Please help

so i woke up this morning and my BP tank was at 61 Deg and her mouth was full of dirt. her nose looked squished, she was cold to the touch and she wouldn't move. i thought she was dead because she also didn't breathe but she got in this odd ball from but only neck up. i kept her in her tank because i didn't exactly want to burry her yet and a couple moments later; she started breathing. she is now back alive i guess with a mouth full of coconut husk. what happened and what do i do???

also her mouth won't close

If start a NEW thread but put the word URGENT !!!! in there title to get some fast advice from people better equipped to help .

Good luck !!


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What is your tank setup like? Do you have anything loose that could've fell on him?

no, everything is grounded and on the floor as usual

she is keeping her head up and waving it side to side im extremely worried

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

If start a NEW thread but put the word URGENT !!!! in there title to get some fast advice from people better equipped to help .

Good luck !!


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I agree with Zincubus. Start a new thread with URGENT in the title. It'll draw attention from others who are qualified to help.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

If start a NEW thread but put the word URGENT !!!! in there title to get some fast advice from people better equipped to help .

Good luck !!


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I agree with Zincubus. Start a new thread with URGENT in the title. It'll draw attention from others who are qualified to help.

How long was the tank that cold ? When is the last time you checked on her before finding her that way ?

Take her out and open her mouth. You will have to hold her FIRMLY but GENTLY. Try to put her into a pillowcase with only her head out and her body all curled up so she can't fight or hurt herself slinging around. Once you have the mouth open, try to use a popsicle stick or something to gently put in between the jaws to keep it open and have qtips and moist paper towels ready to remove anything that may be stuck in there.

Honestly, your best bet would go to the Vet NOW. But if you cannot for whatever reason, you need to clear her mouth.

It could also be the beginning of a Respiratory infection. Esp. with the tank so cold. So if her mouth is clear of obstructions, check for mucous, bubbles, discoloration.

If she has the beginning of a RI, she might have mucous in there, and mixed with the substrate it may have formed a sticky, wet glob she can't get out.

Can you explain your setup ? Your temps ? How old is the snake, how long have you had her ? When did she eat last ? Can you post pictures of the set up and of her ??

my power is out so i have a generator running, its at 78 right now. she is prob 6 months old and ive had her for 3. she last ate 2 days ago and i dont think i can post a pic but i will try

Starting a second thread will only get them merged.

You can also put her in a pillow case and keep it under your shirt for a while.

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Originally Posted by zina10

How long was the tank that cold ? When is the last time you checked on her before finding her that way ?

Take her out and open her mouth. You will have to hold her FIRMLY but GENTLY. Try to put her into a pillowcase with only her head out and her body all curled up so she can't fight or hurt herself slinging around. Once you have the mouth open, try to use a popsicle stick or something to gently put in between the jaws to keep it open and have qtips and moist paper towels ready to remove anything that may be stuck in there.

Honestly, your best bet would go to the Vet NOW. But if you cannot for whatever reason, you need to clear her mouth.

It could also be the beginning of a Respiratory infection. Esp. with the tank so cold. So if her mouth is clear of obstructions, check for mucous, bubbles, discoloration.

If she has the beginning of a RI, she might have mucous in there, and mixed with the substrate it may have formed a sticky, wet glob she can't get out.

Can you explain your setup ? Your temps ? How old is the snake, how long have you had her ? When did she eat last ? Can you post pictures of the set up and of her ??

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In the short time I have been a member on this forum, and for the months I was using the forum as reference prior to joining, Zina has proven to be a HUGE asset to the community of snake lovers here at BP.net. I would and will take her advice every time she answers any question I may have. She is definitely not the only amazing person on here, but I have seen her honest, compassionate advice many times on this forum and it is clear that she is extremely knowledgeable and has a genuine passion for the animals and truly wants to help anybody she can to enjoy and share the passion she has for snakes. From me, and I am sure I can speak for many others, THANK YOU Zina, please keep doing what you do.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Starting a second thread will only get them merged.

You can also put her in a pillow case and keep it under your shirt for a while.

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Thank you Pit. As a relative newcomer to the forum I was unaware that the threads would be merged.

As far as your advice to put the snake in the pillow case and under your shirt, I would imagine that would be to raise the animals body temp? And would you do this after clearing out the mouth? Or would you do that first? I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can from you and the other experienced keepers on this forum. You are another HUGE asset to this community, just like Zina above, THANK YOU and please keep doing what you do.

Clear the snake's mouth as best you can. A q-tip works.

To keep just one snake warm when the power is out you can put the snake into a bag or pillowcase and put it under your shirt so your body heat keeps it warm.

Digital thermostats don't do very well on generator power since it's dirty. If there was a spike it may have caused your thermostat to fail or automatically shut off.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Starting a second thread will only get them merged.

You can also put her in a pillow case and keep it under your shirt for a while.

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Couldn't the merge thread have URGENT in the title though !?!




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Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

In the short time I have been a member on this forum, and for the months I was using the forum as reference prior to joining, Zina has proven to be a HUGE asset to the community of snake lovers here at BP.net. I would and will take her advice every time she answers any question I may have. She is definitely not the only amazing person on here, but I have seen her honest, compassionate advice many times on this forum and it is clear that she is extremely knowledgeable and has a genuine passion for the animals and truly wants to help anybody she can to enjoy and share the passion she has for snakes. From me, and I am sure I can speak for many others, THANK YOU Zina, please keep doing what you do.

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Oh wow... :tears: << happy tears

I almost dropped my coffee cup ;)

Thank you SO much !! You have no idea how nice it is to read something like this about myself. I greatly appreciate it, you just made my day (week, month..)

There are quite a few members on here that consistently help. As a matter of fact, I think this is the KINDEST and most helpful snake forum I have been on, since I have been into reptiles. And that is due to the amazing members that patiently help whenever needed. I am by no means the most knowledgeable herper and I'm always still learning, but I am passionate about the animals and I do want to help. I've gotten so much help myself when I first started out. And even now, when I'm getting ready to breed for the first time, there is so much help here and one never needs to fear to ask questions.

Now I feel all warm and fuzzy ;) Thank you! And thanks to everyone on here for making this such a wonderful place to learn, share and receive help.

Im confused as to why you said her nose looks squished? I undrstand temps are down because of power and substrate is in her mouth but how does the injury come into this? Did she try and get out maybe and get her head (nose) stuck under the frame of the screened lid?

If she has eaten only 2 days ago and then you had the big drop in temperature, it could have caused some trouble with digestion!

Their digestion is quite powerful and in the first couple of days they break down tissue/bones and all organs work overtime. That is also when heat is VITAL.

I wonder whether the digestion got disrupted and the food inside of her is rotting before being able to digest. There might be gasses and all kinds of unpleasantness. This is just a guess, though.

Either way, you want to make sure you clear her mouth, as has been pointed out, then get her WARM. Don't wait for the tank to warm up, Like Pit said, put her in a pillow case and under your shirt. That will gently but quickly warm her up. Only return her to the cage once everything is SPOT ON again.

Remove all substrate, lay out papertowels. Mist gently but don't get it soaked, only mist in one area, leave her dry inside of the hides.

I really hope she recovers, please keep us up to date ..

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Originally Posted by zina10

Oh wow... :tears: << happy tears

I almost dropped my coffee cup ;)

Thank you SO much !! You have no idea how nice it is to read something like this about myself. I greatly appreciate it, you just made my day (week, month..)

There are quite a few members on here that consistently help. As a matter of fact, I think this is the KINDEST and most helpful snake forum I have been on, since I have been into reptiles. And that is due to the amazing members that patiently help whenever needed. I am by no means the most knowledgeable herper and I'm always still learning, but I am passionate about the animals and I do want to help. I've gotten so much help myself when I first started out. And even now, when I'm getting ready to breed for the first time, there is so much help here and one never needs to fear to ask questions.

Now I feel all warm and fuzzy ;) Thank you! And thanks to everyone on here for making this such a wonderful place to learn, share and receive help.

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Glad I could help to make your day, but really it's just me thanking you for what you do :gj:

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

Im confused as to why you said her nose looks squished? I undrstand temps are down because of power and substrate is in her mouth but how does the injury come into this? Did she try and get out maybe and get her head (nose) stuck under the frame of the screened lid?

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Sully, I was wondering the same thing about the squished nose. I figured I would allow some more experienced keepers to weigh in on this one though due to the time sensitive nature of the post. Maybe the snake was trying to escape the cold and find some warmth?

I'm just guessing again, but it is possible she tried to regurge the meal since she couldn't digest it (no heat)

That would explain her "tying herself in knots" in her upper body as well as the open mouth full of bedding. Might have been slinging herself around open mouthed.
And most likely DID try to find heat, so that could also explain the squashed nose.

All I know is that a belly full of rat and no heat means bad news..

But all we can do is guess, unfortunately.

Some pictures might help ? But most importantly is the urgent care right now, clear mouth, warm up, get the enclosure ready (paper towels, heat)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Sully, I was wondering the same thing about the squished nose. I figured I would allow some more experienced keepers to weigh in on this one though due to the time sensitive nature of the post. Maybe the snake was trying to escape the cold and find some warmth?

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Yeah something with a Injury as bad as something being Squished has to go strait to a emergency vet appt IMO..(if you have the means).. Hopefully the description is wrong and im misunderstanding.

This is a good time to promote one of the products I bought years ago. In the 8 years I've had those things I've ever just needed to use them once. But when you do need to get into your snakes mouth, those things are the best tool to have around.

They allow you to safely and gently keep the snakes mouth open (you insert and then hold the mouth closed over it GENTLY but firmly. Unlike using a popsicle stick or anything like that, you have full access to the snakes mouth while its being held open.

http://photos.imageevent.com/morgens...H8zScPJpMM.jpg

They also come in sets along with other husbandry tools such as a "proping" kit.

I think everyone should have some "emergency" supplies at hand. A pillowcase for the snakes, tweezers, the above mentioned tools, and ideally, also a fully set up "quarantine tub" you can use for a sick snake that needs to be isolated. A heat tape already installed and a extra thermostat ready, even if its just the $30 thermostat from Amazon. Hopefully one never needs any of it, but its good to have it on hand "just in case".

update, she seems fine. i will be taking her to the vet soon but i got the majority of the husk out her mouth. she is extremely sluggish but alive. i hope she comes out fine

OK, thanks for the update. Glad she seems to be improving. Please keep us posted. We're pulling for her!!

i took a nap and woke up to another mouth full of husk, she seems like she wants to eat it; also her tail is vigorously shaking. it's like she got worse. any idea what should be wrong?

Please clean out her mouth again and while you keep her warm somewhere, clean out all the substrate out of the enclosure !!

Keep only papertowels in the enclosure, or newspaper. Make sure its warm enough, that all the temps are up where they are supposed to be. And then hope for the best.

Vet would be the best idea, but if you can't do that, then just set her up correctly and no more substrate.

I still fear it might have to do with the digestion getting all messed up. A lot happens in the snakes body during digestion, many organs work twice as hard as normal. Heat is vital during all this.
If she got that cold in the middle of trying to break down and digest a rodent, the food may have begun to rot in her or she may be trying to regurgitate the food. It may just cause her pain?

It could be something else altogether, but if she flails around and opens her mouth, please take the substrate out. At least you won't have to stress her more by having to remove her to clean her mouth several times...

Good luck and let us know how things are going..

As of 8:19, february 20, 2017, my 6 month old ball python, korra is dead. through the 3 months i've had her, no one has been as close to me as korra was. i vented to her, she liked to slither on me and when i put my hand in her tank she would welcome it with resting her head on it and climbing up my forearm, she was shy to other people but knew me well, she was my world. through the 3 months i've had her, she was my daughter and i loved her. Rest in peace, Korra Quiroga. my only regret is not being able to do better for her

I'm sorry to hear this.

:tears:

Sad......

That's such sad a ending to this story :(


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Awww, man. So sorry to hear she didn't make it.

Sorry for your loss


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Im sorry for what happened. Let me say I dont mean any disrespect but I think you need a lot of research before trying this again. Only a couple weeks have passed and you Force fed after only 3 weeks of the snake not eating which is only a last resort to be taught by a skilled handler or vet. Also you were trying to peel her and help her shed and had several quiestions about why she wasnt shedding and what you should do to help her start when she may not have even been ready to shed yet. The first thread was about getting 2 BP's in Housing them in a divided 40 gallon Aquarium.
These are all things that should be known already to anyone that has brought a snake home to care for. Im sorry this snake didn't make it for whatever reason. You had also mentioned a squished nose in the beginning of this thread. The whole situation sounded absolutely terrible for the snake.

Man! sorry for your loss, I know you'll find comfort knowing you did everything you could for that snake.


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I recommend getting the body checked out somehow to make sure that if you do ever get another snake, you can keep this from happening again by knowing what caused it all.


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