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EMERGENCY - Stuck Snake
- Thread starter Jessicat
- Start date
SquamishSerpents
Katia
HOORAY!!!!!! i've had a stuck snake before, and it is a TERRIBLE experience! thankfully my lass recovered well. phew!
desertanimal
2003 UB313
Geez. That was a stressful thread. For the record, I agree with Nanci and would have used a hacksaw blade. It will take a little longer, but if you slip, nothing much will happen. If you slip with a box cutter, you could kill the snake.
Glad you got him out!
Glad you got him out!
habistatman
New member
i am so pleased you got him out and all has ended well. I think this thread will open a lot of peoples eyes as to just how small a gap Corns will try and fit through. Its a shame you had to post it but very valuable nonetheless.
Kindest regards
Habistatman
Kindest regards
Habistatman
Naagas
Deserae :)
You know, the same thing happened to me.... except with one of the air holes that I punched a bit too big.
By the time I saw poor Tausara, his eyes were bulging and he was thrashing like mad. I was sure he was going to die.
I cut him free with a box cutter... and he immediately looked much better. The swelling went away quickly and he healed.
I felt so terrible!!!
I'm glad this story had a happy ending.
By the time I saw poor Tausara, his eyes were bulging and he was thrashing like mad. I was sure he was going to die.
I cut him free with a box cutter... and he immediately looked much better. The swelling went away quickly and he healed.
I felt so terrible!!!
I'm glad this story had a happy ending.
SnakeAround
Formerly Blutengel
Box cutters to the rescue!!!
ratsncorns
Bird Nerd
Im glad you got him out! I have the same bins but I left the handles on because the holes looked just big enough for the little guys to slip through. Im glad I didnt take them off!
A soldering iron would have probably been the easiest solution but not everyone has one on hand. I would worry about using any sort of razor sharp object like a box cutter or hack saw.
What a scary situation! Im glad everything seems to be ok, keeping my fingers crossed for your guy!
A soldering iron would have probably been the easiest solution but not everyone has one on hand. I would worry about using any sort of razor sharp object like a box cutter or hack saw.
What a scary situation! Im glad everything seems to be ok, keeping my fingers crossed for your guy!
Although any sharp implement used, to free a snake, can cause some concern/worry ....
I would be ~really~ scared to use a soldering iron (actually, would not do it). Melting/Melted plastic gets very, very, hot and will burn (the solid plastic, immediately surrounding the melted portion, gets hot too). No way around burning the snake unless you stop burning/melting the plastic way before you get too close to the snake ... then you would still have the plastic, around the snake, holding him in, and would have end up using a sharp implement, to finish the job, anyway.
VickyChaiTea
Snake enthusiast
I have been following this thread intently... I'm sooo relieved to hear that he's out!
desertanimal
2003 UB313
Agreed. The thing about hacksaw blades is that they really are not that sharp. Their tiny, tiny teeth only remove a little material at a time. If you slip with one, you can cut yourself, but it will be more like a deep abrasion than a cut. You can't cut yourself deeply in one accidental pass. You couldn't even cut yourself deeply in one intentional pass.
Dreamsnake
New member
How is he doing? And how do you fix the other boxes? I'm about to switch my snow into a bin, but was afraid of him slipping into the handle on the inside and getting stuck. After seeing what your poor snake went through I'm wondering what the safest route is.
Jessicat
All Pied Everything
Thanks for all the replies guys!
There was no blood, thankfully he wasn't cut at all. I was so scared using the box cutter, but it seemed like the quickest way to get him out and he'd been in there for awhile. I cut tiny pieces away from his body and then chipped them away. Eventually the hole was large enough for me to get him out with no pressure!
The skin that came off was like flakes of scales.. I think from him trying to pull backwards out of there. That's what made me so scared to try to force him out backward.. yet in my moment of panic i couldn't think of better approaches. I'm glad i didn't try to pull him out though, it would have just caused more damage.
This is what he looked like directly after being free. You can see the kind of flakey skin/scale loss.
The scariest part was this neck thing. I set up a fresh tub for him with no substrate and by the time I had him settled into it, the swelling was gone thankfully.
Here are some pictures of him that I just took. His scales look a little stretched out still, but for the most part I think he looks good considering his ordeal.
The most affected area
Underside looks pretty normal though
I will wait a few more days - I've been disturbing him as little as possible - to offer a small meal and I'll coat it with Nutribac just in case.
So far, so good though. Thanks again for all of the support and well wishes! I'm sure that's part of what helped him pull through.
As far as the tubs go.. I should at least email the people at Animal Plastics and let them know what happened. They recommended these new tubs to me, and I told them I'd let them know how they worked. At first everything was fine, but I can't give them a perfect report anymore. It's not AP's fault.. more Sterilite. I've taped over the holes in all of the remaining tubs. It seems like a snake will just glide over the hole if its firmly taped over, and even if they did nudge against it, it would take some doing to uncover the hole. I'm hoping that snakes that haven't discovered the holes yet never will.
I'll also ask if they can recomend another tub brand to me, but I'm afraid I'll have to get a whole new rack. It took me a LONG time to finally find the bin that fit with my rack. This is the only thing Sterilite currently makes that is compatible. *sigh*!
There was no blood, thankfully he wasn't cut at all. I was so scared using the box cutter, but it seemed like the quickest way to get him out and he'd been in there for awhile. I cut tiny pieces away from his body and then chipped them away. Eventually the hole was large enough for me to get him out with no pressure!
The skin that came off was like flakes of scales.. I think from him trying to pull backwards out of there. That's what made me so scared to try to force him out backward.. yet in my moment of panic i couldn't think of better approaches. I'm glad i didn't try to pull him out though, it would have just caused more damage.
This is what he looked like directly after being free. You can see the kind of flakey skin/scale loss.
The scariest part was this neck thing. I set up a fresh tub for him with no substrate and by the time I had him settled into it, the swelling was gone thankfully.
Here are some pictures of him that I just took. His scales look a little stretched out still, but for the most part I think he looks good considering his ordeal.
The most affected area
Underside looks pretty normal though
I will wait a few more days - I've been disturbing him as little as possible - to offer a small meal and I'll coat it with Nutribac just in case.
So far, so good though. Thanks again for all of the support and well wishes! I'm sure that's part of what helped him pull through.
As far as the tubs go.. I should at least email the people at Animal Plastics and let them know what happened. They recommended these new tubs to me, and I told them I'd let them know how they worked. At first everything was fine, but I can't give them a perfect report anymore. It's not AP's fault.. more Sterilite. I've taped over the holes in all of the remaining tubs. It seems like a snake will just glide over the hole if its firmly taped over, and even if they did nudge against it, it would take some doing to uncover the hole. I'm hoping that snakes that haven't discovered the holes yet never will.
I'll also ask if they can recomend another tub brand to me, but I'm afraid I'll have to get a whole new rack. It took me a LONG time to finally find the bin that fit with my rack. This is the only thing Sterilite currently makes that is compatible. *sigh*!
ratsncorns
Bird Nerd
Cant you just put the handles back on the tubs? Initially I took them off but didnt like the holes so put them back on and they cover them up nicely.
It sucks that Sterilite had to change to this style of tubs.. I miss the old ones!
It sucks that Sterilite had to change to this style of tubs.. I miss the old ones!
habistatman
New member
He lppks fine considering what he has been through, the main thing is that his eyes are not damaged, skin heals very well usually.
Kindest regards
Habistatman
Kindest regards
Habistatman
SnakeAround
Formerly Blutengel
He looks great considerign his ordeal! Phew.....
WingedSweetheart
New member
Poor guy. I'm glad he's ok and his scales should look better in a shed or two.
ghosthousecorns
Well-known member
I miss the old school sterilites. When I was looking at racks for sale it mentioned how those new sterilites would still fit, and when I was looking at one at the store, the tub seemed flimsy, I tried putting the lid on one and the handles would stick up a little to be able to use the tub with its lid in a rack the way I like to do, and didn't snap on there snug like the old ones used to. I have found it easier to adapt a couple of my racks to a different type of tub since they are homemade POS anyway... But it might make me opt for building another one instead of buying one hearing about this.
He looks pretty good for having gone through that ordeal.
The holes: Aside from putting the handles back in ... One thing I do, to plug up holes, is melt some plastic to cover them over. IOW I take a section of plastic, from a broken bin (or the section I have removed from a lay box, or ?), and melt some of that plastic onto/into the hole/s and a wee bit around the plastic surrounding the hole. The melted plastic, going on to cover the hole, will melt the plastic, of the bin you are working on, just enough to create a bonding. You do have to be careful not to really melt the plastic, on the bin that you are working on, enough to where it would create a warping or a worse hole. There needs to be a bit of "give & take" with melted & hardening plastic. Practicing on something else, before doing it on a bin that is to be "fixed", would help if you've never done this before.
The holes: Aside from putting the handles back in ... One thing I do, to plug up holes, is melt some plastic to cover them over. IOW I take a section of plastic, from a broken bin (or the section I have removed from a lay box, or ?), and melt some of that plastic onto/into the hole/s and a wee bit around the plastic surrounding the hole. The melted plastic, going on to cover the hole, will melt the plastic, of the bin you are working on, just enough to create a bonding. You do have to be careful not to really melt the plastic, on the bin that you are working on, enough to where it would create a warping or a worse hole. There needs to be a bit of "give & take" with melted & hardening plastic. Practicing on something else, before doing it on a bin that is to be "fixed", would help if you've never done this before.