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  1. #19
    BPnet Veteran DVirginiana's Avatar
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    You need to make the 3 hour drive to the vet. You took responsibility for his life, and that includes a vet visit.

    In the meantime, have you turned his tank into a 'hospital setup'? That means removing all decor except a hide and water dish and replacing the bedding with paper towels. That will help keep debris out of the wound. You don't want something getting stuck in it and causing an infection beneath healed tissue later.
    Also, bathing him in plain water is pointless. It's just going to stress him out, and without betadine or chlorhexidine (both of which can be found at any WalMart or pharmacy) in it, they aren't going to prevent infection. Until you can get to a vet, I'd recommend flushing the wound with a betadine solution at least once, maybe twice a day. After flushing with a betadine solution, you can put antibiotic ointment like Neosporin (painkiller free) on it and cover the wound. You'll want to keep it covered (you'll have to figure out what combo of surgical tape and gauze works best; and it HAS to be tape designed for wounds! You can't substitute any other sticky material) to keep it from drying out too much and help with the healing process.
    Also, I wouldn't recommend wrapping any sort of bandage around his whole body. Use the picture that was posted earlier in this thread as a guide for bandaging. Wrapping anything around the entire body can be VERY dangerous as bandage material will often constrict and cut off circulation in response to swelling, breathing, or movement.

    I've seen snakes with wounds of this severity make a comeback and heal completely without vet care, but it takes SERIOUS devotion to keeping those wounds clean, and even then you're gambling with whether or not it will get infected; the cases I'm talking about were badly injured wild rescues that rehab facilities wouldn't take due to being such common species and needing so much care... And also in the hands of people with years of experience caring for extremely sick or injured animals.
    DON'T take this to mean I'm saying you don't need to see a vet. You absolutely do. It's your responsibility as his owner, and a three hour drive is nothing. Doing anything other than taking him to a vet is risking his life.

    EDIT: Neosporin and similar antibiotic ointments can cause issues with scales due to being oily, so I definitely wouldn't apply that more than once a day. Just be aware of that when you're using it.
    Last edited by DVirginiana; 11-21-2015 at 03:04 PM.
    3.0 Thamnophis sirtalis,
    1.1 Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus
    0.1 Python regius
    1.0 Litorea caerulea
    0.1 Ceratophrys cranwelli
    0.1 Terrapene carolina
    0.1 Grammostola rosea
    0.1 Hogna carolinensis
    0.0.1 Brachypelma smithi

  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to DVirginiana For This Useful Post:

    Megg (11-22-2015),SmoothScales (11-21-2015),StillBP (11-22-2015),wolfy-hound (11-21-2015)

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