Help: Should we leave nature alone or help sick/injured wild animals?

[MelissaFlipski]

The black rat snake that showed his head yesterday (as I posted in: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=63167) was hanging out under our deck (only 8" off the ground) today. I pulled him out. I kept looking at his infected abcess, feeling like I've just got to do something for this poor guy. The spot is sensitive to touch, but not extraordinarily so. He does not attempt to bite or escape when it is touched. Here are the pictures, it's yellow, puffy, full of liquid (I think I saw some puss oozing out yesterday), and has a lump in the middle. I suspect it's an injury that got infected. But not sure. It's definitely an infection of some kind.



(That's red ink on my finger, not blood.)

I have some oral Zythromax left over for treating our ball python's URI. Should I capture this BRS next time I see him and treat him in captivity, then release him when he's better? Should I try to treat him with antibiotics whenever I can find him over the next few weeks? Should I capture him and take him to a vet or wild life rehabilitator?

Any advice, thoughts, philosophies on ethics would be appreciated. I plan on researching what the law is on catching wild herps in my area.

Thanks!

[Nate]

I would help.

but I couldn't keep him.

[wolfy-hound]

Calling a wildlife rehab place is always the best bet.
As long as the wild animal is not released sick, or allowed to be exposed to anything that could harm the native wildlife if it's re-released(I.E. it catchs something from being IN captivity, which it can carry to other wild animals if it's released) then I don't see that it hurts much to help injured wildlife(especailly when it's human interferance that injures it, or when they are threatened species)

I don't believe in "interferring" in wildlife, i.e. "rescueing" a squirrel from a hawk attack. But the hit-by-car tortoise, I don't have issue with rehabbing and hopefully releasing later.

[Patrick Long]

Are you worried about handling him, then touching your other snakes?

[MelissaFlipski]

Thanks, all!

Nathan, I would only keep him until he was healthy again - no signs of infection / illness.

Wolfy, yes, I actually have thought of that - I don't want him to get something in captivity then spread it to the wild. I realize how devastating that could be. If he were inside, my quarantine practices would be top notch for him as well as my own snakes. I believe all my snakes are perfectly healthy, but I do accept that there could be something I don't KNOW they have. Which leads me to a question I asked in "Colubrids" last night. Can colubrids get IBD?

Pat, what I wrote to Wolfy should give you a hint. I am more worried about one of my guys giving him something that I don't know they have. But of course, I am careful the other way, too. Both days, after handling the BRS (black rat snake), I scrubbed my hands, threw all my clothes and jacket I was wearing directly into the washing machine and got on clean clothes, then washed my hands again.

I am more worried about the stress I would induce in the BRS by having him in captivity for about two weeks. Would that stress be worth the cure?

Also, I thought about wild life rehab, but I am afraid they'll say that I am not equipped, leave him alone, or otherwise blow me off. If they want to take him, I would want him back so he could live here on our property where he came from. But I will try calling someone and see what kind of reception they give me.

[Colin Vestrand]

well if it were me i'd take him to a local nature center or something.. black rat snakes make a great display animal and maybe they'd like to take him in.
personally i would never rehab a wild animal...

[Morphie]

i'd go for it. with your quarantine practices, i'd say that only good will come of your helping him. compassion is part of what makes us human, and since he can't fix himself, why not lend him a hand?


i hope he heals successfully. good luck.

[daniel1983]

Personally, the only 'help' that I ever offer to wild herps is popping off leaches or ticks. If you want to do something for the animal, do it 'in field'. The more you touch, move, and stress a snake the worse it will be. The rat snake has to deal with the stress the infection is putting on its body and the stress of being captured multiple times. I would leave it alone....nature is nature....things get sick and die....animals eat other animals....it is just the way things are.

However, if you are going to attempt a rehab by removing the animal from the wild, I would suggest keeping it out of the wild. Once removed from the wild, the chances that it will thrive in the wild decrease greatly. Reptiles have routines and know of places where they find food/water/shelter in relation to their location (that is why you have found him in the same area twice).....once they are removed from that place and established in captivity.....when they are re-released into they wild...they have to re-establish in the wild by itself (which is alot harder than establishing in captivity). It would be sad for you to work hard caring for a sick snake only to die because its enviroment no longer supports it.

I find busted up herps all the time....they live in a rough world.....but the strong shall survive.

[Skiploder]

Melissa:

We are blessed to have a wildlife rehab center within walking distance from our house.

I have taken several wounded animals there over the last 12 years: western pond turtles, king snakes, gopher snakes, a huge alligator lizard and even a baby rattler with an infected eye.

These are animals that I find in our general neighborhood (with the exception of the turtle). My rationale is that being animals in close contact with an urban environment, they deserve a little extra helping hand. I would not go out of my way to help an injured animal I'd see in Point Reyes or other areas - but rescuing a kingsnake who's been mauled by a domestic cat registers a bit different on my scale of ethics.

A lot of the herps are kept at the wildlife center in exhibits to educate the general public. A few other have been released back into the wild.

In your instance, I would first try to see if there was a local wildlife center that would take him as they would be the most qualified to treat him and assess his ability to acclimate back into the wild. If not, I would probably let nature take it's course.

[cutemouse]

No wildlife center where I grew up, but there was a creek! There were little flattened turtles and toads on the road all the time. One time I noticed there was a turtle that was trying very hard to get off the road, so like I often did, I went to help it across. Turns out it had been hit and its shell was broken pretty badly.

I called up our family vet (30 miles away but very familiar with me and my folks...TONS of animals) and he said that as long as I was ready to release it afterwards, or be prepared care for it if it would not go back into the wild, that I should help. I kept it for about a year before sending it back to the creek. The shell was never quite right, and I was amazed at how long it took to heal at all.

I don't see anything wrong with helping animals that have been hurt by people. When I was in college I found a squirrel that had hurt its leg (probably a car or bike) and I was able to nurse it back to health and release it. Those things are almost tame anyway since they live on a college campus and see people constantly. I also caught a small bird that was trapped in the art building and took care of it for about a week while its wing healed (it was caught in a hole in a screened window).

The only thing is, I really don't think we should help with animals that have been hurt by each other. That's natural and perfectly okay. But if you're dealing with cars, that's another issue altogether. I think we should feel compelled to help in those cases.