Escape and near-tragedy

Apologies in advance for a long post.

I haven't posted in about a month, as one of the Children's Pythons that I just love was in a terrible accident and I nearly lost her (I may still), and it's honestly just been too hard to write about. I do think it's important to talk about it as a warning to other keepers.

I recently moved Miso, a one-year-old Children's Python, from a Sterilite tub into a PVC enclosure that has sliding glass door panels. In many years of keeping, I had never had an escape and I wanted to keep it that way - so even though the gap between the sliding glass panels was very small, I added weather stripping to make the gap even smaller. Then I placed Miso in the enclosure and watched her like a hawk. Since Antaresia are curious, I knew she would start exploring right away and I wanted to be certain she couldn't escape. Sure enough, she located the gap and worked hard to try to get through it. After a lot of effort, she couldn't seem to shove even her nose through the gap, so I thought she was secure. I was wrong.

She escaped during the night, crawled under a sliding glass patio door in the room, and the next morning that door was slid open and then closed on top of her. I was sure she was dead, but when I managed to extract her she moved slightly. I thought her spine was broken. I immediately called my vet, but due to COVID they couldn't see me for a week - not even to do the euthanasia I assumed was needed. So I set little Miso up with what I thought would be a peaceful place for her to die. I considered euthanizing her myself but I just couldn't do it (and thank god for that in hindsight) - so I gave her a quiet, warm, dark hide in a small tub, put a shallow water bowl near her head so she wouldn't have to reach far if she wanted it, and left her alone. The next day I went in fully expecting to remove her body, but she had managed to neatly coil herself and lifted her head to look up at me, flicking her tongue. I don't mind confessing that I burst into tears, and I am not a cryer.

Long story short, that little girl has begun to recover. I was finally able to get her to my vet (I am very fortunate in having an excellent reptile vet), who confirmed that her spine is intact, though she has several broken ribs, and she didn't appear to have internal injuries other than severe bruising throughout her body and along the top of her spine. My vet was adamant in feeling Miso has a chance at recovery, so she came home with a month's worth of painkiller/muscle relaxant and antibiotic injections (which she HATES, so that's fun). The vet has emphasized that while snakes have remarkable resilience and recovery capacity, they also heal very slowly, so we are not by any means out of the woods, and have a long road ahead (likely months) before we can be sure she'll be OK.

Two weeks later she crawled out of her hide and soaked herself for an hour in her water bowl. She had a complete shed the next day. Two days after that, she crawled up and out of the enclosure as I was cleaning it. One month after the accident, she ate (I offered her a smaller food item than normal). We're still not sure about her bowel function, so she's getting a warm water soak for 15 minutes every other day. Yesterday she crawled around her tub exploring and burrowed under her water bowl, which required a lot of movement. She's now able to partly curl her tail around my hand, which she was unable to do a month ago. I think Miso just might make it, though every day I half-expect to lose her.

This experience has been horrible. I've of course lost animals to illness or age before, but this is the first time I have been the direct cause of great suffering in an animal I love. I can't forgive myself for it but I can sure as hell do a better job of preventing it - I'll certainly never again trust a sliding door entrance on an enclosure for any snake under 200 grams, even if it seems like there is no way on earth they could fit through the gap. I thought the added weather stripping plus my observation that she couldn't get her nose through the gap were enough. They weren't.

Please send positive thoughts for little Miso, and please don't put anything other than heavy-bodied snakes in sliding front enclosures; put locks on them to prevent doors being pushed open, and double and triple-check and secure every single gap or hole - even if you think escape is impossible - before deciding any enclosure is safe.

Thoughts are with you and Miso.

Thank you for posting. It can only help others. Very brave.

I'm so sorry you and Miso had to go through that. All my best wishes being sent your way. Try not to beat yourself up, we all make mistakes. I know, easier said than done, I'm great at beating myself up (but working on it). My lil' Hognose escaped a while back and I only found out cause he was face to face with one of my ferrets....ugggh. I got lucky there, no harm was done. But you better believe I have double and triple checked his enclosure every time I closed it since (screen top, I put it on wrong).

Thank you for sharing your story, I'm sure it wasn't easy. But hey, it's worth it if it helps someone else out in the future. Good on you :gj:

P.S. I'd have cried too...and I'm a 41 year old guy. No shame in that. I don't care what anyone says.

Poor baby, this is a very sobering story. I cannot imagine how it must have felt to find her like that and how much pain Miso must have gone through. I absolutely would have cried as well. I'm glad to hear she is on the mend and being well taken care of now. Thank you for sharing this, hopefully it will be a learning opportunity for others and help prevent similar tragedies. Wishing you both the best and a smooth recovery for Miso.

Best of luck to you and your scale baby!

What a scary & close call...I wish only the best for you and Miso...:please: Really excellent that you shared this experience so others may learn & prevent similar accidents.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

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This experience has been horrible. I've of course lost animals to illness or age before, but this is the first time I have been the direct cause of great suffering in an animal I love. I can't forgive myself for it but I can sure as hell do a better job of preventing it - I'll certainly never again trust a sliding door entrance on an enclosure for any snake under 200 grams, even if it seems like there is no way on earth they could fit through the gap. I thought the added weather stripping plus my observation that she couldn't get her nose through the gap were enough. They weren't.

Please send positive thoughts for little Miso, and please don't put anything other than heavy-bodied snakes in sliding front enclosures; put locks on them to prevent doors being pushed open, and double and triple-check and secure every single gap or hole - even if you think escape is impossible - before deciding any enclosure is safe.

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This is a perfect illustration of why housing for snakes is not a "one-size fits all" answer. While this is a site for BPs, there are many other species discussed & kept by readers here, yet it's all to easy to get the impression that stackable sliding-front enclosures are "THE" perfect home for any & all kinds of snakes. That bit of wiggle room between the front sliders is an "attractive nuisance" to a snake in the very same way a backyard swimming pool inadvertently invites trouble from neighborhood children.

In the past I have put snakes on my floor for closely supervised exploration and noticed how they'd gravitate to a sliding glass door, obviously aware of the "outside" air that they found enticing. That was much like what happened with your enclosure, only on a larger scale & with a sickening & guilt-inducing outcome.

I also can remember when I was fairly new to keeping snakes & housed a hatchling king snake in a terrarium with a sliding screen lid: that tiny but energetic soul did the unthinkable- she squeezed herself into the tiny (maybe .25") gap left in the track of the screen lid even when the locking peg was inserted...I never imagined how determined a snake might be, & in that case, it wasn't a matter of any difference in air flow that attracted her. No, she just found a gap to explore & "went for it"; happily she was uninjured from her escape, & happily I found her in the toe of a boot in my closet later that same day, but that's when I knew I'd be making my own cage tops for my glass tanks (as I'd done in the past for other small pets) from then on.

It's easy to underestimate things a snake might do: some years back, I was about to clean the large tank that housed one of my adult FL rat snakes. I unlocked the heavy wire mesh & wood top, but left it in place while I left the room briefly to do or get something (I forget exactly what now). When I returned, that snake had pushed her way out from under the top to escape, but inexplicably stopped with the cage top resting on her tail tip! She had to have her tail tip surgically removed, but otherwise she was fine. So even with many years of keeping snakes, the point is that we can STILL be surprised by some of the things our snakes will do.

In the past, I've only ever used 2 enclosures with overlapping glass sliders...they were wood furniture cabinets that I modified as snake homes, & I never had any trouble since the snakes were larger...one was an adult gopher snake, the other an adult king snake. The other thing is that plate glass doesn't have as much "give" to it as the plexi that's typically used on enclosures (because it's lighter weight), but that matters little to a determined snake.

Anyway, don't beat yourself up...we all make some mistakes...& I hope she makes a full recovery.

Omg, that sounds like an extremely scary situation. :( So sorry you all went through that, but so glad to hear Miso is recovering nicely.

Many thanks to all of you for being so kind and supportive. Miso is still hanging in there; she continues to be engaged and interested in what's going on around her, which is always a good sign, and she's able to get a slightly better grip with her tail.

So, a couple of notes on enclosures. While I will never again use an enclosure with overlapping glass sliding doors for my smaller snakes, I think they are fine for my larger/heavier bodied snakes - though a showcase-style lock is still needed, as snakes are good at pushing sliders open. For anyone considering a PVC with sliders, I would recommend using tempered glass for the doors and not plexiglass. Plexi is too flexible, and besides, over time it tends to develop scratches.

I have a couple of PVC enclosures with grommets set into the back to cover the holes drilled for inserting wires, as well as a couple of glass enclosures with very small holes in the lids for wires. For the PVC enclosures I am now siliconing the grommets in place in a closed position. For the lids on the glass enclosures I used modeling clay to block the holes. At this point I am just not willing to tempt fate by using tape anywhere, not even on the outside of enclosures. The modeling clay has been a useful alternative.

Finally, the snake gods seem to be trying to send me a message. As mentioned in my first post, Miso's escape was my first in many years of keeping. After her escape and accident, I immediately put my other Antaresia into tubs until I could re-evaluate their enclosures for safety. Like so many of us, I have always felt very confident when using the Sterilite gasket boxes with multiple clips. I believed they were escape-proof. Well...the photo below shows what I found a few hours after moving Ozzy, my male Children's Python, into a Sterilite gasket tub with SIX clips. I still have no freaking idea how he managed this, and I'm shocked because for years, I've felt so safe using Sterilite tubs. I am still figuring this one out, but thought I'd share.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0/ozzy_tub.jpg

That's one reason I'm no fan of sterilite or similar plastic containers...they're very flexible & many snakes can get hurt trying to escape these too.

Every kind of enclosure for snakes has it's own pro's & con's though- all require awareness of the shortfalls, and extra vigilance for safety and security.

BTW, in the past I used some NEODESHA cages...they too had sliding glass across the front, but it was only one solid piece, with a hole for a locking peg on either side of the glass. When I converted some furniture cabinets to snake homes, I used the same method to lock the glass sliders in place...in the wood on either side, I drilled a hole for a fat metal peg to make it impossible for any snake occupant to open the sliders, instead of needing any sort of display-case locks.

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

...Like so many of us, I have always felt very confident when using the Sterilite gasket boxes with multiple clips. I believed they were escape-proof. Well...the photo below shows what I found a few hours after moving Ozzy, my male Children's Python, into a Sterilite gasket tub with SIX clips. I still have no freaking idea how he managed this, and I'm shocked because for years, I've felt so safe using Sterilite tubs. I am still figuring this one out, but thought I'd share...

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I honestly have a hunch that this happens way more than you realize, but many just don't want to admit it or share the experience, especially when it doesn't end well.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I honestly have a hunch that this happens way more than you realize, but many just don't want to admit it or share the experience, especially when it doesn't end well.

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I hope that's not the case, but it may very well be true. I almost put little Ozzy back into the Sterilite tub just to watch him and see how he managed his escape, as I've kept so many snakes in those tubs with no problems at all, so I'm still shocked that he got out. But between the gasket and the clips, the tub lid is so tightly secured that I was afraid he'd hurt himself in a second attempt. It just wasn't worth the risk.

I am pretty well able to weather the ups and downs of online forums, but I admit it has been hard for me to post about what happened to Miso. It was even hard to post about Ozzie's escape - I just imagined people thinking that I'm a bad keeper/shouldn't have snakes, etc. I know that's not entirely rational, but just as I've spent a lot of years keeping, I've been a lot of years online and I know how it can get!

But I'm still glad I posted both of these incidents if hearing about either one prevents even a single escape. And I sincerely hope I manage another decade of keeping that's escape-free!!

I'm very glad you didn't put him back in, just to "see?" as snakes usually remember & repeat their performance, maybe not while you're watching though.

I think this would have happened more (ie. been reported more often) if this wasn't a BP forum, as they're the most often kept snakes here & they just don't escape as
easily as other snakes do. You're not a bad keeper at all, just an honest one that's trying to prevent similar disasters for the pets of others. :gj:

I definitely understand your worry that people would be rude. You seem to be doing your best not to have this happen, though, and seem quite responsible to me. You definitely gotta be careful in cage selection sometimes, you can’t just automatically know every possible scenario. The only two escapes I’ve had were due to me forgetting to secure cages. One was my bp who was found underneath the TV (big old style box TV), and my garter who was under a guitar case by the front door. Haven’t had an escape since and those were a good 5+ years ago. Just use the knowledge you gain to further keep your animals safe in the future. :)


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Update on Miso: This week she passed urates for the first time since the accident; she LAUNCHED herself at her meal; the motion and strength in the lower quarter of her body is almost normal; and she has gained 21 grams over the lowest weight she reached post-accident. She is nearly back to her pre-accident weight.

Because she's made so much progress in just six weeks, I am letting myself feel hopeful - though I admit that every time I lift her hide to check on her or remove her for her every-other-day soak in warm water, I feel sick and shaky because I'm afraid she'll be dead.

She still hasn't had a bowel movement, but I am not fretting yet; it hasn't been that long since she started eating again - her first meal post-accident was on July 23, and it was a smaller food item than normal, as were the two weekly meals since then. She doesn't have any bulge at all near her vent; I sort of feel like maybe she's digesting every molecule of food for healing and to get weight back on. The fact that she passed urates and that she has nearly normal motion in the lower part of her body also makes me think that she's OK. I hope.

Her behaviors are also getting back to normal - she switches back and forth between her hides the way she did before, hangs out during the day with her head resting on the edge of her water bowl and just watching the world go by, and she pops her head out to see what's going on when I am feeding the other snakes.

She has another vet appointment in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again to all who sent good thoughts to this little python - I love her dearly and she is really working hard to get better.

She may be working hard to get better, but it also sounds like you are doing right by her. Kudos to you.

Hoping the vet visit goes well and she continues to improve.

Keep us posted.

I never thought I would be so excited to see snake poop, but Miso had a normal bowel movement this morning and wants to eat right. freaking. now!

I think we may have managed to get through this OK, which is an absolute miracle. Just over six weeks ago she could barely move, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, was losing weight like crazy, and physically just looked wrong. Today she looks and acts like her normal self, and is nearly up to normal weight. The movement in the lower quarter of her body is still a little slow and slightly limited, but it's 1000% better than when she just sort of dragged herself along. She can coil and grip all the way down to her tail tip now.

I'm going to give this little one a nice meal, and spend a moment being very, very grateful for her tenacity, for my wonderful reptile veterinarian, and for the people in my life, including you guys, who understood how I could care so much about a little snake and who cared about her too.

I’m very happy to hear that your snake is getting better, and hopefully makes a full recovery. I’ve made my share of mistakes. But can’t imagine what an awful experience it must of been. I had an escape or two over the years. One was a Brazilian Rainbow, that I was excited to move into its permanent home. Thankfully he was slithering up the closet door and found a place he felt comfortable. But very easy to spot. A few years back I had a ball python that squeezed through an improperly secured lid, thankfully my youngest daughter caught him in the act. Best of luck, hopefully the snake gods are on your side, lol. Peace

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

I never thought I would be so excited to see snake poop, but Miso had a normal bowel movement this morning and wants to eat right. freaking. now!

I think we may have managed to get through this OK, which is an absolute miracle. Just over six weeks ago she could barely move, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, was losing weight like crazy, and physically just looked wrong. Today she looks and acts like her normal self, and is nearly up to normal weight. The movement in the lower quarter of her body is still a little slow and slightly limited, but it's 1000% better than when she just sort of dragged herself along. She can coil and grip all the way down to her tail tip now.

I'm going to give this little one a nice meal, and spend a moment being very, very grateful for her tenacity, for my wonderful reptile veterinarian, and for the people in my life, including you guys, who understood how I could care so much about a little snake and who cared about her too.

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Wow, I'm just so happy to hear this! :dance: Sure sounds like you & your vet chose the right course with rest & easy meals while she has been healing. :gj:
I know how painful this has been for you to go thru as well...

Awesome, AWESOME news!!!!!

Miso definitely seems to be a trooper, and lucky to be in caring hands. Great job!!! :gj:

If I were you, I would move your CP to a glass tank with locks.

I used tub with my CP at the start. It was locked, clipped all around the sides. He escaped.

I tried again adding every inch of the tub lid was clipped. He escaped again.

Both times I found him hiding in a nearby stack of clothes for donations, so I got lucky. That tub was like Alcatraz: somehow, he escaped. To this day, I could not figure it out. The clips were still in the same place. The air holes were smaller than his head. He managed to squeeze himself out, no scratches, no injuries found.

My Bender is now in a 29 gallon tall tank. He spends half his day perched and waiting for food, the other half trying to get out of the tank through the top mesh lid (locked) to get to food. I have 2 corns , a king and a woman who are just as food motivated, but they at least go sleep in their hides or do something else. Nope, not Bender. He is always waiting or trying to break out.

On a side note, Bender is very observant of what is going on outside his tank. I think tall glass tanks would be more suitable for this species.

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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

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My Bender is now in a 29 gallon tall tank. He spends half his day perched and waiting for food, the other half trying to get out of the tank through the top mesh lid (locked) to get to food. I have 2 corns , a king and a woman who are just as food motivated, but they at least go sleep in their hides or do something else. Nope, not Bender. He is always waiting or trying to break out.

On a side note, Bender is very observant of what is going on outside his tank. I think tall glass tanks would be more suitable for this species.

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Correction on typo: 2 corns, 2 kings and a woma. Not woman. Haha.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

If I were you, I would move your CP to a glass tank with locks.

I used tub with my CP at the start. It was locked, clipped all around the sides. He escaped.

I tried again adding every inch of the tub lid was clipped. He escaped again.

Both times I found him hiding in a nearby stack of clothes for donations, so I got lucky. That tub was like Alcatraz: somehow, he escaped. To this day, I could not figure it out. The clips were still in the same place. The air holes were smaller than his head. He managed to squeeze himself out, no scratches, no injuries found.

My Bender is now in a 29 gallon tall tank. He spends half his day perched and waiting for food, the other half trying to get out of the tank through the top mesh lid (locked) to get to food. I have 2 corns , a king and a woman who are just as food motivated, but they at least go sleep in their hides or do something else. Nope, not Bender. He is always waiting or trying to break out.

On a side note, Bender is very observant of what is going on outside his tank. I think tall glass tanks would be more suitable for this species.

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I totally agree...my Aussie Spotted python enjoys living in a tall glass tank with very secure* screen top also. (* I build my own with wood frame & 1/4" hardware "cloth"-aka welded wire- and the 4 corners of the lid are actually chained to the base that the tank sits on. No snake of mine ever escaped tops that were locked this way, & I used to keep hots this way too...failure is not an option.)

I completely agree about putting my Children's Pythons into locking glass enclosures; after Miso's accident, Ozzy, Miso's brother, was immediately transferred to one, as was Cricket, my Antaresia perthensis (Pygmy Python). I was never a big fan of glass tanks, but in the case of Antaresia, I am now a convert. Miso is still in her little 'hospital' tub but I think it's time to transition her. She isn't exploring at all; I think she is still in recovery mode. But I want to be certain she stays safe.

I also agree that these little guys really seem to appreciate climbing. In Miso's case I need to think about that. Given that she suffered significant back injuries and I'm still not 100% sure about her strength, ability to coil and grip, etc. then I want to avoid an environment where she risks taking any sort of a fall - so maybe I need to look into something like a long, low Exo-terra.

I'm still shocked at the shared escape experiences that Cheesenugget and I have had with Children's Pythons in supposedly secure tubs with multiple clips. I would LOVE to know how the little monsters managed it but am not willing to take the injury risk of putting them in a tub again to observe how they get out.

I agree, I'd avoid allowing Miso any opportunity to fall, but driftwood or branches don't have to be tall for a snake to enjoy them...just start "low & slow" to give her time
to fully recover. FYI, my spotted python has been in a glass tank for as long as I've had her...about 10+ years. A humid hide is all she requires, not minimal air-flow for
humidity, & she spends a lot of her time high up on her tall driftwood & branches.

Miso had her follow-up visit at the vet today and the vet said that even though she has great confidence in the recovery capacity and resilience of snakes, she is still shocked at how well Miso is doing.

The clinic is of course practicing COVID restrictions, so are doing parking-lot dropoff and pickup of patients, with phone consultations as needed during exams. But they were all so happy to see Miso's progress that the vet and two techs came out to the parking lot to cheer as they handed her back to me. It was really sweet.

She has a very slight kink in her lower back. Because of that we're assuming she may be prone to constipation, so they recommended a warm soak once or twice a week. Thankfully Miso really enjoys drinking water, so keeping her hydrated will help too.

The vet also recommended that while climbing should be avoided for the next six months or so to prevent falls, it's important to give Miso lots of opportunities to stretch, crawl, and do low climbing in order to fully regain her muscle strength.

Obviously I'm very happy and super-grateful for a great reptile veterinarian and for the fact that little Miso is such a fighter. Thanks again for your good wishes; I am convinced they helped!

That is such awesome news!!!

I literally have goosebumps head to toe right now!!!
That's so cool what the vet and techs did, I love that!!!

Miso is lucky to have you!!!!!

From what you described of Miso's accident, I'm honestly surprised too, but very happy (!) at how well she appears to be coming thru this. And you also have a terrific
vet (including staff) to help too. As Craig said, Miso is lucky to have you watching over her. :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

From what you described of Miso's accident, I'm honestly surprised too, but very happy (!) at how well she appears to be coming thru this. And you also have a terrific
vet (including staff) to help too. As Craig said, Miso is lucky to have you watching over her. :gj:

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I spent a lot of years as a vet tech, and have seen a few pretty miraculous recoveries. I have to say this is one of them. I can't even bring myself to provide the true details of what Miso's condition was like in the first hours and days after that accident - I'll just say I agree with her veterinarian that this is both wonderful and a bit shocking.

Here she is a day ago wondering why I'm being emotional when all she wants is a mouse. FYI the blue cloth is because so many of my snakes seem to really enjoy soft cloth that I often put a square in their enclosures so they can sit on it; I remove and replace or wash as needed. I just cut up (for the smaller snakes) those soft blue microfiber cloths that you can get in big packages for washing cars, etc.

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...iso_august.jpg[/IMG]

You'd never know that anything had "happened" to her. :D Maybe it's her magic blankie?

Thank you for keeping us updated on your journey with Miso. I am so happy to hear that she is doing well and recovering steadily. It's wonderful that she has such a caring owner and that you have access to a great vet. Hope she continues to improve and goes on to live a long and healthy life!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You'd never know that anything had "happened" to her. :D Maybe it's her magic blankie?

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lol! It may well be. I was a little surprised when I found out how much several of my snakes enjoy being able to sit on or in anything that's made of cloth with a velvety, super-soft texture. Ever since realizing it I've made that option available both in and out of their enclosures. Who knew that the 'magic snake blankie' would be such a hit?! Pictured is Sugar in his 'blankie'. He'll sit contentedly in that thing for hours.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...snake_cozy.jpg

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Originally Posted by Caitlin

lol! It may well be. I was a little surprised when I found out how much several of my snakes enjoy being able to sit on or in anything that's made of cloth with a velvety, super-soft texture. Ever since realizing it I've made that option available both in and out of their enclosures. Who knew that the 'magic snake blankie' would be such a hit?! Pictured is Sugar in his 'blankie'. He'll sit contentedly in that thing for hours.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...snake_cozy.jpg

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It goes to show just how important the sense of touch is to snakes: just because they have scales doesn't mean they don't love soft things to snuggle with. :love:

I wanted to share an update on Miso. Her improvement has been gradual and steady, though sometimes my heart ached when I saw her being nervous or cautious in situations where previously she would have been completely calm and fearless.

But today it was like someone flipped a switch. She was in BIG EXPLORE mode all afternoon. Sitting in her enclosure was not an option, so she climbed right out onto my hands. She wanted to climb everything, smell everything, check everything out. She used all of her muscles, and coiled and gripped firmly, all the way down to the tip of her tail. Almost four months later, this is the first day I really feel like Miso is entirely back to herself, and I am really happy and grateful - because I love this little snake. Here's hoping she has many good years of exploring ahead.

https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...93&oe=5FE96B2E

I'm so sorry that happened! but I'm glad Misco is ok, she looks and sounds adorable and I'm sure she will be living for a long time in your amazing and caring care!:D:gj:

I am so glad she sounds like she’s back to where she was before! Fingers crossed she maintains her confidence now. [emoji3590]


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I think this will be my final report-back in this thread, and it's wonderful to have a happy ending to share.

Miso's favorite enrichment activity was climbing around on a 'jungle gym' I made for my smaller snakes - it's a plastic clothes drying rack entwined with plastic vines along with some reptile hammocks and hanging coconut hides. She could spend hours on it. After her accident, I didn't let her go on it - she didn't have full use of her muscles, her strength and coordination weren't there, and I was worried that a fall could have terrible consequences after all of the injuries to her back.

But Antaresia are active and curious, and once it was obvious she was going to have a pretty strong recovery, I wanted to be sure she had the best possible quality of life. So I leaned on my ancient experience with wildlife rehab and devised a little physical therapy program for her involving swimming and a gradual increase in climbing activity. I wasn't sure she'd ever get back to where she was, but I wanted to be sure she could fully enjoy whatever enrichment could safely be offered.

She's a determined little soul, and over the last few months has gotten back to her normal routine of 'asking' to be out of her enclosure almost every night, so we've had lots opportunities for her physical therapy program. And tonight for the first time in seven months, she went on to her beloved jungle gym and climbed all over that thing! In previous months, I could always detect the worst of the old injury sites and I could see where she had weakness. Tonight all of that was gone. I can't tell, via appearance or activity. that anything ever happened to her at all - I think I can finally allow myself to say that she's achieved a full recovery.

She's tuckered out now. The photo below is of Miso relaxing in one of the coconut hides on the jungle gym after her big climb. I look forward to seeing her enjoy these activities many more times in future! Thanks again for your kindness and support throughout - not many people in this world could understand how much I care about a little brown snake, so I really appreciate you all.

[IMG]https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...so_jan_gym.jpg[/IMG]

Oh, that picture says it all- she's so adorable! Looks so much like my spotted python too (who's also a climber). Such a wonderful update- you've done a great job facilitating her recovery. :gj: