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new snake... not a corn but very nice...

jim
05-07-2002, 03:37 AM
hi there. boy have i got a story for everyone here. my wife and i went to a local pet store today to pick up some feeder goldfish and some bedding. this store had an '01' colombian redtail boa in the back room sick. it had only partially shed and had been regurgitating its last 2 meals. the person who had bought it from the store had tried to forcefeed it 2 fuzzies after onlyowning it for 10 days. when he returned it to the store 2 days ago it had about 3/4 to an inch of its intestines protruding from its vent. the intestines had retracted by the time i got there but it didn't look good. the manager of the store let me do a bit of "first aid" on the snake while i was there. (they see my wife and i quite a bit and trust us) it was covered with dead skin (looked like 3-4 layers down near the vent) and i spent an hour and a half removing all of the skin with some warm, wet paper towels and noticed 3 hard lumps near the snake's vent. impacted??? yep!!! after i removed the skin from the vent area she passed the first "lump". after a little massaging and a warm bath she passed the remaining 2 lumps. the lumps were repti-bark bedding clumped together with hard dry feces. they adopted the snakeout to my wife and i for free. when i got home i treated the vent area with some neosporin to hopefully kill any bacteria around the vent. (it looked pretty raw and irritated from her ordeal) she's been home with us for 6 hours in her new home and has become very active and much more responsive. i will try feeding her probably on friday and let all of you know how it goes. i'm sooo thrilled, a new snake is great but a free snake is that much better and i think she's going to make it. have a good one!!!! :) ---jim

monna62
05-07-2002, 09:39 AM
Does this mean I should not use reptile bark? This is all my pet store carries, but I will get some online if need be. Hope the snake is doing ok. Great Job!

pdrau
05-07-2002, 09:46 AM
I think based on that story I'm going to take the Simon approach and feed mine outside of their homes and possibly switch to aspen. I don't think the repti-bark should present that kind of problem if the snakes are fed away from it.

Peter

jim
05-07-2002, 09:57 AM
monna,
i don't think the repti-bark was the problem, but i think live-feeding in the cage definitely was. thankfully no scarring from mice bites. have a good one. :) ---jim

monna62
05-07-2002, 10:19 AM
I will try the reptile bark, as long as it is safe, and I plan to feed f/t rodents. Thanks!

Elaphe_Mo
05-07-2002, 10:48 AM
Congrats on your new addition! I hope she pulls through ok. I'm glad you got the chance to help her out. I hate seeing sick herps at pet stores.

Missymonkey
05-07-2002, 12:04 PM
WOW! :eek: what an amazing story, and just imagine what would have happened to her if you had not been their to help her out.
Lucky for the snake and for you, best wishes and keep us updated.

lynn
05-07-2002, 01:02 PM
Look's like you were in the right place at the right time one lucky snake, hope everything work's out ok.

Alicia
05-07-2002, 01:56 PM
Lucky for that snake you came along Jim, hope everything goes well. Keep us updated.


:) Alicia

pdrau
05-07-2002, 05:29 PM
Stay tuned kids for more adventures of.....drum roll and really cool sci-fi animal planet music...

HerpMan to the Rescue! (starring Jim)

tschofie
05-07-2002, 07:23 PM
Wow! Very nice job, I'm glad you were there. Good luck with her -- have you decided on a name yet?

TS

jim
05-07-2002, 09:24 PM
peter i almost fell off my couch laughing at that post!!! :) i thinkright now my bigget goal is to get her water balance back to normal and keep her vent from getting infected. i haven't picked out any names yet. any suggestions anyone? i'll keep everyone posted on her progress but i think the worst of it is over for her. as large red-tail boas are not really my thing i think my plan is to get her healthy and eating regularly and eventually find a good home for her. i'm pretty picky about animal care (yes, i admit this) so i may end up keeping her if i find nowhere suitable. have a good day/night everyone!!! :) ---jim

Darin Chappell
05-08-2002, 12:13 PM
Cool, Jim. Way to go!

I only wish other pet stores were willing to admit their own inadequacies and let knowledgeable people respond to their sick animals as well that guy did!

Darin

gekko1
05-08-2002, 04:21 PM
columbian red tails are very nice. just be ready to house and feed it when its an adult. when its an adult and poops your whole rooms is gonna smell bad.

pdrau
05-08-2002, 05:26 PM
gekko I don't know why, but I just about fell off my sofa laughing at the last part of your post about the whole room is going to smell bad. Notebook computers are great...can lay on the sofa and read posts here!

Matt L
05-08-2002, 07:02 PM
Thumbs up Jim--
Sounds like youv'e got the red tail back on her feet(theres a pun there somewhere) It's just to bad she had to suffer at the hands of an ignorant owner. Keep us informed.
Best of Luck!

jim
05-09-2002, 06:04 AM
right now i'm not plannning on keeping her. right now the plan is just to get her healthy. i would eventually like to find her a good home but that may change as i'm too big a softie and my wife is even worse when it comes to critters. still no name though.... come on people i need suggestions! take care... :) ---jim

kellyjones
05-09-2002, 07:43 AM
Jim. You almost sounded as though you believed that once the snake is healthy, you would find it a good home. No chance !!!! Another addition to the family. Well done, mate. Glad you were there

Simon
05-09-2002, 01:54 PM
Good Job Jim! Hope that the boa recovers nicely for you!

I wouldn't mind taking the boa for you if you want! :D

Since I have been trying to get into boas as I have told you before. But then trust me.......once it is healthy you will not want to give it up. I would say that you are going to keep it for sure. But then if you are really really looking for someone.....

"HI, I am Simon living in London Ontario. I have experience with snakes since I was 6, that is 15 years of experience. Right now I have 19 corn snakes, 1.1 Amel, 1.1 Candy Cane, 1.1 Frosted Creamsicle, 1.0 Miami, 1.3 Lavenders, 1.2 Milk Snake Phase Corn, 0.1 Hypo, 1.1 Blood Red (in Vancouver), and 1.1 Ghost (also in Vancouver). I have had experience with 1.1 Ball Pythons too. For more information just privately message me on this forum"

LOL is that good enough for you jim? Ha ha ha!

Good Luck and Happy Herping!
:)

jim
05-14-2002, 03:22 PM
ok, i have good news everyone. she has eaten!!!!!!! she took 2 hoppers the day before yesterday and no regurge!!! also, she now has a name... kitara. have a good one, jim :)

Iris
05-14-2002, 04:20 PM
Excellent name choice. It sounds cool. That is, if I am pronouncing it correctly in my head right now...My friend's name is Kiara..pretty close :)

monna62
05-14-2002, 10:42 PM
Glad to hear she is eating, wish you all well. My husband and I saw a nice juvenile copperhead on the river trail when we were walking. A little darker shade than we are used to seeing. She allowed us to view her for about 5 min. then decided to leave our company, and go about her/his business! We don't have any cornsnakes in this part of WV, but we have plenty of Copperheads, and a few Timber Rattlers, of course a few other species of non venomous snakes, Black Rat snakes ect. I love to look at them in the wild, and then watch them go about their way. And I hate it when people kill them just because they find them and hate them or are afraid of them. Sorry about getting off the subject. Got a little carried away there.