It's still a blur for me, Paul. I'm not sure if there is an actual cure or if it's simple a malnutrition thing that will go away when the animal is in a healthy state. I have a feeling it would return if Dave were to go back downhill again, but I don't expect him to be traveling down that path ever again.
Most of what I gathered was that it was linked with malnutrition and possibly having to do with a deficiency in vitamin C. Obviously, it needs awareness. There are many abused animals out there and there are plenty of snakes who have been rescued from going through what Dave did - or worse. They may suffer the same disease. Dave was lucky enough to not be infected.
A big problem is that I never expected that at all. I had never heard or seen anything like this. In my case, I'm a teenager who simply owns them as pets. I took in Dave only expecting it to be an unstable ride of him getting up into a healthy state but it went haywire within mere seconds. I was scared. I could've panicked. I'm assuming people who take in rescues have more knowledge, but still, this disease needs to be made more aware. Knowing at least it exists and some ways to handle it would be a lot, a whole lot better than scrambling to get a vet and seeking out people online for any source of help. The internet doesn't have much to offer if you don't know the name.
Dave is lucky. Other snakes and owners might not be. I was lucky to act with my wits and find anything that could help me, maybe some others would freeze up or not think twice to put them down. I'm just happy that my emotional and logical side can come to an agreement sometimes. It saved me from dread and Dave from risking anything worse than what he got.
I just wish I knew.
Also, why do I have to type paragraphs every time I reply? I'm supposed to be doing math homework. Man, oh, man.
Reply With Quote