Thoughts on Ralph Davis' newest controversial youtube video?

[muddoc]

I can see I am on an island by myself here. I feel he should have taken her to a qualified vet and to post this kind of video can lead others into thinking they can do the same thing could lead to a snake being handled wrong and suffering.

The fact that in the first video he is attempting to "put her guts back in" as he states, only to have someone point out find half of what he was trying to replace in here was indeed yolk and NOT intestines says he was ill-equipped to do this proceedure. He got lucky in the animal not getting an infection, plain and simple. Had he placed the yolk inside, it may have well just absorbed or it may have led to sepsis. I'm not a vet, but I am hard pressed to think of ANY vet who would agree with what he did!

I raised and bred ferrets about 25 years ago, long before they were popular in most pet stores. I've handled thousands and would bet I know more about them then some vets do. However, I would NEVER qualify myself as being able to perform surgery on one just because I bred them and knew more then the avarage joe. And to be honest, surgery is what he preformed. Sans sterilty or even the proper needle or sutures.

I commend him in wanting to save a "$40" normal as someone put it on here. It says a lot of his character and integrity AS a breeder. I just think his method was irresponsible AS a breeder. Let a qualified, trained, LICENSED vet do surgery, or at the VERY least, don't post a video showing how and lead others into trying the same thing at home! There is a reason vetrinarians go to school for four plus years to learn this sort of thing.

I have seen all of your comments here on this thread. Just some food for thought. The video was a documentation of what he did. Whether you agree or not, it can be used in the future as a very good tool for someone that may need this type of help. I had the same situation happen to me, and it was on a Saturday. I went to my local vet in an attempt to get a suture kit, and they would not sell me one. I then asked if they would do the surgery for me, and they told me that they would not do it. Therefore, I could let the animal die, or try myself. It just so happens that I talked to some friends that had relayed Ralph's story to me, and I used the info from this event to determine my course of action.

Some vets may decline to do the surgery for whatever reason, and if you are stuck trying to do this yourself, I think the video is invaluable.

Just my .02,