New Comer Troubles

[Riyeko]

Alrighty, im going to be up front and honest with everyone and if you have negative comments, please note:

This is a thread thats asking for help.
I have this snake, and plan on making him at the top of health before I sell him, as I am into boa's and corns rather than ball pythons.

The bolded parts are most important and not me rambling and telling you the whole backstory.

BUT.
I personally knew these people before they moved out of our apartment building, and they were always causing problems.
Plus I work for the animal shelter here in town, and their animals (both cats and the three dogs), showed up out there several times underweight, malnourished, abused and once, my manager and I picked off at least 200 ticks from the poor little shihtzu.

I planned on selling these snakes here and elsewhere where I would be able to get a good price and send the snake to a new home.

But I ran into problems.

These people were feeding their snakes live food, and the snakes have been, injured.

The biggest ball python is probably a 2 1/2-3 feet long.
He has several bent scales and scars.
His "nose" at the front of his face, above and on either side of the hole in his mouth where his tongue flicks out, is gone.
It honestly looks like its either got dried boogars on it, or its been scabbed over.
The snake is relatively in good condition, as there are no ribs showing, hes fat and sassy, and is breathing correctly.
One of his eyes looks like its ... got dry skin on it.
He does have some shed that is still sticking (and im going to remedy that like I always do when he gets a bit more settled after the car drive), to him, and im wondering if the eyeball thing is just shed thats stuck to his face.

Anyway does anyone have any advice as to whats wrong with his eye and nose?
Or is it scabbed over?
PS I can get pictures and I can post them, but I would rather wait until hes calmed down from the car ride n whatnot and used to the noises and smells of my home that way he will be more at ease when I take the pictures.

The second ball python, I have not gotten to see as its buried inside one of their 'decorations' and has been lost in it for three days since they fed him (they also told me while i was there, that they were going to feed him again (after three days!!)), since the mouse they put in with him, attacked him and scarred him up.
I havent been able to assess the snakes condition and it worries me.
So we are putting him in a dark tub, throwing the lid on with him inside the wooden thing, and are going to wait it out and see if he just comes out on his own.
If he does not come out within at least a day, I plan on ripping the wooden decoration open and taking him out myself.
I have to help him and hes just frightened.

Does anyone have any advice or home remedies that they can give me to help fix a wound on a snake?
I do not live anywhere near a petsmart, petco or anything like that. The closest biggest thing is walmart.
If im able to help the wound by just putting neosporin on it I plan to.
Im also asking for any suggestions on what would be a BAD idea to put on a snake to help heal something.

Any advice, tips, tricks and suggestions to help me get these poor things back on their feet is welcome and encouraged.

Another note, if I find after the trial period of making these guys healthy, that I cant part with them, then they will be stuck in the small area of my collection that is "viewing only".
As in, no breeding, no selling, just there to look at and love.

Thanks in advance and hopefully that little guy will come out of that wood thing overnight.

[Riyeko]

Just an update, the little dude came out of the wood decoration.

He has probably a gash on the side of his body probably about a full american dollar coin in size.
Several other scratches, bites, marks and imperfections in his hide are present.

This poor baby.

I am so full of saddness and anger right now.

[Helenthereef]

Well, good for you for rescuing them, it all has to go better for them now...

You can bathe them in dilute Betadine (iodine scrub lotion) as a general antiseptic treatment, and Neosporin ointment is commonly used on infected reptile cuts if you have reason to suspect infection.

The stuck eye-scale may come off by itself on the next shed, personally I'd be making sure they are very humid for a couple of days in case of dehydration, and that can help with stuck skin too

Obviously photos would help but I think you are right not to over stress them. Letting them settle in probably for at least a week or so is a high priority.

[GREGORY J HALL]

Well I feed live to all 40 of my balls & never had one injured ever but the rat got injured rather fast ;),they probly left live rodents unattended with a non feeding snake which is a BIG NO NO they will chew on the snake.good luck.If you keep 40 plus snake you wont be able to keep balls feeding on F/T If you do your doing something right.

[mgoblue347]

I agree with raising the humidity to help with any stuck skin. If any of my snakes are having problems with a shed which they rarely do, I will get a small tub and fill the bottom with sphagnum moss and a damp warm towel and put them in there for a little. This usually helps remove any excess skin. As to the eye caps, after making 100% sure it is in fact an eye cap, a damn q-tip or finger lightly ran over the eye is what I've done in the past that has worked. That is probably a little too stressful to the snakes in their current condition though.

Good Luck!

[Riyeko]

Alrighty, ive done that and slathered him down with neosporin, which was gross mind you, but I was wanting to protect him and his wounds look a little bit better today.
Im going to go slather him down again later and hope that it keeps helping.

Anyway, these are all taken under a cell phone and some of them are too bright (damn the flash), to see, but ive picked and chosen through several (try 23 actual photos), for the best ones to represent what this poor baby went through.

So here goes.
All through photo bucket, and ill try and upload some of them here.
Here goes...

These are the biggest wounds on his body, varying from maybe an inch from the back of his head, down all the way to probably a half inch from his tail.

There are several other scraps on him in various places, but alas, the cell phone SUCKS and I cant get good quality pictures (even with the macro setting, what a joke).

I was in the whole sad/angry mode, but now im in the "GET BETTER NOW!" soldier mode.
I hope he gets better and theres improvement.

I also noticed some wheezing in the bigger BP that I received and this little guy was in the same cage, but hes not wheezing ... he probably has the respiratory infection as well, but maybe not as bad.
I dont know.

Is there any "home" remedies or things I can get online to help them out?

Thanks.

[P&A Pythons]

Wow it hurts to look at those pics.Those people should be held accountable for that mistreatment.I personally would take to a vet asap and get proper meds he or she needs.

[MrBig]

I agree that snake is beyond the point of home remedies, that is deplorable that someone would allow those snakes to get to that condition.

[nickyp0]

i think someone should lock rats in with the owners and see how they feel getting chewed on like that >:( i agree that snake is far to gone for home remedies, i would take it to the vet asap.

[Riyeko]

Well thats the problem. The only veterinarian within reach is over four hours away in the middle of the big city and ... the place is only open at the most ridiculous hours (from 5:30am-10am and then two hours in the evening, but only on monday and friday).

Now honestly I wouldnt have a problem spending the gas to take him down there, but I would have to get up and start driving at 3am to get there in time before the place closes down.
Monday happens to be my saturday (since i work friday-sunday), and im honestly really tired and just want to veg.
I also work Friday evening and dont really want to get the time off to go down there since it would just be.. bad form i guess.

Is there nothing I can do but just let him heal naturally (and obviously continue to slather him down in neosporin and betadine baths)?
I really hate living in the middle of nowhere.

[P&A Pythons]

If they dont die in the next couple days consider urself lucky those are some nasty bites. Try neosporin until you can get there but if you want them to live I highly suggest get them there asap. If it has advanced ri its survival rate is cut dramaticly. If it has just started they have better chance the longer u wait the worse it gets.U can google tylson for snake ri treatment see what u get but I highly recommend a vet.

[FireStorm]

I agree with those that have recommended a vet visit. Neosporin may not cut it with those injuries. Neosporin isn't really ideal for reptiles, anyway. It works in a pinch, but it does cause individual scale shedding (I believe that is because it is petroleum based). Silver Sulfadiazine is better, but you'd need to get it from a vet. It also sounds like the other snake has a RI, and he probably needs antibiotics to have a shot at recovery.

[stevek123]

I want to say that you are a Saint for helping these BPs.

[dumje]

wow...nasty bites...good luck...hope you pull them out of this...

[P&A Pythons]

How do those wounds look today any updates

[Helenthereef]

I don't know if you can get this in the USA, so sorry if this piece of advice is useless.... :shrug01:

Over here we can get antibiotic powder rather than ointment, from regular over the counter pharmacies, and it's great for this kind of injury. You puff it on like talcum powder, blow most of it off, and it sticks to the wet part of injuries and helps dry them out as well as being antibiotic.

I agree with the others, though, when they say you should have a vet look at it if at all possible, topical antibiotics may not do the job, and obviously won't help with RI.

[Riyeko]

Thats the thing, the "wet" parts of the injuries have already dried up and are... healing already.

Although the wounds look much better than when I first started messing with him.
The really big one in his side isnt red and "mean" looking anymore, the one near his tail, I think its closing up honestly... and the others are starting to heal nicely.

The other snake im not so sure.
The only veterinarian in this area is over 4 hours away in Springfield MO rather than closer.
Im going to do another google search and see if I can bring up anymore vet's offices that are better in reach than the one down there so I can take Robbie in to see him.

Thank the Lord I still have money held back from taxes for a vehicle (that i got for free long story).

But im going to feed them this weekend with the rest of my collection and then ill figure something out.
Im also thinking of moving Robbie's cage into a more... easier location since hes stuffed in the back of my bedroom at the moment (RI in with my collection EWWW)... maybe ill move him into the bathroom where the heater can blow on him and he can get the moisture from folks taking baths n whatnot.

But as weird as it is, I dont think the little guy has RI... he displays no symptoms and might have it anyway, but at the moment he breathes and flicks his tongue just fine.
Robbie flicks his tongue a lot as well.

Poor babies.

Now, i have to go rub lotion on my hands again since using so much germx is making my skin dry.

[Helenthereef]

Well, if the red is going out and the skin is starting to dry and heal, you're probably on the right track, have confidence!

[Riyeko]

Another update:

Well I guess Lucky was feeling better.
The lady did say that he was aggressive, but.. i didnt notice anything when I took him out the first time.
He sat on my chest warming up for 30 minutes to a whole hour and did nothing but watch king of the hill with me.

Well, today I had him out like normal and was slathering him with neosporin when I looked up and noticed he was giving me the face that my other snakes give rats when theyre about to strike and eat them.

I got half a sentence out before he reached out and bit my face.
He didnt cause any horrible outrageous damage or anything, just a couple pin pricks of blood right by my eye, but... still.
He bit my face.
I was talking to him afterwards (yes i know snakes cant "hear" us but i still do it anyway), and told him if he ever wanted to get better he would have to be nice or else!

But he is feeling better. Less lethargy.

And honestly since ive been misting Robbies cage quite often, the "snot" around his nostril has gone away and i havent heard anymore wheezing from him.

I hope everyone is getting better.

[Riyeko]

I also have another question, and this is just vanity..

Is Lucky any kind of special ball python? or is he just a regular one?

Just curious :D

[P&A Pythons]

Welcome to the club. I have been bitten so many times and it still makes me jump.As soon as I see them coil I step back and grab from behind. Dont give up eventually he wont be afraid but try to grab him from the back. With that many bites I'd b po too

[P&A Pythons]

Looks like normal

[Riyeko]

Welp another update ... we had a special doctors appointment for my husband in the "big city" and took him to see a vet.

Took them both really.

Anyway, Robbie the bigger one has an RI like i suspected.
I told her what id been doing and she gave me some medicine or antibiotics to crush in his food (she said since I live so far away, checkups and visits would cost way more and thought that what she was giving me would be better, since id be able to treat him at home instead of driving 2 1/2 hours every time he needed to be checked on by the vet)... and she says hes actually doing great for the amount of scarring, problems and other things... hes also in shed.

But, she told me that, i did the best on my circumstances and that he looks like hes recovering and the antibiotics/medicine is just a precaution to help him along and give him a boost.
So yay for me. I feel awesome.

Lucky on the other hand, she cringed physically when I took him out of his little box.
She said i did good getting him out of the enviornment he was in, and i told her that they had been just putting him into a cage with live animals and walking away.
We were both angry and ranted for 10 minutes about the whole situation.
But he is doing f**** spectacular.
His wounds are healing and hes doing much better.
She says he probably is still in some pain, but gave him a clean bill of health --- which shocked the hell out of me since he was in the same cage as Robbie, who has the RI.. so weird --- besides the large scarring on his sides.
She said that he will always be marred by his past, but to give him TLC and some FROZEN food (i told her, oh god id never give live animals for food to any of my reptiles), and to just take care of him best as i can.

I also went to petsmart, got a cool branch and new hide for our timor monitor Spike, and got some... Zoo Med... wound and burn healer or something, made out of some oils i cant pronounce so im slathering neosporing and that all over him (which leaves my hands mighty nasty ill tell you what).


But after seeing the vet (thank god since they were really busy and i was just a walk in) and hearing that im doing good i feel on top of the world today!

Thanks for the advice guys, and its good to know hes a little regular BP instead of something cool.. which i figured anyway.

Okay, off to do some searching for turtles for my mother in law!

[Riyeko]

Also, correction, she gave me some weird paste crap that was supposed to be like... you would give soft dog food to a dog with medicine mixed in.. same thing.

[P&A Pythons]

If one has ri the other will have it soon. Keep an eye on the other. Glad there getting better.What did they give u for the ri

[Riyeko]

Welp another update folks.

I guess it took a while for Robbie to come out of blue and go completey into shed, which was a total mess this afternoon.
I had to get out a nice big tub and fill it with warm water and just sat around for the whole lunch hour I got today just gently rubbing the shed skin off of him.
It was stuck in some nasty places, his vent, both eyes, parts of his neck and pits on his nose and face.
He was still wheezing a bit, but hes looking and acting better.

Also on closer inspection I do believe he is blind in one eye. The more I get to know him, the more I realize, he didnt see this or that or my husband or me walking by him on that side of his face.
He was so surprised when my husbands hand showed up "out of nowhere" that he jerked back. So I think hes blind in one eye.
Hubby suggested that he is a trouble shedder, maybe theres just lots of layers of skin on his eye thats making his eyesight bad.
But who really knows.
(also, the vet gave him some fortas or fartaz for medication... im at work and dont have the medication in front of my face lol).

Lucky on the other hand is still not showing any symptoms of RI and his wounds look great.
They are healing and I do believe im starting to see some new "skin/scales" knit over the yucky parts.
Its a really rewarding thing.

I still cant get either of them to eat F/T mice, so I went out and bought some baby mice for Lucky and then an adult for Robbie and ive tried to get them to eat, but with all the trauma thats going on in their lives at the moment, I dont think either of them were willing enough to eat yet.
So we will wait until tomorrow (sunday 3/4), to see if they are ready to eat.

-----
But so far they are doing great, going through the motions of healing n whatnot and as soon as a month or two goes by, ill probably put Lucky up for adoption on here and maybe hold on to Robbie as a private thing.
Just because I do believe that Lucky is meant for bigger things rather than a show pet (just for show no breeding involved! lol) and id like him to go to a good home.
Of course all the adoption stuff will be after they are deemed healthy and healed up enough, and that could take upwards of a whole year... so who really knows.
I guess the adoption thing is the end goal at the moment that I have in mind!

:)

[stevek123]

at some point you will have to update us with pic's. I did alot of wildlife animal rehab in FL, mostly for gopher tortioses, yellowbelle and soft shell turtles and you are 100% correct. It really does make you feel good deep inside when you see these animals survive and thrive, when they would have surely perished with out your help. These guys will struggle to survive to the very end, and it's the helping hand you give them that makes their recovery possible. You rescued them from an otherwise impossible situation, from many weeks of increased pain and impending ultimate doom.

[Riyeko]

I created a little website for myself so i can rant and rave and just babble on incoherently about many other things that go on in my life.

Its like a journal, but not too personal.

Anyway, I realized I hadnt taken very many pictures of both of the snakes (barring the ones of Lucky's wounds), and went through and got a whole bunch of them.

Robbie in these has freshly shed, and my god he is a handsome boy.
He is all gold and bronze, with that dark 'snake black' that im so fond of (its why i love anery cornsnakes).

Lucky is all mad at me still for putting stuff on him, so his picture is from outside of the aquarium I have him in.

Today though, is the day where I go through and just hard clean/disinfect everything in my reptile room.
Gah the whole place is going to smell like bleach and trifectin...

Trifectin is a industrial strength cleaner that I got from the animal shelter where I work when we switched cleaners.
They gave me the last of it and its supposed to protect against fungus, bacteria and virus's (including parvovirus if anyone wants to google it), and its the only thing that makes me feel "safe" after ive cleaned stuff since... honestly bleach and water dont make me feel like everything is really "clean".

So here are some update pics!

[Riyeko]

Well I finally got both of the snakes to shed again, and they both ate, so I am happy at the moment that they are getting healthier.

Only problem I ran into is when Lucky was shedding, my god it looked like it hurt him so bad... watching all the skin and HUGE scars and scabs coming off of him with his skin.
I had to help him a little but we got through it and only his neck still has shed on it (he was getting a little annoyed at me and struck a couple times so I put him back in his hide when I finally got his rear end finished).

But here are some update pictures of his wounds and I think they are healing spectacularly.

[stevek123]

What a huge difference from the earlier photos. You must be thrilled with their progress.

[reticguy76]

great job and the snakes will shed frequently whether eating regularly or not. the wounds entice the immune system to go into the shed process quicker than normal to heal.

its healing very well. you want them to shed as frequent as possible until healed over. even feeding them smaller meals a little more often (ie, if they generally take medium rats once a week or thats the plan, then do like a small rat every 5 days or so), to get them to shed more often. the more shed, the quicker and better they will heal. make sure not to get it too humid in there, find that happy medium between what we normally keep their enclosures at and them still shedding well (like 45-50% or so). also cranking up the hot spot 4-5 degrees will entice and increase healing time and ability.