Thoughts on Ralph Davis' newest controversial youtube video?

[SlitherinSisters]

I agree. And with the farm stories, while you weren't a vet, you had the experience. I think Brokn's concern is more that the INEXPERIENCED herper would attempt this, not having the knowledge necessary to handle the situation. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but that was how I understood his posts.

Hmm, I suppose I could see it in that light. I'm not experienced in stitching up a BP, but I suppose I have a lot of other nasty experience that would help me with this. Plus my mom is an RN and I already begged her to do the stitching part last year when I had a belly split "I'll hold the snake, you poke the needle through" I could do it if it were an absolute emergency, but my mum is only a phone call away and she enjoys that stuff

(we didn't do any stitching last year after I consulted some breeders and they said there was way too much wrong with them to even consider trying)

And thanks to SlitheringSister, I feel the need for a BLT for lunch now. LOL.

No problem! I can't eat Canadian Bacon to this day because it smells just like one of the things we had to do...

[BroknBusted]

He saved the animal's life...End of story! If it felt a little pain or discomfort during the procedure...It was for a good cause! 9 times out of 10 this animal would have been culled and most people here would have no issue with it. So...why have an issue with him trying to save the animal? If someone sees this video and feels confident enough to perform such a procedure, then let them try...It is up to them to determin whether or not they are experienced enough to handle this! What people decide to do should not be pinned on Ralph! He merely provided the information and instructions. I think he did a great thing and I support Ralph 110%!

Re-read my post. I have NO ISSUE with him trying to save the animals life. In fact I commend the gentleman for it! My issue remains in his method of doing so ( regardless if she lived or not) and the posting of it online. I am not "pinning" anything on Ralph. In fact, I stated it says a LOT of his charcter and integrity to have even tried to save this animal.

Let me ask you this. A LOT of people come on this site, once and done, to ask advice on thier new BP. And always there is sound, experienced and knowledgeable advice given. Myself, I have asked lots of questions and seek out advice on here for things I do not know. Being a BP owner for less then 6 months, I find this site amazing!

Now for my question. Bob the first time BP owner has had his snake for 3 weeks. He went to look at her today and noticed she had a slice in her belly from something in her tank that he didn't realize shouldn't have been in there to begin with and now her intestines were hanging out. Would any of you feel comfortable enough to just say " Here Bob, take a look at this video and do what he did!". I would think no. For THAT reason, I think the video shouldn't be online for the average person to see.

Ralph's experience and knowledge sets him FAR apart from the average person here, myself, and I bet most of us, included. I just think that if ONE person who did not have this experience tried something like this from viewing the video and the snake suffers, then it is one to many. Nothing more, nothing less. MY opinion is it could be a dangerous video to the un-educated. It's not a slame on Ralph or anyone who agrees with the video. It's just my observation.

[dembonez]

i know im gonna get hate for this because ralph davis is a god among the ball python community but i feel as if he could have done a better job by using his hands he could of caused an infection he should have used tools or at least gloves

[tonkatoyman]

Well I guess this thread just goes to prove that truly "No good deed ever goes unpunished".

[DemmBalls]

Re-read my post. I have NO ISSUE with him trying to save the animals life. In fact I commend the gentleman for it! My issue remains in his method of doing so ( regardless if she lived or not) and the posting of it online. I am not "pinning" anything on Ralph. In fact, I stated it says a LOT of his charcter and integrity to have even tried to save this animal.

Let me ask you this. A LOT of people come on this site, once and done, to ask advice on thier new BP. And always there is sound, experienced and knowledgeable advice given. Myself, I have asked lots of questions and seek out advice on here for things I do not know. Being a BP owner for less then 6 months, I find this site amazing!

Now for my question. Bob the first time BP owner has had his snake for 3 weeks. He went to look at her today and noticed she had a slice in her belly from something in her tank that he didn't realize shouldn't have been in there to begin with and now her intestines were hanging out. Would any of you feel comfortable enough to just say " Here Bob, take a look at this video and do what he did!". I would think no. For THAT reason, I think the video shouldn't be online for the average person to see.

Ralph's experience and knowledge sets him FAR apart from the average person here, myself, and I bet most of us, included. I just think that if ONE person who did not have this experience tried something like this from viewing the video and the snake suffers, then it is one to many. Nothing more, nothing less. MY opinion is it could be a dangerous video to the un-educated. It's not a slame on Ralph or anyone who agrees with the video. It's just my observation.

I did read your posts (10 or 12 of them stating the same thing). I GET what you are saying! You commend him for what he did, yet seem to condemn his methods? Watch some more of Ralphs vids on youtube and you will see just how anal this guy is with cleaning and sanitizing his snakes enclosures, water bowls, hides, etc. I highly doubt he performed this procedure in some dingy bacteria infested setting. YES in a perfect world he would have taken the animal to a vet (which may have ended worse) or used more properly sterilized tools, gloves, stitches, etc.

I'm not even going to answer your theoretical question, as this only ever seems to escalate arguments on these forums.

I agree Ralph has more BP knowledge than 99% of us on here and maybe this procedure should not be tried by just anyone (in fact I'm sure it shouldn't), but done by the right person under careful conditions could very well yield the same succesful results.

Again...I know exactly what you are saying and do not disagree with you completely. BUT, just because he puts this info on the web does not mean that every hobbyist should try this. That being said...It is great info for someone to use in a last ditch effort to save a life.

[LunaBalls]

I give him props. He cares for every snake!!

[Homegrownscales]

I think he did a good thing. It's something that as a large breeder I'm sure he's seen more than a few times. To say he cares about his animals is really an understatement. He obviously weighed out all the pros and cons and knew what he needed to do. When you deal with a large amount of animals you learn things. You learn the best ways to do things and you know you can do them. Should the average Joe do things like this absolutely not. Should Ralph Davis who has been breeding these animals for 20 something yrs or more and dealing with the various emergencies that come with them yes. The average Joe keeping a ball or two probably will not come into contact with a situation like this. I say probably bc who knows what could happen. But the only thing I think Ralph could have added was one of those hey don't try this at home. Beyond that I think we missed the beginning procedures he went through. He obviously keeps a clean environment and I'm sure he did what he needed to do by sterilization. They did put on some paroxide after the stitching was done to further clean the newly stitched wound. These animals though have an amazing system and different immunities or tolerances to bacteria. The animal never missed a meal even after what she went through. So everything was done the way it needed to be hence why the animal didn't get any offset infections. I know now on my fourth year breeding that I myself have seen a baby with a similar problem although not as bad. When you are a breeder or even care for a large amount of animals it's important to learn what to do in the way of different medical emergencies. Running them off to the vet can actually create more stress, for a newborn hatchling that's already weak this can be more detrimental to it's health. It was a judgment call and instead of just freezing it he did exactly what a vet would have done. Without the office service charge, gloves, and suture kit.
Throwing in mho.

[majorleaguereptiles]

Ralph obviously knows what he is doing. He's has a 100% success rate doing the method he shows in the video. While it may not be perfect veterinarian practice, he got the job done. Which he does 100% of the time. I'd personally would use a more sterile practice, but his video is very informative. My fiancee works at the SD Zoo here, and she saw this video and was pretty taken back on the method. Although, Ralph did state that this snake didn't require any antibiotics, but doesn't mean he hasn't needed to run antibiotics on pythons in the past in certain cases. Again, he knows what he is doing and props to the man taking initiative to save a life. Take what you want from his video and apply it in the method you see fit to save a life.

[BbyBoa]

BroknBusted, this is for you. When you run a business, and that is just what Ralph is doing, those are not "pets". You CANT take a snake that cost 50$ on a good day to the vet. Just walking in to a normal vet and getting seen will cost you 50$, then not to mention the few hundred if not more they will charge you for the actual stitching and doing the EXACT same thing that he did. Would the vets equipment have been more sterile? (Absolutely), is that worth a few hundred dollars? (Absolutely Not). If this was a LOVED pet of a person with out experience take it to vet, its less risky. If This is your business and you take a snake to the vet every time it needs to go, You will be OUT of business very shortly...

[broadude]

Ralph has shown himself quite thick-skinned and able to defend himself; therefore, I have no need to get on any sides.
I was fascinated by the video, I just wish it has been close-captioned so I would have known what was happening.