Hidden Danger...Please Read

I'm a nervous wreck right now. I was downstairs and heard some thrashing and thumping going on. I came upstairs to find my baby python strangling on a piece of equipment that I had purchased to help monitor his temps and humidity. His head was pinned on top of the thickest with of his body in the stand that props it up. I tried with all my might, without trying to hurt him even more, to remove him from it. Of course he was in a panic and was stiffing up and I couldn't not remove it for the life of me because he was wedge in there tightly. I ran to the too box and got something to cut it off and he was free. He laid not breathing and I put a straw to his mouth and breathe softly into the straw until he started breathing again. He was gasping for air and making a loud sound. It's hard to describe the sound but sounded somewhat like a cobination of a cough and a sneeze from a human. It was so loud it could be heard in another room. I called the vet and rushed him there as quickly as I could. We don't know the prognosis yet and I'm terrified. I too a pic so you could better understand what I'm talking about. The smaller piece in the stand that I had to cut off. As you can see it's extremely small. If any of you are useing this gadget and have small snakes, please please please remove it immeadiatly. I wanted to share this with you for several reason. One, because I know how much you care for your own snakes and you're all wonderful people. Two, because I need your prayers.

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oh my god, thump im so sorry. that is incredibly sad. you and your snake will be in my prayers tonight. :( :(

oh, and definitely let us know as soon as you hear something...

Oh my, please tell us what the vet says. Is he there overnight?

Thank you Will and Emroul for the kind words Yes, he is staying overnight, the vet made me come home and promised that he would do everything in his power to save him. He was sweet enough to call his wife to come take me home because there was no way I was in any shape to drive. He even had an assistant drive my car home so I can drive back first thing in the morning. I can't stop thinking about what happen. The vet said my quick thinking may have helped save his life, so I do feel somewhat better that I did all the right thing. When I came home, I took out my other snakes and just held them and cried. It's overwhelming to me as I type this, how much they mean to me. I always knew that I loved them, but damn, I had no idea how much.

Oh, please do let us know if the little one gets home okay. I'm sure he'll make it through the night, these are hardy little guys we're talking about! I know exactly how you feel about loving them, and you are a very kind person to announce this so others know about cords and other little "hidden dangers". You are surely going to save health risks and complications in the future, if that makes you feel a tad bit better.

PLEASE keep us posted. =)

awwwwww.... hope ur lil one is alright!

-Chris

this thread made me think, a lot... and you know, if this were to happen to one of my snakes, i'm not quite sure how i would react. i care about them so much, probably a little too much. there's just something so rewarding about keeping a snake as a pet. the fact that it relies on you 100% to live just gives you that extra sense of pride and joy everytime you look in their cage. again, i want to wish you and your snake the best thump. i really feel for you.

Hello everyone. I just wanted to share some news that I got this morning concerning my baby. He made it through the night, but was not out of the woods yet. The vet said that he vomited blood on three occasions and was not active at all until this morning when I showed up at 6 am and he heard my voice and move towards the front of the cage like he always does when I start talking to him at home. I was thrilled to say the least. We notice that when he moved the bottom half of he seem to drag along like it didn't belong to him and that his tail has been curled upwards since I brought him in. He only does that when he is about to poop, so the vet is a bit concerned about that. He said he gave him something last night to make him comfortable and to keep him still until he can access his internal injuries today. He seemed to be breathing better after getting some oxyogen, so that's a good sign. He didn't curl into a ball as he normally does when sleeping, vet said that is probably due to being extremly sore and he can breathe better that way. I returned home to await his call at 10 am. I'll then know if I can bring him home or if he has to stay or be put down. Thanks again Will, Emorul and Andariel for your kind words, they gave me much comfort during my sleepless night and are very much appreciate.

PS. He has not been named since I got him, but the vet said he's a fighter... so..I decided to name him Champ. Hopefully he is not a she, but even so... I will forever call it Champ.

Thank you
Thump

I really hope that it gets well, seriously. I hate it when animals get hurt.

Hope Champ makes it.

I know about those hidden dangers. Even though it was not in his cage i almost had something similar happen a couple of weeks ago. I was letting Monty Joe do what he wanted while I was holding him on the couch. He stretched out off my arm and was creeping up along the base of the wall and my daughters bedroom door. After a while he seemed to just stay in one spot and my daughter looked over and screemed "He's stuck"! I looked up and he had hooked himself through one of those Latch Hook's to keep little ones out of the bedroom. Good thing all I had to do was lift the hook up and out or I and he would have been in trouble. It was fairly tight, but was able to lift the hook up and release him. It's amazing what little things can turn into a potential hazzard for out BP's.

Again, Hope everything turns out for the good Thump.

You guys are probably thinking how can I care about animals when I brought up the subject of stunting boas growth huh? Trust me I care about animals. Just cause I have different methods of taking care of them doesn't that I don't care about them.

Wow, Thump, that's awful! I'm glad Champ is still alive and breathing. Definitely keep us updated on what the vet has to say. I hope Champ pulls through like a champ.

I do have a nearly identical device in Snyder's enclosure, but I didn't attach the stand part to it and have the entra length of probe tucked under the substrate, so I think she'll be okay as long as she doesn't try to eat it. I appreciate the warning, though. We should all definitely assess what we have in the enclosures and whether they represent a danger to the snake(s), as well as supervise them when they ae out and about.

Thump,
Hope all is well with Champ. he is in my prayers. Good thing he has a owner with a quick mind, and seems like his Vet sounds like a good one also.
I know what your saying about the love and bond that we form for our pets. I have only had Ozzy since Dec13 but I check on him and fuss over him like I did my son when he was a newborn. I already love that little guy like crazy.
I just bought the same exact temp gauge at Walmart but up til now only put the outdoor sensor in his cage to double check my dial temp gauges I have in the cage, which by the way are accurate.
I was thinking of putting the unit in the cage like you did, glad I read this post
Please keep us updated on Champs recovery.

Thump,
I will certainly pray for you and Champ. It's a good thing you are a quick thinker and sounds like you have a great vet. Thank you for sharing and making us all stop and think carefully about our own snakes environment.

Best of luck to you both and keep us posted.

My thoughts are with you.

The analog humidity/temp guages Walmart sells are crap... spend a couple extra bucks and get ones from the petstores. I was amazed at how crappy the ones I got from walmart were till i put the petstore ones in beside them. They stick the the tank with double sided tape (included) and instantly respond to changes.

With the walmart humidity guage i'd mist the tank and it took 5-10 minutes for it to change... with the petstore ones by the time i start my second squirt of water its already changed. Same with the temp guages. Plus being that they stick the back of the tank (the glass) teh snake can't get stuck in them.

Again, I hope Thump is well. I just brought Andariel home from the vet myself. (read post).

-Chris

That's really good to hear he his doing better than he was last night. That's a really good sign. I hope the best for little Champ, and I believe he'll make it out of this.

I am glad to hear Champ is holding his own too...you and Champ are in my thought. :)

Great news everyone, Champ is still here with us. My vet allowed be to bring him home with special instructions to care for him and also what to look out for. He hasn't vomited anymore and is breathing much better than we had anticipated. He lost some scales under his neck and also on his back. He has deep bruising under his neck as well. His movements are a little better now, however his back end seems to be still dragging along because of some nerve damage. We'll find out how much if any he retained in the upcoming weeks. I can't handle or feed him for two weeks. Other than that, he seems to be doing okay considering the horror he has been through. When I told my vet about the name situation, he was elated. They had been referring to him as a champ because of his will to live. How great is that. Again, I want to thank everyone who has helped me through this ordeal and please continue to pray for a full recovery for my lil Champ. Please continue to watch your babies even more than you have before, we can lose them in an instant. Bless you all!

Thanks again
Thump

Great news Thump! I'm so glad to hear it, man. You know they say the first night of "trauma" is the worst, and if they get through that, they should be okay (not just snakes, but animals and people, too). Hopefully his nervous system recovers fully. Champ is meant to be here, my friend. :)

Jennifer

Congrats! That is great to hear. Please still keep us informed.

Best wishes!

i'm very glad to hear that champ is pulling through
good luck on a full recovery

Sending good vibes Champ's way for a full recovery. He seems to have made it through the roughest part.

he's home! woo hoo!

Oh my G*d.................I also just bought the same therm., after reading this I returned it and purchased a safer one!

My prayers are with you, we have only had our little guys since Christmas and we would be devastated if something ever happened to them...........

I am so glad to hear that Champ is gonna make it.I lost one of my Ball Pythons a couple of weeks ago and I was a nervous wreck till he finally decided to show up at 5:30am one day.I would be totally trashed if one of my snakes almost died like Champ.It sure sounds like quick thinking on your part to release him and get him to a vet as fast as possible.I truly hope that he pulls thru with minimal long term damage and that you and he have many happy years ahead of you.Keep us updated on how he does!!!!!!!!!!!