Bad Gash! What to do until vet visit?

Okay here's an update:

It is definitely a scratch, and I've removed the culprit: her favorite plastic tree trunk. I've kept with the treatments but its gotten worse. Her skin is bubbling up with puss and she's warm to touch.

The vet hasn't called back so I'm finding a new vet first thing tomorrow morning, which will probably put the appointment on Wednesday or Thursday.

And I'm in the works of making her a new home away from Dino, in case she's really in danger of being killed. I've never had a problem with them and they're inseparable outside the cage, but you've probably seen them kill each other first hand so I'll have to trust that its for the best. Currently the only place I have to put another snake in is a glass cage with one side falling off, or a plastic tote 1.5 feet deep. I can't figure out how to heat the tote without melting it, as I haven't planned for this and cant afford to buy stuff for her and the vet visit. How big will he and she have to be before they get too territorial?

I honestly can handle this, i know it sounds like i can't. I'm just in a tough spot financially right now.

(kinda freaking out. my baby is hurt and getting worse and i feel helpless :( )

Edit: does anyone else think there need to be more qualified vets in areas such as mine? Its way too hard to find a vet in my area that will see a snake, much less catch them on the right day since they work at five different vets offices, and only see exotics on certain days, etc, etc.

You can put her in a plastic tub with a heating pad. Just make sure the heating pad is connected to a thermostat to make it safe. As long as the pad is regulated, it shouldn't melt the plastic. Amazon has the Hydrofarm thermostat for $30. Its not the best, but is a decent tstat on a budget.

Think of it as a hospital tub. Keep it as sterile as possible. Paper towel substrate, a hide, and a water dish.




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I'm having one shipped as i type. I'm low on funds right now, just got my last pay check from my previous job. I'm going into the navy soon, so i'm getting some free time. But it's left me strapped for cash.

Edit: i don't have a way to make smooth holes in the tub. I can drill them, and maybe take a lighter to them?

Go to Wal-mart, buy a cheap soldering iron (I think mine was $7 or something?) You can drill, you just have to be careful not to crack the plastic and also to make sure the edges aren't sharp. Melting holes is much easier and safer, you just have to be careful not to be splattered with hot molten plastic (owie) if you make a lot of holes.

Whereabouts are you?

Maybe we could get some vets recommended by members.

Athens, TN

vet appointment at 12:30 tomorrow. she's doing okay for now, still oozing. since we're going tomorrow i'm stopping the neosporin for now.

Do not put anything with pain killers on a snake. Also, I would split them up asap. Feeding issues are usually caused by stress and housing Bps together can absolutely cause stress.

Also I would only use clean paper towels for substrate while she's healing.



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Hey, so I was creeping the forums and remembered something that Perry did a while back! (two feedings/weeks ago). She was eating her first fuzzy when, after about 15 minutes, I noticed she was struggling around her box. She kept wiggling around, and I noticed blood. She had, in the struggle to get the thing down, latched her bottom jaw onto her own back. She was so stuck I had to hold her and remove her mouth from herself so she could finish eating her meal. It was hilarious at the time, but now that I think about it, that's the exact same spot where she has the infection now. I guarantee either she tore her skin or the struggling she did got the mouse's teeth or claws into her side, causing the wound. How I've not noticed it in holding her or at other feeding sessions, I'm not sure. But if that's not it its a weird co-inky dink. So. Her own fault, poor girl.

Then again, that's been a while. But its a possibility, if its a mouse scratch that went unnoticed/untreated.

To be honest, them eating each other or killing each other is slim. The main issue with housing together is illness. If one gets sick, you can almost bet money that the other will too. There's no way to keep track of whose excrement is whose, which if there's something weird in it you'll have to take both snakes to be checked out. It's just way too much to deal with or worry over, I think. And since you've said you're in a rough patch financially, you want to save yourself as much money as possible. If you're afraid of burning the plastic tub, until the setup you ordered gets here you CAN use a heat lamp (very inexpensive) and just bump up your house temps or use a heater in the room where the snake is. That's a VERY temporary solution but it will work for a short period of time.

Since we are "pack" animals and most of the animals we own as pets are the same, we tend to believe that EVERY animal can be a "pack" animal, and like to give them human emotions like loneliness (or people that say their snakes are a "bonded pair"). There ARE very few exceptions of snakes that DO naturally kind of band together, but the few I can think of are venomous species.




I know you've said you're already getting a separate enclosure so I'm not trying to harp on anyone, just wanted to toss in some knowledge. :)