Injured garter snake, advice asap please?

[ZinniaZ]

He's in a tub so I can't do bulbs. My office will stay in the seventies and I can put that up to high seventies if necessary. Does anyone know the optimum temp for these guys?

[Chu'Wuti]

75-85 deg F. That's a sad pic . . . hope the little one survives . . .

[ZinniaZ]

Alright, I'm headed for bed. As of ten pm tonight, he is exploring his enclosure a little bit and moving and alive. Update in the am. Wish him luck...

[ZinniaZ]

He's alive today and moving around in what I would consider a normal way. More photos of the swollen area taken this afternoon.

[ZinniaZ]

In the top photo, it just looks like he ate something and has a food lump. In the next two you can see the blueish and broken up area. Do you think he will make it? Or should I be thinking about euthanasia so that he does not suffer terribly?

[grim reaper in NY]

They say the 1st 24 hours is the most crucial. He made it through the night which is a huge plus. On top of that, he's exploring and getting used to his new surroundings. I wouldn't head for the needle just yet. Him being able to move around and the fact he made it through the night speaks volumes about hsi condition. Give him some more time. Personally, I think he'll make it with the care he's getting.

[kc261]

My guess is he has a good chance.

I recently saw a thread (on a different forum) where someone had a corn snake that had gotten stuck in its enclosure while they were away on vacation. Apparently the snake looked really bad when they found it. The thread I saw was pics after it had healed, but had a lot of discoloration and scarring (if I remember correctly, a year had gone by). I think the pics of the healed corn look worse than this guy does now.

Here is a link to that thread:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80828

[ZinniaZ]

Wow! Well we will keep him warm and protected then. Thanks for the encouragement guys.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I just replied to your other thread about this snake... I'll paste it in here too, just for ease! (the part about teh goldfish was in response to a post in the other thread it makes more sense there!!)

Okay, definitely do not feed him goldfish, if he survives. That is a really, really bad idea, they contain thiaminase. Thiaminase makes it impossible for teh absorbtion of Thiamine to take place. This KILLS the snake. Goldfish and rosy red minnows as well as catfish and true smelts, are not an acceptable food items for a snake for this reason, actually, not really for anything that you want to keep healthy. For a first meal, try a nightcrawler, or some guppies or silversides. If you need additional info on how to properly feed you garter a safe diet, check out first my thread here on no goldfish and thiaminase:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=89242

and you can also check out this homemade garter food recipe here and additional feeding instructions here:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=89243


I would definitely keep him warm. Just because they are not tropical does not mean they like to be cold. Especially since he is wounded, he's going to need supplemental heating to heal effectively. They also need heating to digest their food properly and incubate their babies. They don't spend half their day basking in full sunlight on a hot day for nothing that's for sure!!! Keep him at around 80. My snakeroom fluctuates, going from 70ish at night to around 82 during the peak of the day. Since your snake is injured I would keep the heat up 24/7 until signs of improvement. They need all the heat they can get to heal a wound. All 60 something of my garters thrive at the temps provided. Garter snakes are diurnal and are very drawn to heat especially in daylight hours. It will be even better if you can provide a visual heat source (basking light), they flock to it like ducks to water. If you need additional help, advice, info, etc, feel free to PM me, or you can always reach me and a variety of other garter enthusiasts on a daily basis over at thamnophis.com, the garter snake headquarters.

[ZinniaZ]

He pooped! That has to mean he has good function internally, yes?