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Old 07-01-2009, 12:55 AM   #1
timebider
Unhappy Help? Please?

I'm feeling more idiotically hapless right now than I have in years, and that's saying something...so I'm going to swallow my embarrassment and throw myself at the feet of y'all friendly BP gurus.

The snake I wrote about here http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=136000 kept engaging in weird behaviors (side-lying, rubbing on hide post-shed, refusing meals), all while remaining completely asymptomatic of anything with which I'm familiar, so I made an appointment with the vet just to be safe. Lo and behold, as I was packing the snake to take him* in, I saw what appeared to be the beginnings of blister disease on his belly. Great.

Dr. Stahl confirmed it and said the snake had probably been brewing an internal infection for a while before I got it. He prescribed two injections every three days (Fortaz and Amikacin) plus soaks and silvadene daily.

Here's my problem: after three sets of mostly uneventful injections, the snake wised up to me. He appears to know that when I tuck him under my arm "in the position" he's going to get shots, and he starts flopping and straining like crazy. Not only am I afraid I'm going to hurt him with the needle while he's carrying on like this, but I don't want to be bitten again by him. There seems to be something in his saliva to which I'm allergic, and even minor nips from this guy turn into angry, swollen wounds. The last time he tagged me, I developed a rash all over my arm that radiated over that side of my torso. I'm a highly atopic person - I literally can't count how many anaphylactic events I've had in my life - so this is a serious concern for me. On the same token, giving injections is a skill at which I need to become proficient if I hope to continue and grow my collection over the years. I've only given shots once before, to a VERY angry GTP, but while I routinely got thoroughly munched on, I never had a reaction anything like this.

Loooong story short, does anyone have any hints for immobilizing my patient for his shots? Hubby wants no part of this and my snake-loving son is too young to assist. This is a big 2000-gram male. The vet tech showed me how to hold him behind the head and gently pin his head against his own body, but he's still able to twist enough to make this a very disconcerting proposition. It's the reptile equivalent of a screaming kid at the pediatrician's office. Any suggestions would be MOST appreciated!

*stupid me; "she" turned out to be a "he." The people who gave me this snake told me they'd taken it to Dr. Stahl when they first got it, so I assumed he'd told them the snake was female. Nope, wrong. Apparently they just guessed.
 
Old 07-01-2009, 01:38 AM   #2
hhmoore
Purchase a set of restraint tubes.
You can use a smallish one, that lets him get part of his body in, and give the injection at the edge of the tube...or, you could make a hole in a larger one, and give the injection while he's inside (block the one end, so he can't go straight through)

Otherwise, you could put on leathers
 
Old 07-01-2009, 03:45 AM   #3
Uroboros
Be sure to take pictures and preferrably video if you're going to approach your ball python in welding gloves, leathers, a ferrier's apron, plastic face sheild, and 24" tongs. I need to see that at least once in my life.

At the absence or unavailability of restraint tubes, you can use a paper towel tube. A second set of hands makes all of this much easier.

GL, WTG caring for your poor dude.
 
Old 07-01-2009, 04:13 AM   #4
hhmoore
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uroboros View Post
At the absence or unavailability of restraint tubes, you can use a paper towel tube. A second set of hands makes all of this much easier.
You could also use a DIY version made from pvc pipe...though I recommend measuring the snake at home vs bringing it to Home Depot for a test fit
 
Old 07-01-2009, 05:54 AM   #5
DAND
Have you tried covering it's head with a towel or something? That was all it took when I had to give a rather large Burm injections.
 
Old 07-01-2009, 01:23 PM   #6
Twizted Paths
If you do take him to Home Depot video would be very appreciated!

Seriously though, have you asked the vet if you could just be allergic to the infection he's carrying?
 
Old 07-01-2009, 05:23 PM   #7
Tiger Lilly
What about putting the snake inside a bag/pillowcase up to the point that you need to give the injection, and then putting him under your arm?
 
Old 07-01-2009, 08:33 PM   #8
timebider
Harald, you crack me up! I have leather chaps already, but I'd have to borrow the farrier and welding equipment Erik suggested. I can see the headlines now: "Crazy Woman Tortures Snake in Macabre Sadistic Ritual!"

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I did try the towel-over-the-head thing and it made him even more frantic. Today he went under my shirt, became a belt, and chilled while I was doing the silvadene. I was tempted to try the shots like that but then thought about all the places he could bite me under there and changed my mind. I think I'll order some restraint tubes and try a makeshift PVC variety in the meantime. I will not be taking him to Home Depot for measurements since I have no desire to be arrested. People here are...uh...let's go with "overzealous," when it comes to snakes (interesting reading, but be prepared to get mad: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...051701531.html). The next post from me on here will no doubt be "how do I stuff the snake into this tube?!" Troi, I think I will try the pillowcase method for tonight, though he may really contort himself over that one! If this snake could talk, I'm sure my ears would be burning.

He is deep in the blue again, which will be his second shed in a month. I'm choosing to take this as a positive sign that his body is working to rid itself of the illness. Again, many thanks!
 
Old 07-01-2009, 08:49 PM   #9
timebider
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twizted Paths View Post
Seriously though, have you asked the vet if you could just be allergic to the infection he's carrying?
I actually suspect this is the case, but it could theoretically also be the antibiotics in his system, seeing as how I'm allergic to most antibiotics too. It's really ridiculous; I have epi-pens stashed all over the place.

My last shot patient was a rescue GTP that came with a nice, bubbly RI. He turned me into a pincushion pretty regularly and I never had any reaction at all. Weird.
 
Old 07-01-2009, 09:05 PM   #10
Twizted Paths
I'm sorry you have to live around that kind of close mindedness

Guy should have just poke holes in the container and let an ant farm loose on the bodies. Though, even so they would have just found another reason.

I can't handle amphibians, or as I found out in Cali, go in ponds with large amounts of them. It breaks me out in calloused blister things. Petting my koi does the same thing. (And no they're not warts either.) Dog slobber breaks my face out in painful pimples. You're not the only one with weird allergies, fortunately most mine aren't any where near as severe as yours.

Keep us posted on your baby, you're officially my new soap opera
 

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