Urgent please help: Peaches got hurt

[Kcl]

Hopefully everything is ok with no internal injuries! The external will heal. Her acting normal is definitely a good sign.

[Phillydubs]

You really need to find someone you can trust and rely on to look after your animals.

Im actually worried about that myself as I don’t have anyone locally that would. I need to get my search on for a snake sitter should I need one.

[DLena]

I’m sending prayers for your Peaches. We need some kind of network of reliable snake sitters. I’m in Kenmore NY 14217 and would definitely snake-sit for anyone within an hour-ish drive.

[tttaylorrr]

I’m sending prayers for your Peaches. We need some kind of network of reliable snake sitters. I’m in Kenmore NY 14217 and would definitely snake-sit for anyone within an hour-ish drive.

60440 here in the Chicago IL area, also willing to do the same.

[Sunnieskys]

Seattle here and willing to drive 2 hours any direction to help a herper out.

[cchardwick]

If that was my snake I'd get some Betadine (Povidone Iodine) and make a dilute solution the strength of a weak tea. You can get some at any livestock feed store (Big R, etc..). Use warm tap water about 85F to 90F. Then soak the snake for about 10 minutes every other day. Don't make the water too deep, just enough to be a little more than the width of his thickest part of his body. If he has Spider or Champagne or any other morph that would give him a 'wobble' be sure to assist his head to keep it above water. Otherwise just watch closely the whole time to make sure his head stays above water. After a couple weeks of soaking you should see some significant improvement.

[zina10]

Oh, the poor baby

I'm not usually one to run to the vet with every little problem, but this is one thing where I say, absolutely a case for the vet.

She was probably struggling to free herself and the wound looks almost like a crushing injury. For a wound to heal well and quick, it needs to be clean. Not just clean of dirt and old blood, but also have any non viable tissue and scales trimmed off. Plus, with a wound like that, giving some antibiotics wouldn't hurt !!

After that, just keep her on paper towels and keep the enclosure clean and sanitized until the wound is completely closed.

There is probably some tissue trauma and swelling, but that should heal up in time. But it looks to me like there is some skin and scales that may need to be trimmed off to give you a clean wound that can heal nicely.

The vet will know what to do Please let us know how it goes...

I'm crossing fingers and toes she will heal up quickly and without any complications.

[DennisM]

Well, this is an unfortunate situation. And kudos to the BP.net members who have expressed a willingness to snake sit for others. However, if you are away for 4-5 days you really don't need a snake sitter. I advise no feeding for a week before your departure, clean the cage if necessary and provide fresh water shortly before you leave. the snake will do just fine. I travel from the US to Asia annually for about 14-18 days and follow my above advice and have had no issues. now, if there is someone who knows snakes that can sit for you, that's great. ideally cages will be cleaned and water refreshed as needed, but i think you're better off just leaving them alone than providing a sitter who is not up to the task.

[Booper]

Okay so!
We took her to the vet, and the vet is happy that there are no broken bones. She's given us Metacam (an anti-inflammatory) to give to Peaches orally as they wouldn't let us inject it at home, and so the plan is to put it in a small weaned rat to give her each evening for the next few days. I'm not sure exactly how easy that's going to be... Would it just be easier to put it directly down her throat?
And would it be worth getting some Betadine to soak her in as well to combat infection from the outside?

[Kcl]

Glad to hear that nothing's broken! Betadiene wouldn't hurt to prevent infection if there's broken skin. As far as the oral dosing goes - feeding daily for a few days sounds like a LOT. However, I'd call and consult the vet before doing anything differently than they told you. Medication injected into a rat is likely to have a different effective dosage than direct oral dosage. Also, you'd need to be careful to avoid the glottis.