitamin dose about every other feed for a few weeks just to help her get a jump start. She will use alot of energy to bounce back from that attack and a vitamin supplement, I think, would be a good thing to give her to help her bounce back. Also, the eye wound should heal if it isn't too deep because snakes have less sensitive eyes than we do. They can take numerous accidental pokes and jabs without resulting in permanent injury. Hope all gets well, Nathan

MegF.
11-07-2006, 12:39 PM
You can try getting some Nutribac from Kathy Love's site. It's a good powder that should help also.

SunnyCorn
11-07-2006, 01:32 PM
Good luck, and well, I'm sure she'll be fine! My snake was badly injured by my cat and he recovered just fine. His battle scar goes away with every shed. :grin01:

Madame
11-08-2006, 08:43 AM
She pooped again, and there were DEFINITE cat hairs in it.

HA!

No wonder the cat has been jumpy, too! I thought she was that way because she could smell my fury.

MegF.
11-08-2006, 08:48 AM
Probably why her jaw was out of alignment. She was trying to eat the cat!

Susan
11-08-2006, 11:37 AM
Use the polysporin until the wound(s) look fairly healed over. More frequent feedings of smaller prey items sounds like a good idea.

Lennycorn
11-08-2006, 06:50 PM
It sounds like your snake is getting better. Good!
Keep us posted A picture would be nice too.
Take care.

Madame
11-09-2006, 08:28 AM
I'd take a pic but my memory card for my digital has gone awol. Probably went flying when I was tearing my room apart trying to find the snake!

The biggest wound seems to be healing up for the most part but theres a little chunk still hanging there, it'll probably die and fall off if its anything like human skin. The two minor cuts are doing fine I guess, I'll be taking a look again in a few mins but as of yesterday morning they looked ok.

countMEout
11-09-2006, 08:55 AM
This happened to me actually, I went on a weekend trip with my gf and had my brother feed my snakes. My two opals are underweight for their age so I try to be very accurate for feed days. My brother didn't close a tub and shimmer was gone for about 3 weeks. She got outside as much as we can figure or at least in the walls and about 3 weeks later we found her outside pinned to a wall by my cat. to date she has made a full recovery I didn't feed right away I gave her some time to heal she had some pretty bad wounds. Now she eats better than she ever has and she also lost an eye which really bothered me. Lots of fresh water like always and again let them be for a bit in my opinion. But yeah I was very surprised how quickly she got better she turned on her shedding and cleaned up pretty quick.

Madame
11-12-2006, 10:51 PM
Well, I fed her Friday morning and it's now Sunday night. As I was cleaning up a massive poop (so very big for only half a pinky!) I realised that she is now in blue phase.

I suppose her going into shed is a good thing, but it kind of ruins my more-frequent-feeding plan.

AND as I was cleaning the water dish, I dropped it! I was a really nice dish, too. *sigh* She wasn't pleased when I put in a foreign dish. Ah well.

I was thinking by the time she's shed I could put aspen and some stuff back in the tank. Does that sound like a good plan?

MegF.
11-13-2006, 06:18 AM
See how she looks after shed and then if it looks like she's healed, put the aspen back in.

Madame
11-17-2006, 08:57 AM
Well she shed last night and it was perfect, except for a missing eyelid. But it wasn't the bad eye, it's the good eye that didn't shed! (the bad eye is significantly less dented now, which I'm glad for!)

I tried to force just her head through a bit of wet cloth but this just aggravated her (any longer trying and she probably would have bit me!) When I finally could rub the eye nothing came off, which makes me think it had already rubbed off on something but I couldn't find it. (I mean, they're small AND translucent, on white paper towels... Yeah, good luck to me!) So I don't know if I should just let it go or try again.

All the tiny wounds and the tip (maybe 2mm) of her tail came off, and the big wound on her neck is pretty much just a big scar; doesn't look open at all, just all rough. I took out the paper towels and put fresh aspen and some rocks back in and she was just too happy for that, I think!

Anyways, aside from the mystery eyelid, I don't think I have much to worry about now. I think she'll do well. Thanks to everyone for advice!

I'm feeding her tonight so I'll update if anything happens.

ratsncorns
11-17-2006, 11:58 AM
Just remember that they shed inside-out so the skin is backwards when we look at it. You probably took that into account, but just thought I would mention that it still could have been the bad eye that didnt shed.

I recently had my cat attack one of my rat snakes, and her jaw was all screwed up too. I havent fed her in a couple weeks, and she seems to be healing up nicely. I'm glad your snake seems to be healing up pretty well. Its amazing what they can go through and still survive!

MegF.
11-17-2006, 12:23 PM
You can usually spot a retained eyecap. The eye definitely looks different. Sounds like she's well on the road to recovery!

Madame
11-17-2006, 01:22 PM
You can usually spot a retained eyecap. The eye definitely looks different. Sounds like she's well on the road to recovery!
What do you mean by different? Is it noticable right away? The eye looks fine though.

And yeah, I figured out the mirror image thing after much confusion. "Why is that mess on the left side? Am I crazy?"

MegF.
11-17-2006, 01:50 PM
It usually looks a little bigger. There might be a rim around it where the retained eye cap is stuck with skin or it will be dull. You'd see a difference between the two. I suspect that it came off but tore away from the shed skin as it's kind of trashed there from the other injury as you stated.

Madame
11-19-2006, 07:37 PM
Well here's an update: I tried to feed her Friday, she refused, and so I waited a couple days (it's Sunday now) and she refused again. I think I'll wait 'till Wednesday before trying again, but as this isn't the first time she's given me issues, I'm not too worried. She has eaten once since the incident so I don't think that's the reason, but I wonder if it's maybe the trauma plus recent shed combo? Maybe I'm just bugging her too much lately. WHO KNOWS. What I do know is that she better eat soon!

*shakes fist*

I'm leaving the pinky in there (in the deli cup in the tank) overnight, but she hates the deli cup so probably won't go near it. If she does, then great, if not then I guess I have a stinky pinky to flush in the morning. (I rhyme!)

MegF.
11-19-2006, 08:26 PM
Don't try to feed too often. Every 5 days is fine. If you bug her too much, she might just not eat at all. They can go a long time without so don't worry.

chibitamalove
11-19-2006, 09:29 PM
Yup. Don't force it onto her too quickly. I'm glad to hear that she's doing much better, though. At least refusal to eat is better than a regurge. Now that really sucks.

Madame
11-23-2006, 09:43 AM
Well, she ate yesterday but it wasn't as instant as usual. Also, I'm getting really fed up with the quality of pinkies from the local pet store. At $1.99 per pinky, you'd think that when I thaw them their skin wouldn't disintegrate in my hand! REALLY GROSS. And, it's not the first pinky I've had to flush without bothering to try feeding it to my snake. The other one I picked was alright though, aside from the freezer burn. (I get them in packs of 4.)

Anyways, she ate! So I'm glad.

I think in a couple days I'll take a picture, as I found my memory card. Her injuries are looking REALLY nice compared to before the shed.

She's a trooper! ^^

I just hope she stops being timid soon... Right before the incident she had finally accepted my existence! *sigh* Worse than a cat.

chibitamalove
11-24-2006, 12:28 AM
Good to know that she's getting better. As for her shyness, I'm sure that'll be fine eventually. Just don't force it on her. Make sure she's eating well, and make sure she's completely healed, and THEN try holding her more often and getting her over her shyness.

MegF.
11-24-2006, 06:34 AM
You might be heating the pinkies too fast if the skin is breaking after thaw. Use water that's less hot at first and then get a little warmer at the end for the final heating. They are perfectly safe to feed though and even though they are gross, my kids seem to really like the smelly messy things!

Madame
11-26-2006, 01:52 AM
That may have been why, (although I'm pretty sure it was the same temp as usual) but I've been given pinkies that had obviously rotted for while before they were frozen...

Anyways, she's doing really well now, she's being very energetic (like she was before) which makes me feel good; climbing up the glass, wriggling hither and thither. She's still nervous with me touching her though, of course, going into the S position (but never biting!) whenever I have to put my hand in the viv (changing the water, etc). I handled her yesterday and she was very good after a couple minutes of smelling, she calmed right down and went to her usual curious manner. She was much less timid than she was a week ago as well!

I don't think I need to worry much anymore, thanks again so much everyone for the advice, and everything!

MegF.
11-26-2006, 06:30 AM
Good news! Glad things went well!