My Poor Baby

You know, I was thinking that using the sani-chips for the snakes was working out great until I took Graphite out of her tupper tonight and found this:







I don't know how much pain she was actually in, but she'd flinch each time I tried to hold onto her head to get a good look at it. I also don't know how long it was in there like that, but it wouldn't have been more then a day or two - because I'd checked her water a couple of days ago and it wasn't there.

It took about 10 minutes (most of that trying to come up with a way of getting it out) and finally I used a needle to pull it out. I was extremely careful and had a firm hold of her head when I removed the offending splinter, but she immediately seemed to be relieved to have it gone.

She wasn't interested in eating afterwards, but I'm not going to hold it against her. I'll just offer her something in a couple of days. Oh, and for those who need to know... no, she is no longer on the sani-chips. I replaced them with full sized aspen and gave the tub a quick check for small splinters to avoid a repeat.

Jenn

Poor Baby is right! OUCH! Your such a good Momma! Glad you got it out! Pretty wild how it got there..:shrugs:

Ouch! I know that was a relief for her.. I'll steer clear of the sani chips..

CALIVIK said:

Poor Baby is right! OUCH! Your such a good Momma! Glad you got it out! Pretty wild how it got there..:shrugs:

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I'm thinking she was trying to burrow in there and managed to hit it at just the right angle or something. It was so noticeable and even Tim said it was something stuck in there when I asked for confirmation. I'm just surprised she didn't try to bite me when I was trying to get it out before I thought of using the needle - something I was a bit scared of doing because I was afraid to poke her in the eye.

tom e said:

Ouch! I know that was a relief for her.. I'll steer clear of the sani chips..

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It wasn't an actual sani-chip, but a larger, heavier splinter/sliver that was mixed in with them. I won't stop using the sani-chips for the younger snakes, but for the bigger ones I'll stick the aspen and just keep an eye out for small slivers that could become a problem. Honestly, in the 6-8 months we've been using the chips it hasn't been a problem. Just a freak accident I guess.

I'm thankful I found it quickly and there was no infection starting. That and the swelling wasn't too bad or out of control.

Jenn

That's awful! Poor baby! I'd check her every day for a while to make sure an infection doesn't start...

Nanci

I'm glad you were able to notice that early and remove it safely! Images like that one make me very glad I use newspaper.

Poor thing. Good work on noticing it and removing it so quickly though. Hope she is fine

Hope the poor thing recovers fully, lucky you noticed it early

OMG, I flinched when I first saw the pic and realized what it was. Great job at getting it out. I don't know if my hands would be steady enough. She is lucky to have you as a mommy.

Poor thing! Good "eye" for catching it. I don't use subtrate at all. It worries me...

Nanci said:

That's awful! Poor baby! I'd check her every day for a while to make sure an infection doesn't start...

Nanci

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I've already checked her twice since I first removed it. I also flushed it out with warm water right before I removed the sliver and checked for damage - didn't find any, so I'm sure she'll not have any trouble. But, since Murphy is hanging out here I'll be double checking every so often just in case.

Susan said:

I'm glad you were able to notice that early and remove it safely! Images like that one make me very glad I use newspaper.

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You know, my first instinct whenever I find anything wrong with my snakes is to panic and the only thing that keeps me from breaking down and losing my head is my husband and all of my training in scouts and later as a lifeguard. knowing that something I learned back when I was younger could be helpful goes a long way towards keeping what little sanity I have left.

As for the bedding, I've tried newspaper before, shredded paper, and papertowel but find it extra messy to clean up at times. I do still use the papertowel for injuries or if I think it's needed. But my snakes make too big of a mess out of it other wise and it tends to smell more. At least to me.

Although, the sani-chips now make me nervous so I might consider going back to newspaper if I can find a reliable source of unprinted stuff - to avoid the ink transfers on the critters.

CornNoobie said:

Poor thing. Good work on noticing it and removing it so quickly though. Hope she is fine

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diamondlil said:

Hope the poor thing recovers fully, lucky you noticed it early

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Just before I got it out, I was saying a few small prayers and thanking my lucky stars that I check the critters often enough to come across little things like this before they become huge problems. I spent a good hour last night, after Tim went to bed, checking on the rest of the snakes that are currently housed in sani-chips because I was worried there'd be another.

Thank you for the well wishes and comments everyone - it is very much appreciated. I'll be sure to post updates over the next couple of days.

Jenn

Rich in KY said:

OMG, I flinched when I first saw the pic and realized what it was. Great job at getting it out. I don't know if my hands would be steady enough. She is lucky to have you as a mommy.

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I felt an urge to rub my eyes at first because I know how irritating it is for me to have ANYthing stuck in my eye - even something like a small slip of lint. I couldn't imagine something as big as that trapped and having no hands to remove it with. I'm just glad she trusted me enough to hold still while I gently pulled it out. if she'd have struggled or flinched things could have gone really bad.

Ohana said:

Poor thing! Good "eye" for catching it. I don't use subtrate at all. It worries me...

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Usually substrate worries me for other reasons (is it absorbent enough to handle waste and water spills? Will it be easy to clean? Can the snake hide in/under it? etc.) Now I'll be paranoid for about two weeks wondering if I'll find another of our critters in the same predicament. Over all though, I think the chances are greater that my youngest will skin her knee once a day then I'll find another snake with a sliver in its eye. It can happen, but the chances are fairly slim and I'm giving each cage a quick scan to check for similar splinters so I can take them out or change the bedding before the accident happens.

Jenn

ouch! poor baby...that looks like it would be REALLY uncomfortable! Thank goodness you noticed it:eek1:

I will be more vigilant about examining my snakes for sure

Ouch!

I am sure she feels relieved to have that splinter gone.

Good thing that you noticed it and got it out.

Hopefully, nothing more will be needed.

Gaaah! Makes me hurt just looking at it....I'm glad you were able to get it out okay and I'll join in my hope for no further problems. =)

This is why I tend to use Coconut husk, it's proven to be a good substrate for my snakes. But with Every thing you use I'm sure theres some sort of freak way it could end up hurting your snake. Guess thats sort of life, you just try to provide for them as best you can. Still I second the reserve and careful thought you made in how to get that poor babies splinter out! Ouchies. Not only does it look sore, but it really looked wedged in there!

Hopefully this freak accident won't ever happen to you again! *fingers crossed*

Bluebird said:

ouch! poor baby...that looks like it would be REALLY uncomfortable! Thank goodness you noticed it:eek1:

I will be more vigilant about examining my snakes for sure

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You and me both...

Pasodama said:

Ouch!

I am sure she feels relieved to have that splinter gone.

Good thing that you noticed it and got it out.

Hopefully, nothing more will be needed.

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She was pretty much calm and relaxed when I just checked on her an hour ago - so I'm pretty certain she's feeling better. I'm going to wait one more day and then offer her the meal she missed that night.

cassandra said:

Gaaah! Makes me hurt just looking at it....I'm glad you were able to get it out okay and I'll join in my hope for no further problems. =)

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Thanks Cassandra, I felt her pain too. If it had been any other snake (with maybe one or two exceptions) I seriously doubt I'd have been able to get it out without earning several tags in the process. At least not with the ease I did with Graphite.

Crowskin said:

This is why I tend to use Coconut husk, it's proven to be a good substrate for my snakes. But with Every thing you use I'm sure theres some sort of freak way it could end up hurting your snake. Guess thats sort of life, you just try to provide for them as best you can. Still I second the reserve and careful thought you made in how to get that poor babies splinter out! Ouchies. Not only does it look sore, but it really looked wedged in there!

Hopefully this freak accident won't ever happen to you again! *fingers crossed*

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There's always one snake out there that will find a way of getting hurt on the most safe seeming substrate. At least it's not something that happens to every snake. Just the unlucky few that seem accident prone.

Vigilance goes a long way towards prevent any accident and immediate care helps the ones that couldn't be avoided. It's moments like this that almost make me wish I'd not let my parents talk me out of becoming a vet. On the other hand, I'm thankful that all of my first-aid related training has helped me to help them in every way that I can.

Thanks again everyone for the concern and well wishes.

Jenn

Jenn I am still amazed you got that out...How in the world did you find it? How big is she? I mean my guys are so tiny, not sure I have the eyes to be able to see something like that & my won't sit still! lol
I give you.........
"Cornsnake Hot Momma of the Yr Award"
(I just had to throw in 'HOT' for ya..lol) Grt job!!

what do u use if u dont use substrate?

Ouch!! That makes me cringe simply looking at it... poor girl!

Kudos to you for being able to get it out safely!!! :dancer:

Lisa