Unfortunate accident: juve bp fell from 4.5 ft, please advise

[JAGpenguin]

Hi there everyone. I havent posted in a while. Yesterday I had an accident. While I was cleaning my BP's viv which was placed at around 4.5 ft height, I took the BP out and placed her on an upside down plastic tub. I didnt realize that she was moving towards the edge of the upside down hide and she tipped the hide over along with herself. She fell with no sound on her belly. I did a physical inspection multiple times and ran my fingers along every part on her body and the spine over and over. Nothing was off. She kinda balled up on my hand probably stressed but I put her back on her viv and she did her nightly cruising and it was like just another tuesday for her.

Regardless, I called a famoues herp vet and he said even if he performs an x-ray and hypothetically finds broken bones, it is not like he can put a caste or perform a surgery. The most he can do IF he does find broken bones is to give "bone medicine". I was skeptical the moment i heard that and thought he is just gonna charge me for the x-ray and give me supplements. I called breeders I know here, and they said just wait and see because nothing can be done and they have never heard of such "bone medicine" and assumed it is going to be just supplements. Honestly, money is not the issue, the snake is my first ever and her set up alone is more expensive than her. But if a trip to the vet with all the stress and vibrations impacting her body that just fell only for the doctor to say he cant do anything anyway seems unwise.

She is still fine today, but I do need advice. She is around 650 grams, fell from 4.5 ft to floor tile on her belly, no carpet.

[KMG]

Snakes are tough. I bet it's fine. Probably didn't feel great but I bet it's fine.

But don't do that again. When I'm cleaning the snake goes in a tub with lid secured. If you give a snake a second alone it will find trouble.

[JAGpenguin]

Thanks for the reply. I dont want to sound like a suck up, but to be honest, I ll take the words from veteran forum members here over the words of a vet. I have received so many good tips and tricks that work like magic from u, nikkubus, and bogertophis. Further advice from others are still welcome. Thanks again KMG

[Bogertophis]

I agree with KMG's post above- your snake is likely fine but learn from this- injured snakes are easier to avoid than to fix. I wouldn't run to a vet for this without any symptoms that something is amiss. Not sure what "bone medicine" means either but that sounds like supplements to me as well?

A snake that falls is most likely to break some ribs (they have LOTS of ribs!)- that can often be seen when the snake is allowed to crawl slowly & naturally, & when they bend their body a certain way, you may notice a slightly caved-in appearance in one or more locations. Nothing you can do if you do find that to be the case besides let the snake rest (don't handle any more than absolutely necessary for a while) & let "time" do the healing. No way to make the ribs go back to the original shape, but the danger of broken ribs is that they may be poking inwards & causing damage to internal organs, with internal bleeding the result you do NOT want.

Years ago, I had a w/c rosy boa turned over to me that had such an injury- the caved in area was obvious only when the snake moved a certain way. Might have had a rock fall on him (remember this had been a wild snake), or he might have fallen- no way to know- but the snake was fine, & lived a good long life with me. I saw no evidence that the snake was in pain, but as a precaution, I never took that rosy to snake programs- the handling was always minimal. Most people wouldn't have even noticed the slightly-concave area in his rib cage, but I knew it was there.

Signs of internal bleeding from such an injury would include bloody or very black stools, poor appetite, & inactivity. THAT would merit a vet visit.

[Gocntry]

I would do the x-ray, but skip the "bone medicine" that sounds like a calcium supplement.

At least with an x-ray you might see if any ribs are broken and the location of a sore spot if there is one, just for future knowledge.

[KMG]

Personally I wouldn't do the x-ray. There is nothing to be done if one is cracked or broken, kind of like in people. I would just take it easy and observe the snake before doing extended handling. I bet the snake is completely fine though. Think about how snakes compress and stretcth their bodies to squeeze into things and how they eat.

A few years back we got the call a family member was in the hospital so we left in a hurry. I topped off waters because we would be gone a few days. My big Blood had a corner left unlocked on her cage in my haste and she squeezed out. She had to fall at least 3 to 4 feet getting out. She was fine. The good thing about her getting out is she's fairly easy to find. Found her in the guest room under the bed in a wrapping paper tote.

[Bogertophis]

I would do the x-ray, but skip the "bone medicine" that sounds like a calcium supplement.

At least with an x-ray you might see if any ribs are broken and the location of a sore spot if there is one, just for future knowledge.

Except that the vet himself said if the x-ray showed broken bones, he still couldn't fix them. While it would be nice to know one way or another, for me it would depend on how much hassle it would be to get to that vet's office (travel & vet visits can be stressful for snakes too) plus the expense versus the OP's budget for "less-than critical treatment". One could always add a bit of calcium & multi-vitamin supplements (those made for snakes) to the snake's prey* also, & just keep their handling to a minimum for a while. That's what I'd likely do, with no real symptoms seen. This wasn't a huge height that the snake fell from either.

*The best way I know of to add powdered nutritional supplements to a snake's meal is to pry open the dead rodent's mouth & put the powder in their oral cavity, then push the mouth closed. Works very well- the snake doesn't know the difference. Most of it will fall off if applied to their fur, plus it makes the rodent smell different, so many snakes will reject them if "dusted". Not to mention they end up with powder in their mouths...makes me cough just thinking about it, & snakes cannot really cough.

[Armiyana]

I think as a precaution it may be good to give a smaller prey size for a couple weeks just in case? And obviously keep an eye out for anything like a strange bump and swelling or labored breathing.
The snake is most likely just a bit bruised, but in case of a break, the smaller prey size would keep things from getting too stretched out of place/causing more damage until it can heal up a bit more. *shrug*

[JAGpenguin]

I was just about to ask about prey size, u guys read my mind, lol. I just started giving her 75 g rats last week given that she is now 600-700 g. But for the next few weeks I am going to give her 40 g rats, which are the smallest I have right now