Anyone ever give a shot to a snake?

Well the topic covers most of my question. I have to give mojo shots but I realized last night I suck at it. Trying to keep a snake still while holding a needle is tough. any ideas or comments?

When we had to give my bp shots for a RI my mom was the one who took her to the vet, and was shown how to do it (he gave the snake the first shot), so she did it every time at home. I held the snake, tried to keep her calm, while my mom found the right spot and did it quickly.

It'll probably help to have two people. Did your vet show you how to do it?

Hopefully you have the rest of the info, where to give it, etc.
I don't know how big your snake is. I tuck most of the snake under my arm, and give the shot as quickly as possible. Try not to stab yourself in the process. Holding the head is futile, and unnecasary in my opinion, just sort of try to control only the portion you need, while preventing the rest of the snake from flopping over to interfer.
Two people makes it easy!! I just rarely have a 2nd person available.
Otherwise(a trick I've used with other critters too) is to bag the snake, with only the lower 1/3 still poking out. Loosely rubberband the bag to keep it from coming out. LOOSELY. Then you don't have as much interferance, and the snake seems calmer over it.
Be sure you're giving the shot in the correct place, and that you are not reusing needles OR syringes. Again, don't stab yourself, don't lick the needle(yes, I've seen folks do it, no I don't know why) and don't accidently poke any parts of the snake in the process.
Hope it helps.

What i have done is hold the snake by the head/neck and sitting down put the second half of the snake in between my legs to stop squirming. I had to give shots to my unfriendliest snake by myself and this worked well for me. The first shots are the hardest because you have to get over it (mentally) and just charge in there like a Marine and take no prisoners. (but don't hurt the snake of course). Good luck

I currently haven't had to give any shots to my pet snakes (knock on wood) but I did work for a zoo (reptile exhibit) and whenever they needed to give a shot to any snake that would allow it to slither into a small tube (I would think PVC pipe would work) so that only the last 1/3 of the snake is left out (the tubs were small enough to allow the snake to easily get in but not able to turn around.

This seemed to allow full control for shots or drawing blood samples (which take much longer than a shot) - they did this with Hots and non-Hots.

This method might be old school by now but if you have a real wild child it could help you.

doing it by youself is a pain. If you dont have anyone there with you through the process. Use a small tub. stick his/her head in it and let them get stuck in in. Wait for them to calm down and then inject them. worked for me. gluck

I had to give my six foot boa shots after I first got her. She was wheezing and I wanted to make sure it wasn't an RI.


In any case, it was a breeze. I took her out of her cage mid-morning or during the height of the day, when she was drowsy. Put her on the floor or a table-like surface, pinched the skin, injected quickly between the scales... done and over with. She never woke up fast enough... and went right back to bed :)

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Again, don't stab yourself, don't lick the needle(yes, I've seen folks do it, no I don't know why).

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Good advice and possibly darwinism in action.:D


dr del

As for where you inject I saw a few different people say the bottm 1/3 of the snake when my vet told me the top 1/3. Just make sure you follow the directions given by the vet, and itll be easier with two people around (if you can). I always had to have another around when I had to give shots because I was never able to get it in deep enough to give the actual shot.

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Originally Posted by Nikki0326

As for where you inject I saw a few different people say the bottm 1/3 of the snake when my vet told me the top 1/3. Just make sure you follow the directions given by the vet, and itll be easier with two people around (if you can). I always had to have another around when I had to give shots because I was never able to get it in deep enough to give the actual shot.

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Yes top 1/3 of the snake! You want to go inbetween scales. My Vet gave me needles used for insulin shots and they went in ALOT easier than regular needles. You just need to get under the skin and its a good idea to hold the hole/area for a minute after you are done to stop the meds from leaking out.

Sorry for not answering. Am sick today. I was shown by the vet on how and where to do the injection but I did one last night and really do not think I did a very good job. I am scared of hurting the little guy.And to answer your question he is only 78 grams. just a wee lad :D

Wow, a little guy. I think the tube idea is best. Try making sure the needle tip goes between the scales too. It's tough to get it through the skin. Not a lot of flesh on that guy to get it in, so you might want to look into short tiny needles, depending on what you already have to use.
Good luck.

I've given shots to everything from a 1.5' king snake to a 7.5' dumerils boa.. usually by myself. I find that the less you can restrain the animal, the less they will squirm, hence making it easier. The shots don't seem to bother them much, so what I did was support the front third of the snake's body in my one hand, while I inject with the other.

Him and me are on a better understanding of the needle now. I gave him his shot tonight and everything worked out fine. I am just worried as one of the needles broke before I could get it back to him so I am one needle short. Hope that does not hurt his medication.

You should be able to get an extra needle from your vet.. mine would always put a few extras in just in case something like that happened.

well I called my vet and asked them if one needle is a big deal and they told me with all the screw ups and everything I do trying to get him as I am nervous if he seems like he needs more to come in and they will give me more so