Need help with a baby, think he may have been stepped on?!

[bpbeginner]

Hey Guys, this is my first time posting on here and unfortunately it is a bit of an emergency!

I'll try to keep a long story short so we can help this guy ASAP.. My girlfriend brought home a baby ball python last weekend and we didn't have any tanks available so we set up a little cardboard box for him to live in for a few days until we found a tank. Well apparently it escaped the box and hid under neath some clothes on the floor.

I got up to check on him and on my way over there I stepped on a shirt (yes, the shirt the snake was under ) and it all happened so fast I don't remember exactly what happened but basically I step on the shirt (bear foot) and feel wetness so I look down and see the snake slithering away (seemingly terrified but how can you really know with snakes?) so fast and I notice there's snake poop somehow sprayed on my leg and there's snake pee all around my foot?!

So needless to say I've been worried for the past day and a half wondering if I've stepped on him or what happened? I was bear footed and it didn't feel like I stepped on anything hard, just the shirt.. but I more noticed the wetness than anything.. hes just a baby maybe hes so small I wouldn't notice if I've stepped on him? Do snakes normally spray their poop? maybe he was just scared and sprayed me with poop and peed everywhere? He kind of looks bruised near his tail today but like I said we just got him so its possible he looked like that before and I just never noticed? I don't know what to do i've looked everywhere online and I cant find any advice other than to take him to a vet but I really cant afford that right now and I don't even know for sure if there is anything wrong with him, he was a very expensive morph I guess (I don't know much about these things) and we need to do something but I'm looking for any answers I can find on here before finding a snake vet somewhere and paying for a vet appointment.

Any help, tips, suggestions, information, solutions are greatly appreciated!

[chrisv]

Please take him to a vet. I know it's expensive.

If the bruise you're concerned about is the darker region about 1/3 down your index finger in the first picture then i think there is cause for concern. If this is just a shadow or photo artifact than maybe its less of a issue. Serious internal damage could have been done and he needs to be looked at.

I don't normally jump on people in forums, but this time I will make an exception. I cannot believe that you would buy such a beautiful pied without a proper place to house him...and then stepped on him.

I am stunned and saddened.

[WarriorPrincess90]

That does not look normal at all, and I second the advice given in the previous post. There is nothing you personally can do to make this any better, and there is clearly something amiss. Snakes don't bruise quite like people do, and it looks as though there may be some swelling. A vet visit is really the only option here.

I admit, I too am stunned that you or your girlfriend would spend hundreds of dollars on an animal with no place to keep it properly. And regardless of the cost of an animal, you should never purchase one without the understanding that vet visits will be incurred and should be expected at some point. This accident was completely avoidable had you only kept him in a proper enclosure, which would have been relatively inexpensive compared to the vet costs that you may have now as a result of the damage to this poor baby.

Please take that beautiful animal to the vet to have him checked out and to make sure he or she is okay.

And get that animal into a proper enclosure in order to avoid any more mishaps!

[ballpythonluvr]

That poor little baby needs a vet ASAP, not later! How in the world could you even think that a cardboard box could house that beauty, even temporarily? That snake needs a proper enclosure like now, not tomorrow! Please do a little research before you even think about purchasing another snake. They are very hardy snakes but not when they get stomped on, even by accident. The point is that poor baby looks to be very badly injured and needs a vet. Please get that baby the help it needs now before something else bad happens.

[frostysBP]

Some peoples kids...... cardboard box did you do any research. Snakes are excape artists...................... take to a vet and probly find it a new home if it lives.

[MarkS]

well, if you did step on him there is a good chance that he's likely already dead and not much a vet could have done about that. Keeping a snake in a cardboard box is really not very smart, if you ever find yourself in a position where you need temporary housing, go to target and spend the 5 bucks on a plastic latch top storage box.

[GoingPostal]

If you post your location people could suggest a good herp vet or reptile rescue in your area, that snake needs to go to a vet asap and if you can't afford it, then surrender it over so at least it gets proper care.

[MrLang]

Surprises happen but as mentioned, a cardboard box...? How did she come across this snake. You indicate you understand the value of the morph, so how did it come into your possession totally unknowingly and with the perception of value low enough to house it in a box? If you're not going to bring it to a vet anyway, what is the purpose of this post? Nobody here can advise you on how to treat broken ribs. Cross your fingers, I guess? Poor snake...

[SoFarAway]

How could you afford a pied, but not a tank or even a sterilite tub for $2? How could you take in an animal, be responsible for its LIFE, and not even have a set up for it? I'm so sorry for the snake and you need to take it to a vet. Really hoping the snake doesn't die because of you and your girlfriend being completely careless and stupid.

[Zincubus]

Is this thread genuine or a wind up ??