EMERGENCY | My Ball Python's Scales Just Split

[ECechoHO]

Maybe so however this is not the wild and it is the owner's responsibility to seek medical help for any animal in their possession that warrants it, anyone not willing to do so and chosing the easy way out like YOU would (judging by your first post) should not be a pet owner. And in the event the animal is too far gone it is also the owner's responsibility to have the animal put down humanely without letting the animal suffer more than it has to which your first advice pretty much equals that (unnecessary suffering).

So YOU are probably gonna have to chalk that one up

To the OP

Good job on doing your best and remember more often than not rescues are often costly, something you want to consider being a minor especially if you do not have full support (which also mean financial) from your parent.

Hopefully this is husbandry related and your snake will make a quick recovery.

Young lady if i'm such a horrible snake/pet owner then why is it that none of my snakes have EVER had any health problems, this forum seems to be ego driven....

[Ax01]

Young lady if i'm such a horrible snake/pet owner then why is it that none of my snakes have EVER had any health problems, this forum seems to be ego driven....

lol well ain't that an oxymoronic statement!

+100points boost to the ego for u


Edit: to Nixon, listen to all of the good advice and support given to u in the thread here; i think u know what needs to be ignored.

[Nixon]

Of course I'm not listening to this person. I haven't listened to them from the very beginning. In no way would I give up from the very beginning. Dave didn't. Dave has been fighting his entire life and he's not going down the minute something starts. If there's a chance: we're taking it.

I should've realized that something like this could've happened but I only thought it would be the journey of getting him to a healthy weight. I should've realized he was lacking a lot of nutrition.

Thank you all for your support. I'm going to the vet now.

[Asherah]

*sighs* OP you are doing your best to seek care for your animal, so please do not in any way think what I am about to say is directed at you. I can't help pointing out that neglecting to seek care, as some posters have suggested, can be a criminal offense. Even if you feel they are "wild" animals without the need for vets you are still liable and responsible for their care since they are in your possesion and that does not include leaving an injury to "nature".

Anyway, Op, please keep up updated. I sincerely hope it's not slipped skin disease and that this guy can recover well. Fingers crossed for you.



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[JodanOrNoDan]

I can't help pointing out that neglecting to seek care, as some posters have suggested, can be a criminal offense. Even if you feel they are "wild" animals without the need for vets you are still liable and responsible for their care since they are in your possesion and that does not include leaving an injury to "nature".

I was going to stay out of this but...

Asherah please recognize that the OP is a minor. This type of talk is rarely productive unless you are a lawyer. I highly doubt anyone is going to be carting the OP off to jail.

In all honesty I think euthanization will be the proper course. I hope I am wrong.

OP, you need to do what you think is ethical however you cannot break your parents with vet bills. Parents will rightly choose the family first rather than an animal when it comes to making ends meet. I care for my snakes but the family comes first. That said I do not bring home anything I cannot afford to care for.

[Asherah]

I was going to stay out of this but...

Asherah please recognize that the OP is a minor. This type of talk is rarely productive unless you are a lawyer. I highly doubt anyone is going to be carting the OP off to jail.

In all honesty I would probably euthanization will be the proper course. I hope I am wrong.

OP, you need to do what you think is ethical however you cannot break your parents with vet bills. Parents will rightly choose the family first rather than an animal when it comes to making ends meet. I care for my snakes but the family comes first. That said I do not bring home anything I cannot afford to care for.

If you will read again I was not directing my post at op (who I acknowledged is doing all they can for their pet) but at the poster who is suggesting that it is best to let animals in the care of humans be as if they are wild and have nature take it's course.

I thought that the "op please do not think what I am about to say is in any way directed at you" would have taken care of that confusion. In case it did not: op I again commend you for doing your best to take care of your animal. I think you are taking all the correct steps that you should. I was merely making a comment toward the other poster who I felt might benefit by having his responsibility and liability pointed out to him.


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[T_Sauer]

I was going to stay out of this but...

Asherah please recognize that the OP is a minor. This type of talk is rarely productive unless you are a lawyer. I highly doubt anyone is going to be carting the OP off to jail.

In all honesty I think euthanization will be the proper course. I hope I am wrong.

You should have stayed out of it ..... or at the least read carefully before making a comment, because now you look like a fool ... smh

[Nixon]

Guys, calm down. I told my parents I would be paying for the bill.

Anyway, I brought him to the vet who was rude as all hell but I won't get into that, because he was still serious about my snake which is what matters.

The doctor said they would try to use surgical glue and get the gash back together but it didn't work. They said they were going to do stitches, but would like to keep him overnight to see if they split or not. I said yes to him staying overnight and they said they'd do the stitches in the morning tomorrow to let the glue wash out and then we'd get him back in the late evening. They will be injected him with antibiotics and he'd be given the medicine tonight and on Saturday and more days will be listed after that.

I doubt the stitches will stay. His scales are so weak that the minute he'd stretch is body they would tear. I hope it won't happen, but we'll see.

I'll update all of you tomorrow night if the stitches stayed or not. I'll be feeding him frozen mice from now on. Thank you all for the support.

[Asherah]

Pulling for him! I'm afraid the stitches may not hold if his skin is as fragile as you say. Hopefully the vet has a few tricks up his sleeve!

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[wolfy-hound]

If it's something like slipped skin or a bacterial infection of the skin weakening it, then glue or stitches won't hold. The other example I saw was treated with cleansing solutions and then wrapped I believe. I don't think it made it though, so I hope whatever the vet is trying does work.

Ball pythons are pretty sturdy and are capable of recovering from a lot, so there's always hope.

(for what it's worth, I understood Asherah was directing the warning about neglect being a criminal offense to the person(s) who were advising that owners should not seek any treatment simply because the pet is a 'wild' animal instead of a domesticated species... not towards the OP who is doing everything that he can to treat his pet.)

Good luck.