I just obtained a snake tonight that was a rescue. Well, I consider it one anyways. The person who had it didn't want it and they were so careless as to let it get tore up by the mouse that was being fed to it. The same people also have two iguanas that lost they're tail from monitor attacks but I could only take on one of the animals and the snake seemed to be the easiest for me to deal with although it is the worst injured.

The snake has been to the vet and I have tons of expensive meds to give it for the enormous bite marks on it's spine. There is bone showing! There are four smaller bites and one huge one about 2 inches from it's tail. The snake is only about 19 or 20 inches long and I hope it's going to live. The people didn't seem to even care that so many of their reptiles were in such bad shape.

Anyways, I've read all the caresheets I can find on the net and I've set it up in a temporary tank for now. Other than the meds I am to give it once a day for 21 days plus the wash and cream to put on it's wounds twice a day for six months to a year (this is a very serious injury) does anyone else have any advice on how to take care of very badly hurt ball pythons? Or just any advice on them, this is the first time I've ever owned one of these kinds of snakes and other than the caresheets there might be other things to learn.

I may be getting in over my head and if that is the case I can either deal with it with a little help from my friends or I can try to find someone more experienced that wants to take on such a job. Either way I just want what's best for the snake itself.

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wow bad situation, THANKS for putting the time and money into the rescue. It sounds to me like you are doing the right thing,although my experiences are vastly limited and I havent had to deal with an injured animal yet. Keep us posted Im sure there will be someone here that can help.

Did the vet give any other instructions on weather or not to handle with the injury?my only question would be with a humid hide and maybe bacteria? Iwould keep the tank clean,maybe just newspaper substrate offer multiple hides(warm and cool) and follow vets instructions.

Sorry I cant help more. I"ll definately check back as I could do with a little education in this department also.

First of all I want to give you my upmost thanks for taking in a rescue.

check in with your vet...i'm sure she has provided you with a polysporin ointment or something of the sort for the smaller bites..and possibly bathing her in a betadine solution daily after the larger wounds have healed up a little...it's not good to use any topical meds like that on such a wide area or such deep wounds.

good luck and thanks again!

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

I too commend you on taking control of this poor snake. Personally my next step would be to report these people to the local authourities for criminal violations of animal cruelty ordinances!
Anyway,........keep the snake on newspaper. Give several hides around the tank and keep everything scrupulously clean. Do not handle or disturb the snake any more often than absolutely necessary. Pay particular attention to your temps and humidity levels. Your ambient temps should be 80-85 degrees with a basking spot of 90-95. At this point I would keep the temps at the high end of the scale. At this point I would not include a humid hide. After the wounds scab over and dry, then the humid hide will be fine. I checked out the BP care sheet Rich posted as a thread and it loads fine for me. Also pick up a copy of The Ball Python Manual for a general overview of care. I also would not even attempt to feed for a couple of weeks. If you have specific questions fire away and we will see what we can do to help you out.
You're an angel!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Good for you on taking in this poor animal!
I agree with everything said above... including reporting the previous owners. But the most important thing to focus on now is the snake. Keep things simple. I personally prefer paper towel to newspaper for quarantine substrate. It's softer and you can mist it lightly to keep some humidity up.
You'll want to keep the temps up as that helps to boost the snake's immune system. But give it a hide box on both the cool and the warm side, so it can choose for itself where it is most comfortable.
My Rainbow Boa had a huge piece of her side torn off one year ago and it's healed up very well. It'll take time, but she will heal up and the scars might even fade in a few years.
(It may sound sick: but I think you should post pics of what feeding a little live mouse can do to a snake.)
Good luck and ask any questions you need to. We'll do what we can to help with your rescue efforts.

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Andrea

Right now he's staying on some paper towels and there is a couple of dry hides and a water dish in his enclosure, nothing else can be put in until he has healed a bit.

As for legal action, there has been some taken against the people who had him and I am now the adoptive parent of this ball python. It's going to be a long six months or year before this poor baby is going to fully heal and there is no doubt that there will be a scar.

For medications I have Nolvasan that I have to dilute and and use to clean his wounds twice a day, and then Silver Sulfadiazin Ointment to put on his wounds after cleaning. After that the real fun part I have to Orally administer Baytril every 24 hours for 21 days. He's going to need a lot of care and the only time I plan to hold him is when I have to clean his wounds and give him the meds.

Other than that he is the sweetest little guy (although he did hiss when I gave him the oral medication). He seems really alert and curious and always trying to get out. I've taken extra precautions to keep him from escaping.

I'll keep you all updated, but for now I hope you enjoy the very graphic pics, sorry if they all look the same, the lighting made it hard to get a good shot.

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I love the patern of my BP but I have to say the next one I get will definately look like yours! Its a beautiful specimen. Pics of the tail definately make me cringe,also makes me sad.

Wow, he's a beauty!!!!! The pattern of his markings are gorgeous!!!
What a crime about the bites. It sounds like he's getting optimum care from you. It'll be slow going but with every shed, it'll get better. I was surprised how well my boa healed from her wounds. (She crushed the mesh cage around the heat lamp, caught herself on a spur and ripped open her side -- it was horrendous. I thought she'd die.) But it's healed up well in less than a year and it even seems that new scales are forming.
If your little one is still active and alert, those are good signs.
(Getting him to eat F/T might take a while, but he WILL convert -- if mine did, anyone's can!!!
One trick is to heat up the thawed mouse with a hairdryer until it is 100F (the average body temp of a live mouse -- I use a temp gun to check the temp) then wiggle it gently a couple inches away from your BP's face. I feed in the evening in a very dark room.
I'd still wait a week or so before trying to feed him, but I just thought I'd add my 2 cents on feeding F/T while I was at it.

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Andrea

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm going to wait to offer food till he heals just a little bit, at least a week or more. Boy I know that I might be in over my head but I'll just have to learn fast, I know people call ball pythons beginner snakes but one with this injury makes it a little bit more challenging. I guess I'm ready for the challenge. The snake deserves the best and I have a little bit of experience under my belt so I'll keep you all posted on his improvement.

By the way, I call it a he, though I really have no idea what it is. I'm not even going to attemp to get it sexed until it is fully recovered. So, for now, it's a he.

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I talked to the vet again today and he told me I should be holding it, but that contradicts what some of you on the forum told me, I think for at least a week or two I'm going to keep the interaction with Tsume (ball python) to a minimum, meaning that I'll only hold him when I have to medicate him. But after that should I be holding him often...OH I'm so confused!

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