Help Help Help!!!

[Tripppysmurf]

I so hope someone can help me. I have a snake that caught on tape and pulled himself free but ripped himself open in the process. I have no cash for vet as I just took him to vet for what I now think is same kind of injury. I am so worried. Should I try and get some neosporin for him or something? I am so worried for my little guy

[mlededee]

how bad/deep is the tear? can you post a photo of it?

clean it with chlorhexadine or betadine and put some triple antibiotic ointment on it. if you happen to have any silvadene cream that would be even better. keep him on papertowels or newspaper for now to avoid infection.

if this is anything more than a very minor injury you really need to take the snake to a vet to have it looked at.

[dr del]

Hi,


We can't say without seeing him and to be honest "ripped himself open" sounds like a job for a vet in any case - maybe the vet will treat him now but let you pay it up?

How did he manage to come into contact with tape?!?!



dr del

[Tripppysmurf]

the vet place here requires moneyt up front. They will nto see the pet unless you have at least 70 bucks for initial visit. I had some tested tape on the top of the tank and he got himself between the tape and the covering I had on for inside. The tape caught him pretty good. He tore himself free but hurt himself.

Edit: I am putting bacetracin on him right now and I soaked him in water for a small time before applying it. He is sitting in his tank now but it has eco earth in it. We have no newspaper and no way to get it till later. This is the worst possible time for something like this to happen. I have phone book paper is that about the same as newspaper in a bind?

[dr del]

Hi,


Is there no animal charities you could phone for advice? - over here we have things like Pdsa which will treat animals for those who cannot afford regular vets with a donation. Over here however there isn't much chance they would know about exotics but it can't hurt to ask.

At a push phone every vet/zoo/shop you can to get recomendations of people to take it to - a vet who doesn't specialise in exotics can still do emergency treatment on something like this and probably even get him started on anti-biotics to fight infection.

I'm not sure about what type of paper your phone book uses but yes I would say it is far less likely to get into the wound and cause problems.

For future reference we recomend putting the coverings on the outside of the cage if possible - so while he's in getting fixed up it would be well worth your while changing it if you can.

You didn't answer Emily's question though - how long/deep/bad is the tear?

I hope he's ok.


dr del

[mlededee]

do you have some papertowels you can put him on? you really need to get him off of the loose substrate so it doesn't get into or irritate the wound.

definitely call around to some other vets until you find one that is affordable or does payment plans.

[Tripppysmurf]

The wound seems to look better once I laid it down with bacitracin. It is proabably only about half my pinky thumbnail long and in one small small spot it is deep[ enough as it looks like his skin was pulled from the meat so I can see a little pink. I tried to find a hospital I can take him too and all of them will not see him unless I can get up front fee so far. They are very very stingy about animals here. If anyone has a place I should look for salt lake city plz send a message to me. thanks all

[snakey68]

I really feel for snakes that are kept by people who unfortunately cannot provide proper care and attention should they need it, it one of the main things to take into consideration upon owning a snake that you can provide vetinarian care should it be required. Its worth introducing yourself to your nearest Vet and letting them know what you have etc so that you at least have some form of communication going with them. They may be more leniant in times of need then as well (eg) allow you more flexibility for payment plans etc.

I may seem harsh here I am just voicing my 1st reaction and I am not saying you are a bad owner, you obviously want to look after your snake but often these kind of instances lead to problems for the snake and it goes untreated for longer than it should otherwise.

I agree with mlededee anything other than minnor should have a vet looking at tbh. I think most vets would allow you to pay it up have you asked if you can do that ?

If your snake gets an infection and goes untreated you talking even more vet bills and could be fatal to your snake if left too long.

Please look at the enclosure with a view to making it a safe environment, perhaps you could stock up on newspaper next time you are somewhere you can get some.

I hope the wee fella gets sorted out ok, you should keep an eye on humidity as well.

Good Luck hope all works out.

[Alice]

I'm glad it looks a little better after putting bacetracin on it. I would get him off the eco earth as soon as possible though. If you don't have newspaper or paper towels, how about some napkins? Even those from a fast food place would work . . .

[Tripppysmurf]

Ok well to address the flaming I just recived I do not have the cash as my aunt recently passed and I had to take a trip so if you want to sound holy then thou in these forums please make sure you find out WHY someone could not afford a vet. In salt lake city there are no vet clinics that will see an animal unless you have a built up case with them. I have never ahd any issues with my little guy so there is nor eason to have a case built up with a vet yet. Mojo is doing alright it seems right now. I am checking his wound on a regular basis(Took today off work to make sure he goes through today better). Thank you for all the help and such from everyone. I really do appreciate the advice people have been giving me. And alice I have him off the eco earth now. I would of not been freakin out about the newspaper but the newspaper boy thought we canceled our subscription so he never delivered and Since I just came abck from trip I had none stocked up hehe. ALL IS BETTER NOW HOPEFULLY