Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:15 am Post subject: Sick snake
One of the candy corns has been sick...
One day I checked on them, and this one had an open sore on it's side. So I removed the two from each other, then took the sick snake off of substrate.
I have been applying a small amount of neosporin onto the sore every night for about three weeks now. This particular snake has been in shed three times since birth (The other has shed once). The sore is now a scar, but this morning when I checked on her, her face was inflamed, and her mouth was full of puss and blood on her left side. In my experience this is mouth rot.
She has very bad spinal kinks.
Even with all these problems she is still flicking her tongue, moving around frequently...etc just acting like a healthy snake. The only thing she has not done for me is eaten, although she has not lost any body mass yet.
She is a fighter! She has had more attention then all of my other animals, so i've grown attached
What can I do for her? I have done everything I know how to, and it just keeps getting worse =/
I feel bad for her, but I can't afford the vet for her, also I am afraid all they will do it say is can't be fixed and blah blah blah. Then charge me $200 for "trying to save her"
Take it to the vet(find the money...) or give it to someone that can afford to provide it proper care. _________________ - Kevin aka What
Oderint dum metuant My photos
You'll have to try to sedate the snake (try cooling her off slightly in the refrigerator); scrape out the rot; and treat it topically with dilute betadine solution twice a day. It may not work, but it's worth a try.
Good thing it's a north American colubrid -- the refrigerator can't be used on a tropical species.
The rest of the time, keep her extra warm but not too warm (about 85 degrees F is probably good) to help her immune system fight of the infection.
I'll check with my Herpetological Society friends to see if there is anything else you can do for her and let you know if I find out anything else.
Send me a pm if you have any questions.
Good luck!!!
-- Celeste _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
I've successfully used a mixture of betadine and hydrogen peroxide to battle mouth rot. _________________ “Look down at me and you see a fool;
look up at me and you see a god;
look straight at me and you see yourself.”
For what it is worth, vets are not out to get your money. Many of them, especially the ones that specialize in exotics, know far more than any hobbyist could across such a broad area as herp veterinary care.(Not to mention, taking a herp to any random vet is just...foolish, especially in a place such as southern California where there are 20 or more specialists just in the greater LA area.)
There are places that teach medicine specifically related to herps, and there is even a society just about herp vet care. Here, have a list that shows vets recommended by hobbyists(red *). How up to date that list is, I dont know, but...it is a good starting place.
Now, about the snake... Is it possible it is a systemic infection rather than just "mouth rot" or a single sore? _________________ - Kevin aka What
Oderint dum metuant My photos
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