Please help if possible

Hello, Sorry to come on this message board with such a horrible story. I was given a bp about 2 weeks ago with a "skin ailment". Well the skin ailment is a severe necrotic underbelly on about1/2 of the body. It has brown chunks of rotten skin and deep, deep, penetrating infection. She went to the vet and has been on baytril inj. and daily antibiotic application. She isn't getting better, the vet says we can't do anymore. She also has eye caps that look several layers thick, that we can't get off. The lesions on her skin are very painful. I think I may have to euthanize her today, I feel so bad for her. Any thoughts? Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing being ok? Thank you so much.
PS: the owner fed live rats.

Not to sound Morbid, But I would put her in the freezer asap... Why let her suffer.

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Originally Posted by staceyg

PS: the owner fed live rats.

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I'm sorry that you're going through this with this girl - but wondering what feeding live rats has to do with her condition? Many of us feed live here, but I'm not making the connection between her condition and feeding live?

In any case, it does sound like euthanasia may be the kindest thing to do for her. Thanks go to you for trying to help her!

Sounds more like she started out with belly rot and it's gotten to this horrible stage....likely dirty wet bedding is the culprit here or a burn from a heat rock started this whole mess. Poor thing!

If your vet is advising that there is not much more than can be done for her and since the vet's actually had his/her hands on this snake, I would follow that advice and have her humanely euthanized as soon as possible.

Sadly we can't save them all and we, as the responsible parties, must know when enough is enough. Please know that we all feel for you having to make this difficult choice after having struggled to save this snake.

The reason I mentioned live feeding is I thought maybe it started out with a rat bite.

Thanks

I agree that it may be time to end her suffering. It's definitely not an easy thing to do, but if it doesn't look like she's improving at all there is no point in postponing the inevitable. I've yet to have to put down a snake, but I've put down a dog (16 years old) and a cat (FIV) and it was very difficult for me. I'm glad to see you at least did everything humanly possible to attempt to save this animal. Your a good person.

Oh and btw Stacey, no need at all to apologize for seeking support here at BPNet. That's part of what we do for each other hon. :hug:

Oh thank you so much for your support. The vet is a close friend of mine and we are going to anesthetize her today and see how extensive things are. We will pull some blood to check her values while she's asleep and make a decision then. I'm glad he is so willing to help me. We love our snakes, but don't want to see any of them suffer. I'd love to give this poor girl a chance at a nice life, but sometimes you get them too late.

Thanks again everyone, I let you know what happens.
Stacey

Glad you are so close with your vet, that will certainly make you feel more confident in either making the decision to euthanize or working with your vet to attempt to safe the BP.

Here's some threads from a member here "goldenburm" aka Peter (from the UK). Peter's done some amazing work with this female pictured in these threads and though I cannot speak for him, I'm pretty confident that he'd probably not mind a PM from you to discuss things. I'm not saying your rescue is saveable at this point, only you and your vet can decide that but I also wanted you to see what can happen. The BP Peter saved was a mess, I don't think many of us believed she'd come back so well.

Whatever you end up deciding please remember this community is here to support you through it and we're glad you've joined us. :)

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28174

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28699

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=29365

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=31179

I think I got those threads in order so you can see her progression.

Hi Stacey...


I'm really sorry that such a sad story has brought you to BP.net, but I wanted to wish you a warm welcome, and offer prayers for peace and wisdom in the decisions ahead for you. :hug:

Hello everyone, unfortunately she made the decision for me, she was dead when I took her out this afternoon.:( I only wish I had put her down sooner. My 7 yr. old daughter took a lot of interest in this one and she is the one comforting me with my decisions! Of course now there is an empty tank and she wants another snake. Thank you all very much. Joanna those pics are similar to what mine looked like, thanks for the info.

Stacey

Sorry about your loss. It sounds like you did all you could.:( I would like to welcome you to the site and hope you stay with us. I'm sure there may be a snake in the future that needs a great family that cares.:welcome:

So sorry to read of the snake's passing Stacey but please don't blame yourself in any way. You likely gave that poor creature the only comfort it had ever really known so it could pass in a peaceful, caring environment. Lots of hugs to you and your family.

Once your ready I'm sure we can help you find a lovely little BP for a pet. One this time that is captive bred, healthy and well started from a decent breeder. That's really the best way to go. If you are looking for a pet only a nice male BP can't be beat really.

Please stick around BPNet and I'm sure happier days are ahead.

Stacey, sorry for your loss. I wasn't around the past few days but I think you can see the type of people that exist around here and their genuine care for others and their snakes. I hope you stick around and when you are ready, get a healthy, captive bred Ball Python. Best of luck...