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HELP!!!

F

firesprite

New member
Hello all. I need help. This isn't about a corn (though I do have 2 beautiful corns). This is about my Ball. He was left in our feeding cage over night (not going to get into why... it will provoke anger at my husband... :angry01:) and the mouse ended up chewing up my snake pretty bad. Now, obviously the injuries are the first concern. The second concern is that he hasn't eaten in a month now. He's a fairly young snake, so he's not in brumation. I don't know a thing about snake first aid, and I'm concerned that despite what I can do, he's too weak to heal well. I don't have the money to take him to a vet.

Any help here would be appreciated.

I know you all are huge fans of feeding prekilled food, and honestly I am too... I just can't get this one to eat prekilled.
 
well, i would seriously suggest going to the vet. How bad are the injuries, sometimes they have to be put down if they are that bad. Do you have any pictures?

I wont go into the fact that you shouldn't leave live prey items in with snakes unattended. But i have a ball python who hasn't fed in 2 months, and i was thinking about feeding live, just to see if i get a response. Hearing stories like this, really puts me off the idea.

Sorry i can't be of more help, :shrugs:

Luke
 
firesprite said:
Hello all. I need help. This isn't about a corn (though I do have 2 beautiful corns). This is about my Ball. He was left in our feeding cage over night (not going to get into why... it will provoke anger at my husband... :angry01:) and the mouse ended up chewing up my snake pretty bad. Now, obviously the injuries are the first concern. The second concern is that he hasn't eaten in a month now. He's a fairly young snake, so he's not in brumation. I don't know a thing about snake first aid, and I'm concerned that despite what I can do, he's too weak to heal well. I don't have the money to take him to a vet.

Any help here would be appreciated.

I know you all are huge fans of feeding prekilled food, and honestly I am too... I just can't get this one to eat prekilled.
Click to expand...

Right, well where to start.

1. This should be in the 'General Chit-Chat' sub-forum, this section is for Cornsnakes only. (Just for future reference here, since this is your first post, we'll forgive you) :grin01:

2. Please explain why he was left in a feeding tank overnight with a live rodent. This is incredibly bad husbandry and I'm sorry, but relationship issues shouldn't be an excuse for this. This animal is under your care and supervision and you must do everything in your power to ensure that its live is as pain and stress-free as possible.

3. If the injuries are as bad as you say they are, this snake needs immediate veterinary attention. Those wounds will soom become infected, and this will pose major, sometimes irreversible problems. Not having enough money to take it to a vet... Sorry, but caring for an animal requires you to be ready whenever the situation arises, not just having enough money for fresh bedding and food. As a temporary solution, get some Neosporin and treat the wounds, get your husband to help you, as doing this alone could prove tricky.

Royal pythons (especially males) are never reliable feeders, but this could make it worse. The problems here are huge...

Get the snake treated ASAP, and wait for the wounds to heal. How old is the snake? Hopefully he's old enough to have enough fat reserves to allow him to recover. As soon as your vet/you feel that he's ready, feed a stunned prey item. So literally, smack the mouse's head on a desk (not too hard, otherwise you'll kill it), or even kill it via cervical dislocation. Then gradually make the transition to F/T food. Feed a frozen item that has been brained and rubbed in dirty mouse bedding.

I'm sorry if I sounded a little harsh but this really was very irresponsible, and could cost your pet its life.

I hope that helps and good luck

David
 
Yep, this needs immediate medical attention. Now!

If this were my snake you bet I'd be selling off everything I owned to get it medical attention. Depending on how bad it is, the snake may need to be euthanized.

It is probably in a great deal of pain....

This sounds like a sucky situation but this snake needs medical attention now.
 
i would defently be selling all of my possesions too. They aren't just pets, well, to me they're not. And i guess to most people on here its the same.
They all have their own personalities and are more like family and friends. Especially the longer you have them.
 
get to a vet as quick as you can
put the snake on paper towel and keep the cage clean Raise the temps to around eighty eight ambient
 
Well...the damage is done. So rather than point fingers, lay blame, and say "You should have done this...", here are somet hings to get you started...

First, as has been said, IMMEDIATE vetrinary attention is required. Damn the cost, get your snake to a vet ASAP.

With that said...

Clean and sterilize his enclosure. Remove ALL bedding and sterilize the entire thing. Re-line with newspaper, butcher's paper, papertowels, or something similar.

Next, clean and sterilize the wounds. Get to a store, get some Betadine and Hydrogen peroxide. Clean all of the wounds with a 50/50 solution of Betadine and Hydrogen peroxide 3 times daily, MINIMUM!

Get some Neosporin, Polysporin, Bacitracin, or other brand of triple antibiotic ointment. Use it. DO NOT USE ANYTHING WITH PAIN RELIEF!!! Topical anisthetics can be fatal to snakes even in the smallest of doses, so do not use them!!

Only time will tell if your snake will heal and recover. Most snakes are incredibly adept at recovering from superficial wounds. However, rodent teeth are long and sharp, and it is possible your snake may have suffered permanent nerve and/or muscle damage, as well as skin and soft tissue damage. This is why a trip to the vet is absolutely imperative. Scrimp on the groceries, don't do laundry for a couple weeks, walk instead of driving, and GET YOUR SNAKE TO A VET!!

Nothing that I have stated as a means of treatment is meant to replace a trip to the vet. Do NOT take my advice as a replacement for a vet trip. I will say it again...TAKE YOUR SNAKE TO THE VET!!! It is the best chance you have...

After you do all of that...come back and we will talk about how you can prevent this sort of nonsense from happening in the future...

One more thing...Smack your husband for me. If he left your snake in an enclosure with a live, fully conscious rodent overnight, he deserves good swift kick in the...rear end. Tell him I said so...
 
I just want to say, regardless of financial position, you are mistreating your pet by denying proper health care. Also, ball pythons are known to go several months without eating, you should have probably done that research before purchasing one. I can see you did a little bit of research, knowing that we feed f/t and p/k here, considering you just joined today.
 
In my defense...

LOOK!!! I can not believe that I am being attacked. I understand that my pet is my responsibility. And to the person that suggested that relationship issues have something to do with this... my husband was just trying to do what he thought was best. I was unreachable at work, and he didn't know any better. You better believe he got chewed out when I came home. Next, I have done my research. I know that Royals or Balls are known not to eat for months at a time. The issue is, this snake is very young. Maybe 5 months old. He didn't have the fat reserves to start with to be able to go that long without eating. And for all of your information, this is not the first time I've been on this forum. I have done tons and tons of research and know how to care for a snake fine.

As far as feeding live, I have tried fresh killed, stunned, brained, plain old thawed... doesn't work. He'll only eat live.

I came to this forum because I knew that the people here are friendly and helpful and I sure as hell didn't expect to be attacked like this.

Next, the reason I do not have money to take it to a vet is because I just moved. I already am skimping on groceries. I already only drive to work ( and I have to drive, I work 25 miles from my house). Also, there are no local vets. The closest is 45 minutes away. I'm not saying that I won't go because of that, I'm saying I outright can't afford to. Both of my corns have been to vets. Any snake that I buy goes to the vet at first, before I get them settled at home. Do NOT accuse me of not taking care of my animals!!

Thank you VERY much to the one person to give me useful advise. I will get ball to the vet as soon as possible. In the mean time, I feel that with your information I might have a chance to save this snake.

Also, The wounds are all *mostly* superficial. From what I was able to look at (He's not very fond of being handled at this point he hisses at every movement out side his cage, and he has, HONESTLY, never hissed until now) No muscle tissue was damaged. There is no bleeding. As far as I can tell, all the wounds were scales/fat. Granted, there is one that I am concerned, just out of the size of the wound, but none of them seem to go any deeper than that.
 
tyflier said:
One more thing...Smack your husband for me. If he left your snake in an enclosure with a live, fully conscious rodent overnight, he deserves good swift kick in the...rear end. Tell him I said so...
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I agree with everything you've written, but I have to say something in defense of the OP and her husband. MANY snake-keepers make the assumption that because a snake will constrict and kill a live rodent when they're hungry, they'll do it in defense too. They don't realize that a snake's instinctive behavior towards prey is much different than it is towards a physical threat. I think it's an easy assumption to make, considering that we are advanced mammals equipped with outstanding problem-solving abilities. The blade I use to kill a rabbit for food is easily assessed for its self-defense value too. But snakes subdue prey, and flee threats. Flight is impossible in an enclosure of limited size.

Best of luck to the OP. You've been given great advice.
 
firesprite said:
LOOK!!! I can not believe that I am being attacked. I understand that my pet is my responsibility. And to the person that suggested that relationship issues have something to do with this... my husband was just trying to do what he thought was best. I was unreachable at work, and he didn't know any better. You better believe he got chewed out when I came home. Next, I have done my research. I know that Royals or Balls are known not to eat for months at a time. The issue is, this snake is very young. Maybe 5 months old. He didn't have the fat reserves to start with to be able to go that long without eating. And for all of your information, this is not the first time I've been on this forum. I have done tons and tons of research and know how to care for a snake fine.

As far as feeding live, I have tried fresh killed, stunned, brained, plain old thawed... doesn't work. He'll only eat live.

I came to this forum because I knew that the people here are friendly and helpful and I sure as hell didn't expect to be attacked like this.

Next, the reason I do not have money to take it to a vet is because I just moved. I already am skimping on groceries. I already only drive to work ( and I have to drive, I work 25 miles from my house). Also, there are no local vets. The closest is 45 minutes away. I'm not saying that I won't go because of that, I'm saying I outright can't afford to. Both of my corns have been to vets. Any snake that I buy goes to the vet at first, before I get them settled at home. Do NOT accuse me of not taking care of my animals!!

Thank you VERY much to the one person to give me useful advise. I will get ball to the vet as soon as possible. In the mean time, I feel that with your information I might have a chance to save this snake.

Also, The wounds are all *mostly* superficial. From what I was able to look at (He's not very fond of being handled at this point he hisses at every movement out side his cage, and he has, HONESTLY, never hissed until now) No muscle tissue was damaged. There is no bleeding. As far as I can tell, all the wounds were scales/fat. Granted, there is one that I am concerned, just out of the size of the wound, but none of them seem to go any deeper than that.
Click to expand...

No one 'attacked' you. We weren't given all of the facts, I apologise for not being able to read the mind of some who is thousands of miles away.

I feel pretty insulted and annoyed that I spent 5 minutes of my time helping you by writing out advice, that was essentially cast into to dirt and spat on. Granted, I didn't cover every single possible point, but Chris, who I assume you were thanking (tyflier) and Joel (SNAKEWISPERA) did everything else.
 
I'm sorry Dave. I'm very stressed out today as a result of my discovery this morning. I was definitely out of line with some of what I said. I also apologize for not giving everyone the full bit of information with my first post. I had to leave for work again and only had a minute to put something up. Thank you for replying. I do appreciate it.

And joe... what 'fridge option? what???
 
I am sorry if you feel like you were being attacked..live feedings and leaving a snake with a live mouse is just really looked down upon here...But I can see that you are not trying to just troll up a story and I also see that This was not entirely your fault..as your husband did play a major roll in this accident..Yelling, scolding and getting angry at things like this won't solve anything..but as you have seen from a few members here..Giving advice and answers produce much better results..

For now the best advice has pretty much been given to you..get some neosporin to help disinfect any wounds (even if they don't appear to be that deep), Clean out and disinfect his enclosure and for now put him on paper towl bedding (and change it on a regular basis) to help prevent infection of the wounds and particles getting caught inside), Try and get your snake to a vet asap..Call him and explain the situation of what happened and see if you can work out some kind of payment plan..And since your husband played a part in this..Tell him you need some extra money for gas to take a trip to the vet..

Also once your snake starts to improve and starts taking food again you really need to sit down and show your husband just how to care for your animals should you be away...My boyfriend won't touch my snakes as he is terribly afraid of them and I can respect that..but he does like my uromastyx lizard and reallly wanted to help care for him..So I taught him what the temps should be each day..how to clean out the cage, and I wrote out a strict feeding plan that we have taped above the lizard tank so that he can feed him correctly whenever I'm not home to..Whenever a pet is taken into a household all members should be educated on the proper care for them..

I wish you much luck and hope you will keep us posted on the health of your snake..
 
firesprite said:
...And joe... what 'fridge option? what???
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You're best off ignoring that comment. It isn't helpful, and it will only serve to anger you. Just ignore it. Joe is known as "The Grand Bubble Burster" for a reason...he NEVER minces words, and you never have to wonder if you are hearing his opinion precisely the way he intends it. That's not always a good thing, but in most cases, it is a wonderful relief from some of the other "sugar-coated" responses you are bound to read should you decide to stick around the forums for a while...

Suffice it to say, I wish the best for you and your snake. If you want some tips and advice on converting your BP from live to F/T, PM me your email address, and I will send you a list of tips I have put together for just such a purpose. It worked for my BP, and it has worked for many other people with picky snakes, including several ball pythons.
 
tyflier said:
You're best off ignoring that comment. It isn't helpful, and it will only serve to anger you. Just ignore it. Joe is known as "The Grand Bubble Burster" for a reason...he NEVER minces words, and you never have to wonder if you are hearing his opinion precisely the way he intends it. That's not always a good thing, but in most cases, it is a wonderful relief from some of the other "sugar-coated" responses you are bound to read should you decide to stick around the forums for a while...

Suffice it to say, I wish the best for you and your snake. If you want some tips and advice on converting your BP from live to F/T, PM me your email address, and I will send you a list of tips I have put together for just such a purpose. It worked for my BP, and it has worked for many other people with picky snakes, including several ball pythons.
Click to expand...


I was being serious. If she can't take the snake to a vet and it's wounds are bad enough.....it's a perfectly acceptable option.
 
Joejr14 said:
I was being serious. If she can't take the snake to a vet and it's wounds are bad enough.....it's a perfectly acceptable option.
Click to expand...

I know you were serious. And as much as I agree that it is a perfectly viable option in some situations, I also believe that she would be nothing but further upset by it. Don't get me wrong...I agree that if the wounds were serious enough, it would be an acceptable option. But she stated recently that the wounds were superficial, and as such, *should* be controllable with topical treatments...I hope...

I didn't mean my comments as an insult to you, Joe...I meant them as complimentary. You are not one to mince words or sugar-coat the truth...that's respectable, in my opinion...:cheers:
 
Joe: now that I understand what you mean, I agree. It didn't upset me. I fully understand the need to end the suffering of an injured animal. What I was upset about was that this happened period and an animal in my care was injured (despite it being mostly my idiot husbands fault... *I love him, I love him, I love him....*) and that the responses to my post were largely blaming me (though I understand now, thanks to Chris, that what I posted didn't really explain the situation well) I agree completely with Tyflier that this trait of yours is very respectable. Thank you for being honest.

Tyflier, again, thank you for your help. The wounds are superficial and I do think we'll be able to keep them from being infected. My main concern is whether or not he will live long enough to eat again. As I said, it's already been a month since he's eaten, and last time he ate it was just one adult mouse (which is less than my 2 yr amel corn eats). I'm sure my husband was trying to do everything he could to get him to eat, as I had just been expressing concerns over how much weight he's lost and how loose his skin is. I will do my best to keep you updated.
 
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