Injured mom...or is it dad?

[cheryl]

Something appears to have happened to injure one of the large snakes that live in my yard. The family has been around for years and I've never had this happen before. It looks as though it suffered a skin injury that is healing, and a section about an inch long seems to be somewhat flattened in that same area. It allows me to hold it without complaint, and isn't moving around much. I can always walk out to the grass pile and find it laying on top or just slightly buried. The others are there too (I counted at least 8 yesterday) and they seem fine. Noticed the injury three days ago. Have provided a pan of water, and she drank very heartily when presented with it. No such thing as a snake-vet in our area. Ideas? Also, to what extent do snakes suffer form parasites? What about fleas, lice, etc.?

[Jennay]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could give me a little time to make a list of things I should have to make sure that we give Squishy the very best home and care. He seems to have made this his home and does not mind being loved on. I would also like to say that finding food around here is a little hard do to the dry spell we are having.So what should I do? And his home I am sure is not what it should be so Please let me know what I should have.I am new at having a snake and a blind one at that.Thank You for any suggestions. Jennifer

[adamanteus]

Cheryl. Without seeing a picture it's hard to know what to suggest regarding the injury. Snakes suffer from mites and sometimes ticks, externally. Internally they can have worms. But in a healthy wild specimen a certain parasitic load is normal and the snake can deal with it.

Jennifer. You can find all the information you need to make a good start for Squishy by following this link.
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet
Any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

[drache]

Cheryl
as James said, it is difficult to tell what's going on without a picture
some other info could also help, if a photo is not do-able
such as:
how recent does the injury look
is there any swelling around it
that "flat " area - does it surround the injury, or if not - how close is it
and how far into the body is it "flat"
specifics can help, when there's no picture to look at
thanks for being kind to snakes

[adamanteus]

Cheryl, If you would like to show us a picture, but don't know how, please try following the steps in this link
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site-feedback-suggestions-questions/1008-guide-posting-pictures.html
This should help you to post a picture.

[cheryl]

Thanks for the info on posting a picture.I will try to get one. It's cold and wet here today, so they're all deeper in the grass pile. The injury appears to be at least a week old. The skin is a very dark brown/black, tight, and looks 'crusty'. The flattened area is close to, but not on the injured area. Both are about half way along the lenght of the snake, and she is about 2 feet long. There does appear to be some slight softness around the injury, but no real swelling. She appears otherwise healthy. Bright eyes, inquisitive, strong enough to squeeze my arm. As I mentioned, she drank water when presented to her. I am tempted to try to get her to eat. We do have a pet store that I believe handles some mice. Would I be making the situation worse do you think?
Thanks for your help.
Cheryl

[adamanteus]

I don't think you could worsen the situation by feeding her. That said, you might worsen the situation by just bothering her, stress is a big thing for snakes. Chances are she's quite able to fend for herself, despite the scarring. Mice are probably not the best thing to offer to a wild Garter, better with earthworms, fish or frogs. Unless you intend to catch her and keep her as a pet, I would suggest you content yourself with just watching her progress. I'd like to see a photo of her, if you can do that, I'm sure many of us would.

[drache]

a spot of antibiotic ointment on the wound might be good

[cheryl]

Okay;
Apparently I need to be smarter that the computer to get the pictures actually in the post. Not likely to happen. I did get them uploaded into the gallery though. They are 'baby' and 'poor baby'. And I really need to set the date stamp on my camera. Anyway, I finally found her today. Amazingly, she is more active than she has been lately. She did have one large sore spot and one smaller one. The smaller of the two has gotten larger. One or the spots has a small area that seems to be almost open skin instead of crusty. The flattened spot is in between the two spots. It almost appears as if there is something stuck there. Do they eat things that they can't digest? I read in one post about someone with a snake that developed kinks. Also, she is a full three feet long, more than I thought.
Any thoughts?

[drache]

that looks pretty nasty
I cannot tell by looking at it what it is
also - I am no expert
I would soak her a bit in hand warm water, try to clean the lesions to get a better look, gob some antbiotic ointment on the lesions and I'f want to stick her into a clean environment, unless it freaks her out too much
there are people here with much more experience than I
above scenario would be me - winging it
hope it helps
best wishes

[Jayson]

That looks pretty nasty, If I were to guess what has done that; I would have to say it was likely a bird that tried to make a meal out of that snake, I see snakes in the field all the time that have had their bellies pecked by birds, that is just my opinion though.

I would leave it be and let nature take its course, as was said earlier, unless you plan to make a pet of it, it can not afford the added stress of being handled right now.

[drache]

there is something about the placement of those lesions that brings to mind a large mammalian maw

[adamanteus]

Here are Cheryls pictures.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/snakes_002.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/snakes_001.jpg

[KITKAT]

I know how this looks in the photo, but I wonder if this is scale fungus or scale rot, rather than mere injury.

At any rate, I would NOT use an antibiotic by itself... I would use a preparation like PANALOG, that has BOTH antibiotic and antifungal properties.

Just my $.02 :rolleyes:

[drache]

see
that's at least one cent more than I had to give

[cheryl]

Thank you everyone!
My effort to find a treatment for the snakes sores led me to our local small animal hospital. I had with me the pictures that I had taken to post on this site. The vet looked at them and sold me a cream for fungus problems. His advise was virtually identical to what I got from you good folks. 'Baby' is in a large plastic enclosure in our camper. My husband is less that thrilled, but he'll get over it. Per the vet, I washed the sores with baby shampoo and applied the cream. I am to do so at least once a day. I also put a goldifsh in it's water dish. 20 minutes later the fish has disappeared, and the snake has a suspicious lump in it's belly. I understand from the forum that goldfish are to be used very sparingly, if at all. Will try to get her to eat a nightcrawler or possibly some trout next time. Is it safe to assume that I can wait a few days to offer food again? Don't know if she'll make it or not, but I know I've tried.
Thanks again.
Cheryl

[KITKAT]

Just a tip I had from someone in the past... the lavendar baby shampoo actually has mild anti-fungal properties... apparently the lavendar oil does that.