Dear Mods (and other experts)

[Libby]

Here are my $0.02 on the matter:

A thread with this type of information isn't necessarily the best idea. Yes there is some general information that should be available readily, but I think most of that has already been covered. For more extreme cases I feel that individual threads about x, y, or z are much better for a few reasons.

Many times that a snake is injured or becomes sick there is a reason why it happened. In a general thread about this the source of the issue might not be made apparent to the user and thus the issue wasn't actually resolved. Treating the symptoms and not the underlying issue will likely result in either the treatment not working, or the issue reoccurring. If that user creates a new thread with the specific details other users will usually ask questions and find out what went wrong. No matter how hard you try you just can't write an all inclusive thread on this type of stuff.

Then there is the issue of user experience. In some cases I would recommend totally different procedures to an experienced keeper than I would to a newcomer to the hobby. This goes for husbandry as well. For example I would never recommend to a newcomer to house 2 BP's in the same cage, but I feel that an experienced keeper can make it work with proper caging and procedures.

Finally there is the issue of user misidentification. The last thing you need is have someone treat a snake for the wrong thing. For example scale rot and a burn can look similar, but they require different treatments, and they are caused by very different things.

All in all I would be very cautious about writing a thread of this sort. I would much rather see a thread about identifying problems and what might be causing them, basically a critical thinking exercise. I feel this information is more useful and has less potential for things to go wrong.

If someone is determined to do something stupid, you aren't going to be able to stop them. Not going to argue with you about that!

As an adult living with another adult and a child, I have several books on first aid and a couple specific pediatric books. Basic stuff. If a fever goes over 103 degrees and you can't get it down, get medical attention. I also have a book on cat first aid from when I owned a cat.

Now that I have a bp, I own a copy of "The Complete Ball Python" even though I have no interest in ever breeding. It has a chapter on "Common Health Concerns", like ticks, mites, RI's and stuck sheds. It does NOT tell me what to do if (heaven forbid) my snake were ever scraped, bumped or bruised by accident. Let's say it's 10pm and my snake gets a cut. I know perfectly well the emergency vet clinic won't be able to treat her and I need to take care of her until I can get her to a herp vet in the morning. Knowing that I should never, ever try to put any kind of tape on her (like a bandaid) and that I should keep her on paper towel instead of aspen is helpful. Knowing if there is something more proactive that I should or should not do would be wonderful.

I'm a relatively new keeper and I've done my best to educate myself. BP.net is the best source of information I've found on the internet. Basic snake first aid is something I'd like to learn more about, so I was hoping someone here would be willing to teach. If no one is comfortable posting this kind of thing, I would appreciate it if someone could point me to book that I could get for myself.