Please Help, lawnmower injury

[0TG]

No luck so far.

I hate this, he just doesn't seem to be interested at all. I've left two small night crawlers in his tank and have removed everything in his enclosure, including all hides and paper towels, and covered the entire tank up with a towel. I'll check on him in a couple of hours.

[adamanteus]

It's not been two weeks since the accident, Nick. Stress levels may still be pretty high. Don't be surprised by his reluctance to eat just yet.

[0TG]

How long before I should really start to worry?

[adamanteus]

Another couple of weeks at least, Nick. Of course it would be great if he ate before that, but don't worry if he doesn't.

[0TG]

Ok, thanks. I guess I was just worried about his size. I know that older/larger snakes can go for months without food but I guess the fact that he's small make me worry a bit more. He doesn't look overly skinny so I suppose that's a good thing.

[KITKAT]

Originally Posted by 0TG

Ok, thanks. I guess I was just worried about his size. I know that older/larger snakes can go for months without food but I guess the fact that he's small make me worry a bit more. He doesn't look overly skinny so I suppose that's a good thing.

When he is losing weight, you will notice that his skin looks "loose". It will get a kind of wrinkle in it here and there, or may have a few rows of scales that are kind of folded together in a line that parallels his body length.

[0TG]

Originally Posted by KITKAT

When he is losing weight, you will notice that his skin looks "loose". It will get a kind of wrinkle in it here and there, or may have a few rows of scales that are kind of folded together in a line that parallels his body length.

Thanks for the tip, no signs of that yet so that's a good thing.

The wound is really starting to heal up nicely. Yesterday was the first day I didn't put any neosporin on it and within that 24 hours it's dried up significantly. I did put it on again today, though.

I'll be going away for the weekend (leave Saturday, come back Monday) so I'll probably put it on before I leave on Saturday and then let it dry out for a couple of days.

Would it be worth it to catch two or three earthworms and put them in a clear, plastic deli cup and leave them in there for the weekend? Would he even eat out of a dish or should I just assume that they'll crawl out anyway and put them in the tank with him? My concern is that if and when they crawled out they'd just burrow underneath the paper towels.

I'll take some updated shots of the wound and post them up tonight.

[GarterGuy]

Your probably best off just leaving him be while you're away for the weekend. Right now, he's more concentrating on healing, and may really not have an appetite for a bit yet. Just a thought, but once the wound has really dried out and looks like it's healed over a bit, it might be a good idea to let him go. At that point, there's little risk of infection and he's probably better off that way as well.

Roy

[0TG]

I think you're right.

I contemplated on keeping him at least until spring but I think I'd probably rather let him free. There is a place where I go fishing, nice and secluded and very rarely any people around (and no lawn mowers either) where I think he'll be able to thrive.

Hopefully by next week his wound will be healed enough so that I'll be able to let him go. I want him to have enough time before it starts to get cold to get a few meals in him before brumation.

[Cazador]

Hey Nick,

At this point, I'd be less worried about its lack of feeding and more about the partial shed. After a few days, the unshed portion becomes stiff and restricts the snake's movement. It time, it can even cut off the blood supply and usually causes the snake to lose a portion of its tail. I know you're going away, so you could try to soak the snake in lukewarm water (~80-90F) for about 30 seconds. Then you can try to gently pinch/peal the dead skin toward the tail. Peel it slowly, and you'll see that the snake attempts to crawl out of it as you help it along.

Another popular and successful technique is to put the snake in a "wet bag." You just dampen a cloth bag, put the snake in it, close the top of the bag, and put the bag in the snake's enclosure (to keep it at a comfortable temperature). The moisture and abrasion helps to remove the snake's skin overnight. I realize this may not be a viable option if you won't be home for a few days.

Put a fresh dose of Neosporin on the wound first, though. Also, dont' get too worried if the snake hasn't eaten for a month or so, even though it's probably last year's young. They're well-adapted for lack of food. Just make sure its ribs aren't protruding, and its skin isn't wrinkled (like Kitkat described).

Rick