I spent a very long and exhausting day doling out antibiotics, mouth cleanup and pain meds to a load of severely abused imported mambas. They have been crudely de-fanged (though in only one case with actual success on both sides) and their mouths look like they have bitten into a live grenade, with shattered and protruding lower jaw bones. The lighting I had to work under was not so good, so I'm not too optimistic about how the photos turned out. I'll be posting some from the vet clinic in a few days as I have the time.
The three worst cases (two blacks and a Jameson's) went home with me so that they can recieve intensive daily care and operations in the clinic. I wish it could have been more but space and personal budget are only going to stretch so far. *sigh* I left the rest with a buttload of antibiotics and a shot of pain meds and I'll check back up on them when I can drive down there again. If I am very very lucky I may be able to offload these guys when they are well recovered for something like half or a third of what it cost to put them back together.
If anyone wants an educational opportunity in Central Florida, a limited number of spectators (like, one or two) can be allowed into the vet hospital when we work on these guys. Veterinarians, vet students, vet assistants and techs get first dibs.
If you are interested in such things, you can support the ongoing venomous snake rescue efforts by purchasing one of our snake safety training manuals -
www.snakegetters.com/doc/ I'm thinking of setting up an "Adopt A Mamba" donation program, where donators (licensed and qualified) can actually take the snake home. There's a limit to the number of mambas I can personally house, and this is not the first load that have come in like this.