SOS injured garter snek

Hello! I'm new to this site so sorry if my post is wonky.

This morning my boyfriend and I were out walking his dog when a little brown garter snake came right up onto his foot. I noticed the dog get sketched out (he didn't touch the snake at all, he was scared of him lol), looked down to see the snake, and pointed it out to my boyfriend. The snake then moved away by about 1ft and I figured I could catch it for a photo, then release it. I've worked with animals a ton both as a kid and as a camp counselor so I know how to grab/hold snakes safely but beyond that I really dont know much.

As I held this little friend, who is very sweet by the way, I noticed that near the end of his tail was a fairly large gash. Not so recent that it was still bleeding, but still pretty open and worrisome. I'll post a photo if I can figure out how. Not to mention we were on an overpass to a freeway. So after a quick discussion my boyfriend ran upstairs for a box and now we have him indoors and are hoping to treat him.

He's in a large box that is taped up around the corners for extra reinforcement, with holes in the lid, and dirt/a few plants to hide under. I had to run off to work but my boyfriend is home figuring out a water dish (we are thinking it should be small until his wound is more closed) and either a heating pad underneath or letting him bask in the sun (our house has a lot of windows). My mom has a 10gallon tank from when she first got her bearded dragon that she's going to give to me for him.

We read that he might like nightcrawlers for now.

What we really need to know is the best possible treatment for his injury if anyone can help! It looks like he maybe had a chunk bit out of him or maybe cut himself pretty bad trying to get somewhere? I'm guessing he's about 12 inches long and the gash is maybe three inches from the end of his tial, and about 3/4 of an inch wide :(

As a sidenote we do live in Oregon where the vets have been kind of overwhelmed recently treating animals from the fires, so while I may be able to take him in, it might be a long time. Any experiences or help is super appreciated, we want him to live.

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Originally Posted by Xay

Hello! I'm new to this site so sorry if my post is wonky.

This morning my boyfriend and I were out walking his dog when a little brown garter snake came right up onto his foot. I noticed the dog get sketched out (he didn't touch the snake at all, he was scared of him lol), looked down to see the snake, and pointed it out to my boyfriend. The snake then moved away by about 1ft and I figured I could catch it for a photo, then release it. I've worked with animals a ton both as a kid and as a camp counselor so I know how to grab/hold snakes safely but beyond that I really dont know much.

As I held this little friend, who is very sweet by the way, I noticed that near the end of his tail was a fairly large gash. Not so recent that it was still bleeding, but still pretty open and worrisome. I'll post a photo if I can figure out how. Not to mention we were on an overpass to a freeway. So after a quick discussion my boyfriend ran upstairs for a box and now we have him indoors and are hoping to treat him.

He's in a large box that is taped up around the corners for extra reinforcement, with holes in the lid, and dirt/a few plants to hide under. I had to run off to work but my boyfriend is home figuring out a water dish (we are thinking it should be small until his wound is more closed) and either a heating pad underneath or letting him bask in the sun (our house has a lot of windows). My mom has a 10gallon tank from when she first got her bearded dragon that she's going to give to me for him.

We read that he might like nightcrawlers for now.

What we really need to know is the best possible treatment for his injury if anyone can help! It looks like he maybe had a chunk bit out of him or maybe cut himself pretty bad trying to get somewhere? I'm guessing he's about 12 inches long and the gash is maybe three inches from the end of his tial, and about 3/4 of an inch wide :(

As a sidenote we do live in Oregon where the vets have been kind of overwhelmed recently treating animals from the fires, so while I may be able to take him in, it might be a long time. Any experiences or help is super appreciated, we want him to live.

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Photos of the injury would be very helpful.

Is he a bigger garter? And is the cut below the cloaca? Because if so, he’s likely going to be okay as long as the injury hasn’t become infected or anything. Take him to a vet and they can decide if it would be better to surgically remove the tip of his tail or stitch him up. There’s a lot of snakes out in the wild wiggling along without their tails. As long as the cloaca is intact they can live a normal life. My baby Lake Chapala was born with a tail deformity and one day she just shed the entire affected part of her tail. Dropped off right in her enclosure! She was and is fine, just now has a tiny stubby tail. Sneks are weird! :p Get him checked out, let him completely heal with you and then send him on his way would be my suggestion. :)

Oh sorry I missed the last part at the end there. If you can’t find a vet right away, best thing you can do is keep an eye on him, make sure he’s comfortable and not in much pain, treat his wound regularly with a reptile safe antiseptic, in the time it takes for you to find a vet who specializes in reptile care of course. And yes, share photos too.